(With sincere apologies to Gordon Lightfoot, a renowned Canadian talent who, to the best of our knowledge, has never habitually grounded into rally-killing double play after rally-killing double play.)
The legend lives on
From Minaya on down
Of the big waste they called their star signin’
J. Bay, they did say,
Would always come to play
When they had nothin’ kind to describe him
With an average that dropped
Extra-base power stopped
His production was barer than empty
His good attitude
Was a fact we eschewed
When release in November came early
Does anyone know
Where his roster spot goes
As he exits to roll down the highway?
Our hunches all say
We’d still have Jason Bay
If he’d put eight more homers behind him
He might have concussed
Or he might have revived
He might have run smack into Duda
Yet all that remains
Are the millions he’ll be paid
On a going deferred-dollars basis
Brilliant!
Thanks for this. Without checking the lyrics, I’d never have known that Gordy recently revised the lyrics to remove some implicit blame for the crew in the accident.
Pity we can’t go back and change Omar’s implicit blame, either.
Goodbye Mr. Bay and take solace in the fact that you’ll never be forgotten by Mets fans, who will forever groan and roll their eyes upon hearing your name.
Your re-mix of the lyrics: right on point!!
Beautiful. How the hell did I ever supposedly out-parodize you?
Demographics? (It’s the popular excuse these days.)
Oh man. I knew you were going to come up with a doozie here, and you (unlike the subject of your song) did not disappoint.
Bay made it pretty tough to hate him, though. He didn’t make flippant remarks about his un-performance to the press, or throw firecrackers or bleach or fists, and by all accounts worked his butt off and didn’t cop a tude with anyone. You always like to see all that in a player who sucks.
But you do have to wonder how he could have just lost it all, poof, just like that — it’s scary, to the point where I can see why they’d be leery of signing any big bopper older than 30 for multiple years ever again.
I participated in a face-to-face interview with Jason Bay two years ago (me and two or three other bloggers). Affable, self-aware, slyly funny. Could not “hate” him in that sports fan way after all.
But I could keep strongly disliking his on-field output.
If I had a fantasy baseball team, I would totally take Bay. He will hit 30 homeruns next year. My predicted line: .301 27 101
Wonderful job, Greg.
Can an outfielder contract Steve Blass disease?
Blass walked everybody and Bay just walked away, so yeah, I guess.
Regarding what to do with his roster spot: I really, REALLY want to sign Nyjer Morgan. He can play, and the Mets need some attitude. Plus he is wacky as all get-out.
He’s about 179 degrees removed from Bay in terms of public displays of Nyjerishness, but he’s also considered “a great teammate,” so why not?
How are you doing on Staten Island, BTW?
Tony Plush would be a folk hero in Flushing.
We’re doing quite well, thanks. We’re far enough inland that we were not victims of the storm surge. Got power back in two days, and gasoline shortly thereafter. My only loss was my old-fashioned roof antenna, so no more Channel 11 games on Sundays in the kitchen while I make the sauce.
Great Lightfoot parody, Greg!
Dak442, my coworker Met fans almost threw me down the stairs when I invoked Nyjer Morgan’s name as a Met outfield candidate. He is a low-risk, potential high reward gamble that could, in fact, light a spark under the Met clubhouse. I’m with you on a pursuit of Morgan for minimal players/funds surrendered.
Shin-soo Choo and Morgan should be early targets of the Alderson administration. That’s my two cents.
I was on that Nyjer Morgan bandwagon as soon as I saw he was released…how much better is any other OF’er we have or that Alderson will pick up in his dumpster diving spree this winter?
Boy, Nickeas and Bay both shown the door in the same week…sucks being Canadian.
Don’t worry about Nickeas. He reupped on a minor league deal after all. Quality will always tell with this organization.
Makes me sad that the Mets never had a player named “Gitche Gumee”.
Hi Greg,
If you could read my mind….
Some laws have a sunset clause. Jason Bay’s contract instead reached Sundown.
“Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgeald” is one of my favorite songs to come out of the 70′s – excellent tribute Greg. I appreciate your comments that at least he was a nice guy, but came off in away that made Kevin McReynolds seem gregarious in comparison. Bay will go on to succeed with the Twins, KC, and eventually come back to haunt us at some key moment. But he didn’t belong here. Here is my “They didn’t Belong” mets team:
1B Mo Vaughn
2B Robbie Alomar/Jeff Kent
SS Mike Bordick
3B Pick ‘em field is wild with possibilities for today’s purposes lets say Jim Fregosi
LF Jason Bay
CF Vince Coleman
RF Bobby Bonilla
C Bran Schneider
SP Anthony Young
Closer Braden Looper
AY was homegrown and luckless. I have an imported pitcher in mind who “didn’t belong,” and I think longtime readers will kn#w who ! me@n.
Yeah, he’s who I had in mind when I mentioned “flippant remarks.” I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Met of his length of tenure who inspired so little love (and so much justifiable dislike) from the fans. It was all very strange.
[...] and Fear cleverly rewrote the song lyrics of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in recognition of Jason Bay’s release. Because somebody had to do it. A [...]
This is great. You still have 11 minutes of song left to fill.
The Only Worse Fit
You Could Have For A Team
Was Bobby V.
Managing Boston!
Greg,
Tom Glavine?
Unorthodox spelling, but yes.
[...] Fan and Rising Apple. In particular, Sam and Rich Sparago have risen above the bile (lord knows I retain an ample supply of it) to find something nice to say about erstwhile left fielder and lingering money pit Jason [...]