What Happened to Jason Bay? Mysery Behind the Slump Revealed

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What Happened to Jason Bay?
Published 3/25/2008 by Alex Eisenberg at Baseball-Intellect
... for much of the 2007 season and was coming off arthroscopic knee surgery from the previous offseason. However, Bay has said his knee only bothered him when playing the field and had no effect on his season. Did he just have a down year? Another possibility. Perhaps he has just begun his decline as players with his skill set seem to decline at a faster and earlier rate. Lets begin with his numbers from the last two seasons: To continue reading this article, please click here ...

Baseball-Intellect: What Happened to Jason Bay?
Published 3/26/2008 at BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog
Baseball-Intellect: What Happened to Jason Bay? An analysis that looks for answers as to why Jason Bay fell off as much as he did last season. The article compares Bay’s mechanics from 2006 and 2007, and while it is difficult to pin-point exactly the reason for Bay’s loss of power, the mechanics are clearly different. Bay’s struggles began to effect him mentally as the season wore on. ...

What Happened to Jason Bay?
Published 3/26/2008 by Charlie at Bucs Dugout
... , this is a cool article that attempts to explain the differences between Jason Bay in 2006 and Bay in 2007 by using video to demonstrate differences in his swing. It's all very anecdotal, but the general idea is believable, and here it is: the 2007 Bay was having mechanical problems in that he wasn't planting his foot and rotating his hips in a seamless way. ...

THT LiveCSI: Jason Bay
Published 3/26/2008 by THT Staff at The Hardball Times
Going over Bay's lost 2007 season, with video.

This and that
Published 3/27/2008 by Pat at Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke?
... . I've been kind of captivated by this whole thing, but completely for the wrong reasons. Mostly, I think I'm just amazed that we live in a world where something like Jose Canseco is actually allowed to happen. A site called "Baseball Intellect" has an interesting look at Jason Bay's 2006 swing compared to his 2007 swing. I am no hitting coach, but it look to me like his 2006 swing is a lot shorter than his 2007 swing. Honestly, I used to marvel at Bay's swing. In 2005 and 2006, his swing was just this short, effortless flick that sent the ball rocketing across the park. I ...

The 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates
Published 3/31/2008 by Pat at Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke?
... So what am I watching for in 2008? On the major league level, I'm watching to see who gets traded, and for what. I fear that Huntington may have miscalculated by not trading Freddy Sanchez, Xavier Nady, and Jack Wilson this off-season. The Pirates aren't shopping Adam LaRoche, but I feel like they should be. The more I look at the comparison of Jason Bay's 2006 and 2007 swings, the more I fear that the 2007 difference is a lengthening of his swing not because he's hurt, but because he's already past his prime. Still, the players I just mentioned are important to the future of ...

Daily Roundup 4/2/08
Published 4/2/2008 by R.J. Anderson at Beyond the Box Score
... getting his new stadium it better end the player carousal down there. As I've said before, do the loyal Marlin fans a favor and re-sign Hanley Ramirez for as much as it takes, and then try and find an outfield spot for him. Putting a face on tendencies? That's what the a professor has done for managerial decisions. If nothing else the pictures are amusing, particularly Bruce Bochy's, I wouldn't blame him if his head explodes. Is Jason Bay done? Gifs and analysis suggest there's something wrong with him. BTB alum and friend Richard ...

UTK Wrap: The Initial Butcher`s Bill by Will Carroll
Published 4/4/2008 at Baseball Prospectus
... ) There's an interesting analysis of Bay's swing over at a site called Baseball Intellect . I'm not one who can break down hitting, so I'll avoid the points made there. What I do see is a pretty notable physical change—in the 2006 video, watch his knee, or actually the way his femur rotates, putting a great deal of torque on the knee. It's not there in '07, with a much softer plant. Knowing the problems he had at the end of 2006 led to surgery, and that his struggles throughout 2007 involved the cartilage in the left knee, this might be an important point. If you're counting ...

The Hardball Times:Why Jason Bay makes the Red Sox a better team
Published 8/5/2008 by Alex Eisenberg at The Hardball Times
... draining slump starting in June, 2007. The slump lasted through the final four months of the season as things simply snowballed on him and he lost much of his confidence as the year wore on. He didn't see the ball well coming out of the pitcher's hand and he didn't feel confident hitting with two strikes, so he would start swinging earlier in the count instead of being patient and working the count, which is probably the best way to deal with a slump. Before the season started, I wrote about Jason Bay's struggles and looked for exactly what happened to him--what caused his ...