The contract year: Jason Bay version.

I will just come out and say it.  Jason Bay is playing well, really well.  And Jason Bay is in his contract year.

Now, I’m not suggesting that is why Bay is playing so well.  And I do not think that Bay will kill the ball like this, all season long.

Actually the largest reason why Bay seems to be excelling is because pitchers just keep grooving pitches right into his “Hot Zone(s).” 

Seriously, how many times are they going to make the same mistake?  It was made last night.  It was made Friday night.  Just numerous times Jason Bay has received the exact pitch that he is looking for. 

…And numerous times, the pitcher pays the price. 

I sometimes wonder if a contract year would motivate me, if I were an athlete.  And I do feel that it could very well give me that extra incentive, that extra focus. 

That doesn’t make us greedy, necessarily, or does it? 

Jason Bay may be great.  And it may be because he is playing in a great hitters park.  Or maybe because lineup “protection” does exist, we just don’t know that it does. 

It is also possible that Bay is playing really well because he wants to give his family a great life, for the rest of their life. 

Something tells me though, that feeding the ball–basically on a tee–is why Jason Bay has started off this hot.

But the bat speed is there, definitely.  And Jason Bay has always been a good player.