Stop Voting For Bay!

by Charlie Wilmoth on Jun 27, 2006 12:38 AM EDT in News

The Jason Bay All-Star story is getting increasingly bizarre. Now he's leading NL outfielders in All-Star votes despite not playing all that well recently. He has probably been the second-best outfielder in the NL so far, behind Carlos Beltran. How is it possible that a Pirate has more votes than a better, more famous outfielder playing in New York?

The nicest explanation I can think of is that the Pirates' incredibly desperate PR effort to make Bay an All-Star starter is actually working. (The darker, more conspiracy-theory side of me thinks that perhaps the PNC employee hired to punch hanging chads for Bay is punching more than just the chads, but of course I have no evidence of that.)

Why do you think the front office is pimping Bay so mercilessly? It's because the All-Star Game is in Pittsburgh, and the management desperately needs a story to distract America from the fact that the team is a complete embarrassment and has been for a decade.

Do you want the front office to get what they want? Would you rather have the All-Star weekend be about what a swell player Jason Bay is, or would you rather have it be about how @#$^ing embarrassing the Pirates are? For me, it's the latter, since that strategy is infinitely more likely to make the management look like the fools they are.

The All-Star game is an exhibition. It is meaningless. The results of your votes have no bearing on Jason Bay's fortunes. I'm sure he couldn't care less.

When you vote, you are sending a message. If you vote for Bay, you are sending a message that Bay is a good player. That is a true message. If you vote for anybody who isn't a Pirate, you send the message that the ownership doesn't deserve to get what they want and that they should sell the team and crawl back into the holes they came from. That message is even truer.

If Bay doesn't start, all there is to talk about is that the park is beautiful, the team is awful and the fans deserve better.

Jason Bay is a great player and we're lucky to have him, but if you're one of these fans at the ballpark punching ballot after ballot for him, please stop doing that. I know it's counterintuitive and of course we all want the best for Bay, but still, stop it.

Stop voting for Bay! Stop voting for Bay! Stop voting for Bay!

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I agree, but...

I sort of agree with Charlie (and I posted musings earlier in the week wondering if the front office was actively ballot stuffing as well), but at this point I think the damage is done. I'm less "hopefull" that Bay won't start so the ownership can recieve the scorn they so richly deserve, and more saddened that our fan base is, evidently, still so easily manipulated.

The fact that enough people are still tuned in and still willing to devote serious effort to this team means the ownership group can probably go on with business as usual for the foreseeable future and keep raking in $20mil a year in profit.

So congrads to Bay, but condolances to every Pirate fan who hoped the team might be sold to a competant owner sometime soon.

by DJAnyReason on Jun 27, 2006 9:13 AM EDT reply actions

Figured

It wouldn't matter either way. I pimped the overall vote, Bay and Sanchez in particular, realizing that McNuttingfield isn't going anywhere without a good reason; "the team sucks" isn't a good reason, obviously.

For a guy like Freddy Sanchez or Jose Castillo, making the team's a big honor, something they can hang their hat on. For Jason Bay, it does matter in the end - for argument's sake, assume he plays 10-12 more years at this general clip. Whether he does that as a Pirate or not is irrelevant. A guy who did big damage for a small team, no matter how impressive he was, needs a "busy" resume.

by psk984 on Jun 27, 2006 9:42 AM EDT reply actions

Disagree on this post Charlie.

I'm sorry, I disagree with you on this one Charlie. While I agree on most of your posts, especially about the travesty the owners and gm are delivering to the Pirate fans, I don't think it is fair to punish a player to get at the owners. There are other ways to make a point to ownership, rather than try to stop Bay from getting what he deserves.

by DSman on Jun 27, 2006 10:13 AM EDT reply actions

That's great

Someone should send him one.

Or have IF distribute free buttons or something outside the gates. That'd tickle me pink.

by psk984 on Jun 27, 2006 11:33 AM EDT reply actions

Doubtful

I doubt the announcers would talk about the awful ownership situation anyway. So penalizing Bay for the sins of the father, so to speak, would likely accomplish nothing.

Expected announcer patter is probably closer to beautiful ballpark, team struggling, fellating the other MLB all-stars.

by Greg Schuler on Jun 27, 2006 12:07 PM EDT reply actions

That would be . . .

. . . "you're a moron."

by WTM on Jun 27, 2006 12:53 PM EDT reply actions

Hmm

I think Bay starting the All-Star game, or even leading the NL in votes, would be good. Because every single reference to him will be "despite playing for the worst team in the majors, Jason Bay is starting for the NL." The McNuttchy get their All-Star, yes, but I think that's going to bring a whole heck of a lot of attention to how bad the team is that one of the NL's starters is playing for.

I hope so, anyway.

by matskralc on Jun 27, 2006 10:44 PM EDT reply actions

What attention

Who in the big world of baseball actually gives two pennies of fecal material what is going on in Pittsburgh? The more I think about it, it matters not a whit if they resurrect Willie Stargell and voted him to the all-star team - no one cares what the Pirates are doing or how poorly the team is run. Mainstream sports media abandoned Pittsburgh as a baseball entity (for good reason) many moons ago and the election of Bay won't suddenly cast a glaring light on the situation.

by Greg Schuler on Jun 28, 2006 9:00 AM EDT up reply actions

No

Charlie -- no. I think it's important that we separate the players from the coaching staff and front office here. Some of the players just suck; it's not their fault they were overvalued. (Maybe not even their agents' fault.) Some players are very good, like Bay. There may be reasons he shouldn't start at the all-star game, but "because the front office would succeed at something if he did" isn't one of them. Their incompetence has been established; behind the next closet door is mendacity. Bay starting in the all-star game doesn't change or hide that.

by KPatrick on Jun 28, 2006 9:16 AM EDT reply actions