Jason Bay officially a Met

Now that Jason Bay has passed his physical, the Mets outfield for 2010 appears to be set with Bay, Beltran, and Francoeur. That's a better starting outfield than the Mets had at any point last season. If Reyes returns injury-free, the left side of the infield should also be strong with Wright and Reyes. Unfortunately, right now both the right side of the infield and the catching is below average. Neither Castillo nor Murphy is good enough and the catching, just as it was last season, is sub-par. Unfortunately, though its appears that Orlando Hudson wants to play for the Mets, Minaya isn't willing to consider him as long as Castillo is on the roster.

Mets need to lower Citi Field's fences

It's good news that the Mets are close to signing Jason Bay. Now the team needs to lower CitiField's outfield fences. In Shea Stadium, the entire outfield fence measured only eight feet height; whereas, at Citi Field, a USA Today article reported that "the outfield walls change height seven times;" at their highest point, they're 16 feet height.

With regard to Citi Field's dimensions, according to a New York Times article:

The left-field foul pole stands a relatively enticing 335 feet from home plate, but the distance to left-center jumps to 379 with a 15-foot wall. A 16-foot wall guards a sliver of straightaway center, which is 408 feet away, and right-center field measures 383 feet before angling in to 330 down the right-field line. The deepest part of the park, a nook in right-center, is 414 feet from home.

In comparison, the Times article reported that Shea Stadium, the Mets former home, "had a symmetrical outfield, where center field was 410 feet from home plate, the gaps were 378 feet and the left- and right-field lines measured 338."

For right-handed batters like Wright and Bay, the fact that the height of the left-center fence is 15 feet is not good news. Hopefully, before the 2010 season begins,  the Mets will have enough sense to lower that fence's height.