The usually mild-mannered Jay Bruce of the New York Mets lost his cool with the media talking about his season-long quagmire.
Jay Bruce obviously felt a kinship with New York Mets fans when he elected to return to Queens as a free agent this offseason. Obviously, they still feel the same way about his 2018 performance.
With the Mets currently at 28-34 and Bruce mired in a season-long slump, the usually stoic outfielder showed his mounting frustration when he let out an expletive-filled answer when speaking to Mike Puma of The New York Post. Said Bruce:
“When I came over here in 2016 and I went through that stretch, I was f–king lost. I did not have a chance up there. But every day I f–king come in here and I feel good. I feel like I am taking quality at-bats and putting good swings on balls and there is a confidence there.”
Bruce refused to blame his struggles on his ongoing plantar fasciitis. The numbers tell a different story. He has a slash line of just .219/.299/.328 with three home runs and 15 RBI in just over 200 at-bats. Last year Bruce hit 35 HR with 107 RBI with an OPS of .841 with the Mets before being traded to Cleveland at the 2017 trade deadline.
Bruce looks compromised in the outfield, running very gingerly in the Yankees series and has just not looked like the same player.
I will say that in the outfield and on the bases, the plantar fasciitis is still there a little bit, but I cannot attribute that to [the slump],” Bruce said. “This is something that I haven’t been through as a player yet. I had bad seasons in 2014 and ’15, but I wasn’t healthy. I am healthy and I feel great and I feel I am taking good at-bats — my work is good, crisp. The results just aren’t there. I feel if I am healthy and I am taking these at-bats, that it’s going to come.”
Bruce had an OPS of .695 in 2014 and 2015 when despite averaging 147 games, he played with a bad knee and admits it impacted his play. While Bruce, who is in the first year of a three-year $39 million contract refuses to admit his foot is affecting his performance, Bruce is obviously not at 100 percent in 2018. While his will to battle is admirable, Bruce is just not helping the Mets right now and both he and the team may very well both benefit by him resting his ailing foot.
