C’mon, Omar Minaya, close the deal with outfielder Jason Bay.  Lock him up, add him to your roster and give Mets fans something to cheer about.

You watched as the Phillies went and got what they needed, trading both prospects and pitcher Cliff Lee to land Roy Halladay. This is the team you are chasing in the National League East and, provided Cole Hamels gets straightened out, way ahead of you at this point.

Will Bay close the gap? Certainly not by himself, but he’ll make a big dent.  All the dancing about years and dollars is silly. This guy’s bat – his power is down the left-field line – is built for Citi Field.

A former Pirate (it seems there are a lot of them making good money and playing well), he is tuned to the National League.  He’s a good guy, projects a good image, hits for power and average and drives in runs. What more do you want?

On top of it all, the teams you seemed to be allegedly competing with for his services are turning elsewhere. Sure Matt Holliday is another option, but your ballpark doesn’t really suit his power game.

Some will tell you Bay is a horrendous outfielder. That is being much too harsh. He has his issues from time-to-time, but you will be paying him to drive in runs.

What I can’t understand about the Mets, unlike the Yankees, Red Sox and now the Phillies, is why the club can’t just go out in the free-agent market and sign the players it needs.  I can’t think the Mets are willing to play second or third fiddle to the Phillies on an annual basis.

Interesting it is the Yankees and Phillies filled their needs through trade, as Boston has done several times – Josh Beckett came to Fenway Park in a swap with Florida.  Those teams are able to accomplish goals like that because their farm systems are in good shape.

In the Phillies’ case, general manager Ruben Amaro managed to bring back three key prospects from the Mariners while signing Halladay to the extension he needed.

There is also a credibility gap here. Halladay talked about going to the Phillies, Yankees or Red Sox. Did he ever mention the Mets? Minaya and Company should always be in the mix for these types of players.

Get Bay signed and soon, so attention can be paid to bolstering the pitching staff.  Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi is a start, but why not add former Pirates closer Matt Capps – a bargain at $3 million annually – for depth.

In baseball today, he who dawdles loses.

A BLOODY MESS: Interesting it is that “Plasma Therapy’’ is coming under such fire all of a sudden.  The procedure has been used in implant dentistry for years. I’ve had it twice.  The goal there is to have bone and tissue heal more quickly.

Now if a patient’s blood is being mixed with HGH or some other drug before being returned to their body, that’s a whole other story.  However, “Plasma Therapy” has proven to be quite useful in certain situations.

Jed spent 35 years in the newspaper business working as both a writer and editor, in both sports and news under tight deadline pressure. As both sports editor at the Indiana (Pa.) Gazette and a copy editor/columnist at The Times of Trenton, he made daily decisions on overall coverage and designed and produced thousands of pages and special sections. Since accepting a buyout from The Times, he has concentrated on broadening his writing and editing horizons to the medical, academic and business fields. Anyone is welcome to Google Jed to see the different places in print, on the Web and in front of the camera his professional expertise has spread to.

Jed Weisberger

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Tags: Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Jason Bay, Matt Capps, Matt Holliday, New York Mets, Omar Minaya, Philadelphia Phillies, Plasma Therapy, Roy Halladay, Ryota Igarashi