PITTSBURGH - Mid-week commentary on the news:
n It's hot.
Baseball players must come with a special gene that makes them immune to the heat.
Late afternoon, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are not only on the field under the hot sun, they're wearing heat-absorbing black caps and most of them are wearing windbreaker-type jackets.
On a day when you can work up a sweat shaking hands, they don't seem to be bothered by the sticky conditions.
One thing for certain: When it gets this hot, you know Steelers training camp must be starting soon.
n The New York Mets are experiencing buyers' regret on Jason Bay.
At last check, Bay was batting .232 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and an OPS of .648.
That's not what they expect for $16 million a year.
The cash-strapped Mets are also on the hook for $16 million in each of the next two seasons.
It's unlikely they'll be able to deal him. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for production levels that low.
Bay was a bad match for the Mets from the start.
At his best, he's a good solid player who would earn the letter grade of B. He's not a superstar who can carry a contending team.
The Mets got him at age 31, which meant his career was likely to head into decline.
Citi Field, the Mets' park, is a tough place to hit home runs. The spacious left field is too much ground to cover for a player with diminishing defensive skills.
Bay is a quiet guy who's not an especially good fit in New York.
The Seattle Mariners made him a good competitive offer, but he spurned it to take more money from the Mets.
Bad move.
Bay is from western Canada and used to live in the Seattle area.
It was a big deal last winter when Cliff Lee turned down a richer offer from the New York Yankees to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. He felt comfortable in Philadelphia, and that was more important to him than a few million dollars more.
If Bay had been able to see things in those terms, he and the Mets would both be a lot happier these days.
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com
