"Inside the Citi Field video room last week, Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens cued two sets of film. On one side of the screen stood Jason Bay, the Boston All-Star. On the other side stood Jason Bay, the New York also-ran.

The first screen looped his 45 homers in 200 games with the Red Sox. The second screen showed a shorter highlight reel - Bay's 15 homers in nearly 200 hundred games as a Met. Bay watched the two versions of himself for five minutes.

Hudgens pointed to the old footage: You see this?

Yeah , Bay answered. I feel like that's what I'm doing.

No, Hudgens told him. You're not.

The realization did not stun Bay. He has not felt like himself for much of his tenure with the Mets, his body uncomfortable at the plate, his mind adrift with possible solutions, his stat line bereft of the production he once offered. "