WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Don’t worry. Jay Bruce isn’t reinventing himself with the Mets, despite the results of the past few days.
On Saturday, the lefty-hitting Bruce beat a shift with a bunt toward third. On Monday, Bruce stole a base giving him a spring training grand total of one. And he got on base through a single to the opposite field. Again, attacking the shift?
“No, I was real early. I saw a curveball up and hit it off the end of the bat,” Bruce said after the Mets lost 2-0 to the Astros. “The result was fine but it wasn’t my best.”
Well, that’s a relief. Bruce will remain a masher. But he has done stuff the old-timers love.
“It’s just taking what’s there,” said Bruce, who shrugged off why others don’t do the same. “That’s kind of an age-old question or debate. The game tells you everything about opportunity. I have the ability to change the game’s score in a positive manner for us [with his power]. Put us ahead or tie it.
“[Opponents] would rather me completely give away any opportunity to hit for an extra-base hit, but late in the game, down a couple runs and they’re giving it to you, you have to play the game. Look at the scoreboard. The scoreboard tells you everything you need to know,” said Bruce, who rejoined the Mets in free agency after his August trade to Cleveland.
Bruce has hit .324 in the spring with one homer and three doubles — and now one stolen base.
“He’s looks good. Beating the shift. Gotta beat the analytics, right?” manager Mickey Callaway said, laughing.
Hey, the Mets were 27th out of 30 teams in the majors in steals last year. Take what you can get.
“I’m not a base stealer, but I can steal some bases,” Bruce said. “In situations where it can help the team and they’re giving it to you — whatever ‘giving it to you’ means — then you’ve got to take a chance especially here in spring training. It was a good time to try.”
But suffice to say Bruce, who hit 36 homers last season for the Mets and Indians, didn’t get three years for $39 million to challenge Dee Gordon for the majors lead in steals.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Bruce said. “Today I felt like I was a little late, but I’m seeing the ball well. I feel good. My body’s getting there. I’m about ready.”
