Jason Bay

tanding ovation or anything, but I’m glad that he heard some noise from the fans. 

-Jason Bay’s catch in the 8th inning was amazing.  When the ball left the bat, I thought it was going to be a homer.  I slumped lower in my seat until I saw the ball sinking and Bay make the leaping catch against the monster.  Then the double play made it even better.  It was one of the few times we got to cheer in the game, and it was really cool to see that happen. 

Continue reading "Being at Last Night’s Game - Welcome Back, Nomar"

re pleasant.  So what did happen last night that us Sox fans can be happy about?

How about Jason Bay hitting his tenth homer of the season in the first?  If he keeps this up he may be eligible to play in the HR Derby this year.  Who would have predicted that? 

Continue reading "Let's look on the bright side of last night's game"

to leave for a friend’s house.  At first I was just as confused as Joe Morgen as to why Jason Bay didn’t try to throw out Crawford at home.  But then I saw the dozen replays and realized that Crawford made a mistake by not running hard as soon as the ball left the bat (with two outs, there’s really no excuse).  As a matter of fact, I was very intrigued by this and didn’t mind the first thirty minutes of ESPN’s replay of Carl Crawford running from first – after that it got a little tedious. 

Continue reading "Beckett, the Bullpen, and Bay make us Believe"

d throwing Kerry Wood came into the game and was not able to throw and of his 98 mph fastballs past Jason Bay, who provided the Red Sox with all the offense they needed.  His three run blast in the 9th got Red Sox Nation screaming both on the East Coast and at Progressive Field.  Then Pap surrendered a run to Cleveland before shutting the door and earning his 5th save of the season. 

Continue reading "It's hot...and so are the Sox!"

3-Boston Red Sox: RF-J.D. Drew, CF-Jacoby Ellsbury, LF-Jason Bay

This group has excellent balance. All three are fast and cover ground well at their respective positions, and they are astute baserunners as well. Drew's injury history is a slight concern, but when he's out there he's smooth, athletic, and immensely talented. He really seemed to settle in during his second year in Boston.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Outfields"

I don't know if it's just me, but the playoffs never seem to officially start until the Sox play a game at Friendly Fenway. I mean, I watched the games in LA - or LA of Anaheim, or Anaheim in LA, or Anaheim in LA of California, United States - and came away psyched that the Sox were up 2-0, but it didn't have that playoff feel. It just felt like a road trip to the west coast. Maybe it was the fact that the glamorous LA fans were eating sushi off of asian-influenced rectangle plates instead of toting a steamed dog in one hand and a $7 Coors Light in the other. I don't know.

Continue reading "Feeling Fenway"

p an extra-base hit). 

The Red Sox were only down temporarily, as playoff virgin Jason Bay delivered big time in the sixth inning, smashing a John Lackey fastball deep into the bullpens in leftfield for a two run home run.  Bay’s shot was a no-doubter, and quite frankly, I was surprised that Lackey even gave Bay a fastball to swing at (Bay had struck out twice on the curveball and had looked absolutely terrible every time Lackey threw it).  It would be all Lester would need for the evening. 

Continue reading "Same as it Ever Was"

They cut it to 5-1 with a David Ortiz RBI single, and then 5-3 with a Jason Bay 2 run 2 out homerun. Jon Lester, luckily would settle down. He didn't allow a run over the next 5 innings, finishing with a decent line, 7 innings 5 earned, but he was on the hook for the loss as his offense couldn't get him anymore than those 3 runs.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/21 (2nd time's the ..."

However, the Red Sox would score Jason Bay from 3rd on an RBI fielders choice by The Captain Jason Varitek, giving the Sox the 4-3.

Jonathan Papelbon came into the 9th to save the game. Papelbon has been great this year once again, but he has hit a rough patch this month, blowing a save against Tampa and nearly blowing another 3 run lead against the Jays earlier this month. He looked shaky again and the tying run, Brad Wilkerson, got to within 90 feet of home at 3rd base, but Papelbon was able to shut the door by striking out rookie phenom Travis Snider and earning his 39th save. The strikeout was his 73rd in 65 innings this season.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/19"

As a matter of fact, Jason Bays' homer was hit so hard it disappeared inside one of the catwalks never to be seen again.

But that was Monday night. A great game not only because we won, but because the win tied us with the Rays for first place in the AL East. A place the Sox haven't seen since before the All Star break.

Continue reading "What a Difference a Day Makes"

After getting seven more in the fourth, including homeruns from Jason Bay, Kevin Youkilis, and Jason Varitek, they had a commanding 11-1 lead that they would not give back.

Even a poor performance out of the bullpen by Chris Smith, 4 earned in 2 innings, couldn't stop the Sox who had 6 total homeruns on the night, capped off by a solo shot by Jacoby Ellsbury in the 5th. Matsuzaka finished the night having given up only 3 hits and 1 earned in 5 strong innings, pushing his record to 17-2 and lowering his ERA to 2.93. He is making a strong case and while it will probably be the Indians' Cliff Lee who wins it, Matsuzaka is probably the strongest runner up, despite missing 3 or so weeks with injury and being among with the league leaders in walks.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/15"

The Sox just needed one more to tie it up.

That tying run came from a combo effort by Jason Bay's double off the monster and Jed Lowrie's RBI single up the middle in the eighth. But the Sox were still only tied. If they didn't want to go into extra innings, our boys in red had to make their stand now. And stand they did. With two outs, Ellsbury stepped into the batter's box and proceeded to foul off pitch after pitch. Finally he managed to get some wood on the ball, but only enough for it to dribble about 20 feet down the first base line. Somehow the ball stayed fair, allowing Ellsbury to reach first safely and Lowrie to score the Sox's sixth run. Ortiz added some insurance when he plated Dustin Pedroia with his 26th double of the season.

Continue reading "Sox Take the Series from the Jays"

is a list of major questions that remain, with my best guess at how they might be answered.

1) Is Jason Bay ready for the grand stage of playoff baseball?
This is a question that needs to be asked, even though Bay has been nothing short of the anti-Manny since arriving - positive, team-oriented, consistent. But given that his entire career was spent in the sleepy hamlet of Pittsburgh, there's still a great unknown there. Call it the Edgar Renteria test - he didn't even make it into the postseason before wilting under the heat created by the Boston media. But Bay appears headed down a different path - he seems genuinely energized by the chance to play meaningful baseball games. I mean, think about it - Pittsburgh is in the midst of its 16th consecutive losing season. That means in each year of Bay's career, every game played after the end of May has been essentially worthless. He doesn't seem to have forgotten that fact. As for his play on the field, he's done nothing to make us think he'll run and hide come playoff time. For those who like hard evidence, look no further than last week's series with the Rays - he homered in two of the three games, including a go-ahead dinger in the 8th inning on Tuesday that would have won the game were it not for Papelbon's hiccup. I don't think there's much to worry about here.

Continue reading "Q & A ... well, at least some Qs"

Aybar himself would have also scored on the play, on the misplay at 3rd, but Jason Bay, the left fielder, was backing him up. That proved to be a crucial play as the Rays did not score again in the inning. If Manny Ramirez had been playing left field, he'd be in the bathroom, not backing up 3rd. Bay might not be as good of a hitter as Manny, although it is close, but he plays harder, that's for sure.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/11"

In the 8th, 3-2 ballgame, Jason Bay, who has been as good as they could have imagined coming over from Pittsburgh, hits a 2 run homerun, his 29th on the season and 3rd in a week. The Red Sox are in good position heading into the 9th with the momentum, the lead, the homefield and the Jonathan Papelbon.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/9"

n early, scoring 3 in the first off of a David Ortiz RBI double, a Kevin Youkilis RBI single, and a Jason Bay RBI solo homerun out into the sellout crowd. That would literally be all Jon Lester needed. If you were a fan of many runs being scored, you should have just shut the TV off after the first. Lester didn't give up a run in 7 and 2/3 shutout innings. Jackson regrouped after that rough first and didn't give up a run throughout his next 6 innings of work, to finish with a 4.06 ERA. However, the damage had been done. Lester was relieved by Papelbon, who got the 4 out save, his 36th of the year and the Red Sox took game 1 3-0 and moved within a half game of the Rays, with a chance to overtake them tomorrow.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/8"

6th inning RBIs from Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, as well as a 7th inning solo shot from Jason Bay, his 27th, made it a 7-0 lead.

Paul Byrd didn't even need have of those runs as he neutralized a dangerous Rangers lineup over 6 and 2/3 shutout innings, giving up only 3 hits. In the end it was a 7-2 lead and another series win for the Sox. They are now 1.5 games behind the Rays, who have hit a bit of a rough patch, losing 5 of 6 to the Yanks and Jays.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/7"

br />3B - Jed Lowrie
DH - David Ortiz
2B - Dustin Pedroia
RF - Mark Kotsay
LF - Jason Bay
1B - Jeff Bailey
SS - Alex Cora
C - Kevin Cash

This is one of the most bizarre baseball seasons I can remember in my lifetime. The Red Sox have been hit with a rash of injuries, plucked dudes daily from the waiver wire and received key contributions from about 50 players who were in the minors within a year or so ago, and would still be in the playoffs if they began today. In fact, analyze that Friday lineup a little closer and you'll find: 1) Six of the nine players were not in the Red Sox opening day lineup, and four of them weren't on the opening day roster; 2) A second baseman who looks to be 5-3 and weigh 160 pounds is batting cleanup; 3) Three of the players were not on the team at the All-Star break and one of them wasn't on the team three days ago; 4) Four of the players saw significant time in the minors either this season or last season.

Continue reading "Law and Order"

of the first two games in Baltimore.  And after 3 and a half weeks as a member of the Red Sox, Jason Bay is making it obvious the trade of Manny was a smart move.  He had two homers i

Continue reading "Good News and Bad News"

So who was the hero last night?  Was it Jason Bay and his two homers?  Was it Jon Lester, who pitched through seven innings (giving up 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and striking out five)?  Or maybe it was David Ortiz who doubled twice, driving in a run while scoring two. 

Continue reading "Game 1 - Sox win"

rong innings and only giving up 1 run, a homerun to Aubrey Huff.

The Sox had some timely hits and Jason Bay easily had his best game thus far with the Sox, belting two homeruns in the 6-3 win. Even Varitek got into the act, belting his 9th homer of the season.

Continue reading "Lester, our ace"

e first game and the fact that Buchholz still can't seem to locate his fast ball.)

Yes, Jason Bay is doing so well in left, most of the Fenway Faithful can be heard whispering "Manny who?" Believe it or not, today marks the one-week anniversary of the new left fielder. And over the course of that week, Bay has made a serious statement. He's hitting .423 over the last six days and that includes two doubles, a triple, a homer and six RBI's, three of which came during the past series against Kansas City. While he only had two hits in last night's game, he came around to score on both of them.

Continue reading "Sox Take 2 out of 3 Thanks to Bay and Ellsbury"

nd then had a three-run 7th inning. 

The highlight of the 7th was a double by, again, Mr. Jason Bay.  But what made this double so interesting was that it was inches away from being a homerun.  If it weren’t for Mitch Maier’s leap, that ball would have more than likely sailed over the fence.  But Maier still couldn’t pull the ball in – it bounced off his glove and proceeded to roll along the top of the fence until left fielder Ross Gload jumped up and brought the ball down.  It ended up being an RBI double for Bay, who would later score (along with Lowell on third) on a triple by Jed Lowrie. 

Continue reading "Now THAT'S the road game we've been waiting for!"

the three-team trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox but Jason Bay has been a perfect fit for the defending world champions.

The reason why I was not happy with the trade was because I felt that the Dodgers could have given up a bit more and the Red Sox should have received a relief pitcher in return.  With the great coaching of the pitching staff in Boston, Scott Proctor would have been great to have.   

Continue reading "A New Bay Era"

eople (including myself) were initially turned off by the trade that basically equated to Manny for Jason Bay. As the ever-observant KC fans reminded us tonight, Jason Bay is not Manny Ramirez. But he's a very good hitter and he plays the game the right way. Manny Ramirez is 36 and is on the downside of a Hall of Fame career. Unless he starts taking Barry Bonds Rejuvenation Cream (TM), he's not going to get any better than he is right now. While he's still a dangerous hitter, he's not worth the headache he's inevitably going to provide teams in the offseason. On the other hand, Bay is 29, making considerably less money, and in a talent-laden lineup, has his best years ahead of him. The Sox can sign him for reasonable money and he will continue to produce for several years. Consider me a

Continue reading "Thoughts while watching the game..."

Over the three game series against the Oakland A's there were a lot of posters and signs welcoming Jason Bay to Fenway.  But my favorite had to be "The Manny Show Cancelled for Baywat

Continue reading "Bay Helps the Sox Sweep"

es to enhance the team.

I personally wished the Red Sox made a bigger move than trading Manny for Jason Bay but that did not happen. Don't get me wrong I like Jason Bay and I think he is a good solid player that has already fit in pretty well, but the Sox need a bullpen for god sakes. You can't have your starters pitch 8 innings then bring in Papelbon. They need some set up guys and some serious relief. It doesn't appear as if that's gonna happen this year.

Continue reading "Enough About Manny !"

The simple fact that Jason Bay’s numbers were more than comparable to Manny’s – while languishing in Pittsburgh’s stagnant lineup   – is illustration enough that Ramirez was no longer worth both $20 million and the day-to-day headaches he created.

Continue reading "The Break Up"

x  also traded prospects Chris Hansen, and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh for the Pirates outfield Jason Bay. The question is does this trade make the Red Sox a better team?  No one doubts that

Continue reading "In the End it was Too Much Manny being Manny"

parated us from the heart-less Yankees; all this came as the result of exchanging Manny Ramirez for Jason Bay. 

The Sox are no longer a collection of talented ballplayers held hostage u

Continue reading "Manny Trade Restores Team Concept"

Last week I droned on about the mind-numbing dullness of baseball’s mid-season. This week I’m eating my words.

Lets break down the two biggest deals:

Teixeira to the Halos: Braves trade Teixeira, who will become a free agent after this season, for Casey Kotchman (he of the .280 batting average, 12 dingers and 55 RBI). How did the Braves get fleeced here? They get a legitimate, starting first baseman who is excited about playing in Atlanta and who should hang round for a while. In return, they surrender a three-month rental player. Immediate advantage: Halos. Long-term advantage: Braves.

Continue reading "Trade Notes"

Live from Fenway Park: Jason Bay received a prolonged standing ovation during his first at bat at Fenway. He acknowledged the cheers before walking on five pitches. He scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly. Welcome to Boston

Continue reading "Proud of Red Sox Nation"

. .Jason Bay. Jay Bay, like a third grade rhyme, hitting about the same as Manny in a seven year younger package. Not sure who pulled the trigger on this deal. Theo, one presumes, and there’s hope in that regard. Stupid, he ain’t, and it may actually prove to be the reverse of the Oz situation. He may have opted to go with a witch (Bay) that he did know, to replace a witch (Manny) who was going to be a big question mark as he aged and got crankier about money.

Continue reading "Ding Dong, the (Boston Red Sox) Witch is Dead"

they really are Red Sox lite.  And who did we get?  The Pittsburgh Pirates' left fielder, Jason Bay.Now you may ask how in the world did we get a guy from Pittsburgh when Manny went to Los Angeles?  Well turns out the trade was with three teams.  Manny may now be wearing Dodger blue, but Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss will both be wearing Pittsburgh yellow.  See Pittsburgh's currently in last place in the NL Central, so they were happy to give up one of their star players if it meant getting some younger, fresh blood in their ranks.  And while they're getting a good deal in Moss, Hansen's performance of late, doesn't bode well for the National League team.  Then again, who knows.  Seems in recent years whenever the Sox trade a player in a slump, they somehow straighten up and fly right when they land in their new home.  But the Pirates didn't stop with Hansen and Moss.  They also got two players from the Dodgers - third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris.Anyway, back to Manny... I guess when you look back over the past week, it was probably a good thing Manny was traded.  Some of his comments were really quite surprising.  Over the weekend he said he'd be happy to accept a trade if that's what the Sox wanted.  Then yesterday he told ESPN "The Red Sox don't deserve a player like me."  When I heard that, I was shocked.  The Sox don't deserve you?  With all the antics you pull, you doesn't deserve the Red Sox.  Manny being Manny is always cute -until it's not.  And it quit being cute a few weeks ago.  From disappearing into the green monster to make a call, to throwing a 60 year-old member of their team to the ground because he couldn't get Manny tickets, to bobbling a ball in the outfield and holding onto it while the opposing team member races to third.  These are things that MVP's don't do.  Sure, Manny has gotten 20 home runs every season for the past 14, but that alone is not a reason to keep a player.  And with the left fielder's need to sit games out, always right around late August, early September, it's time to get some fresh blood in the outfield.  Someone who's younger and takes the sport a little more seriously.  I know nothing about

Continue reading "Angels Sweep Silenced by Manny Trade"

ast time this was any good?  This team does have some nice pieces, kind of like the Reds, with Jason Bay, Tom Gorzelanny, Freddy Sanchez and Ian Snell.  This team has a great core of young kids to build around and they seem to be trying to do that.  At least the Pirates seem to have an idea of what their direction is.  This is not the Pirates year and who knows when it will be their time again but they are getting there.  Pirates’ fans, your team has a plan, remember that while you struggle along for at least one more summer.

Continue reading "Part II: NL Central"