With that dealt with I want to come clean and express my 'hatred' for Jason Bay. Now on the surface you would think a canadian baseball fan would latch on to fellow countryman playing for their favorite team like swamp leeches on a certain Zissou. I haven't. I do hope that I can be turned but as of now that isn't happening. He is a talented player with tremendous skills but there is just something that he doesn't have and it's the one thing I'm missing as a Red Sox fan: personality.
There is no one more vanilla on the Boston Red Sox than Jason Bay. For chrissakes, he makes Tim Wakefield look like the joker. Before you jump down my throat, there is nothing wrong about being vanilla, one of my favorite players is Mr. Vanilla Bean himself, Tim Wakefield. The difference between these too is that Wakefield earned his spot on my Favorite Athlete Pantheon for his uniqueness and dedication to the franchise. He is a dirt dog and deserves nothing less than the respect of a 'nation'. Jason Bay does not have these qualities but if I do find myself needing to fill a Close Encounters position Bay will leap onto the pantheon. No position has yet been needed. The vacant spot that he cannot fill is Mr. Personality.
This spot for a long time was filled by Manny Ramirez. I know what you're going to say: Manny is a jerk, an asshole, selfish, lazy. Yes, Yes, I'd use misunderstood, and when he wants to be. Look you can say what you will about him but his tenure in Boston was similar to discovering a really cool band before any of your friends. I just attached to him. I fed off his antics because I knew that:
A) This is what we were getting when we signed him to an 8 year, $160 millions contract.
B) Whatever he did you could pencil in .300/30/120/.400OBP/.600SLG.
C) Overall, he would help us win more games then he cost us.
I understand that the pot had boiled over an it was time for him to go but it is hard to argue against the point above. However in his time here did he not entertain us more positively then negatively? And was he not the MVP in the most important championship in New England sports history? Begrudge him all you want but he was a key component in changing the attitude of Boston sports fans forever. Plus he's the only one that made us laugh that much. But the his absence does not solely create a distaste for Bay. In fact Bay has almost nothing to do with my disdain. The Front Office does however.
Yes a move was a necessity, but the desperation was not. Manny Ramirez, with the assurance from his agent, Satan, would play hard as long as the option years were not picked up. Thus we are looking at the classic rent-a-player. If we look at two more trades you will see that the team giving up the player rarely have to give up additional pieces.
C.C. Sabathia- the Indians received four young pieces including an extremely promising outfielder Matt LaPorta
Mark Teixeria- the Braves received proven starting first baseman Casey Kotchman and a minor league pitcher
Neither of these tems gave up additional pieces to travel with their star attraction to their new home and one could make the argument that neither was as productive as Manny was with the Dodgers. So why did the Red Sox have to give up not only Ramirez but also Hansen and Moss, both of whom could play large roles on Major League Teams? There are two reasons: risk of a Manny melt down (assured would not happen), desperation out of the Front Office. I would put more money on the latter.
Bay is a nice player, as I mentioned above, but if you look at the trade and the return it doesn't quite make sense. The Sox traded their cleanup hitter and two prospects for a guy that they weren't confident to put any higher than fifth in the lineup. That scares me. That's an awful lot for an athlete who the manager isn't treating like an impact player. The Red Sox could have received similar return without the prospects I'm sure; or they could have let it ride out and as they usually do, things will turn around and we would have been more apt to compete for a championship.
Look. I don't HATE Bay. He just took away one of my beloved athletesand that is hard to deal with. Not only has he created a void but its a void he cannot fill. He's a nice player and I want him to change my mind but as of now he will take the brunt of my anger because he is the replacement.
With this said I do not think he is the answer for this team (unless Texeira signs). From a team standpoint I think we should pursue a trade for him and I have one great idea. Dangle him to Toronto for Alex Rios. Most likely a prospect would have to be included on the Red Sox side but how does this not make sense. A Canadian star going to be the spotlight on the only Canadian team. This would bring in money and fans to a struggling Blue Jays franchise. This prospects would allow us to get a player like Rios (higher upside then Bay) for a discounted price. Since, however, this is the most logical trade in a long time we are destined to never see it mentioned or even discussed.
So these are the reasons for my feeling towards Jason Bay. It's not his fault and he can change my mind. He will never fill the open space for Boston's Mr. Personality but he can turn my hatred towards someone else.
On another note. I do hope Manny makes his money and I will always like him. However, if he signs with the Yankees that adoration may see a hiatus like the one seen on this blog...
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