» jason bay

I would first like to say thank you to Jeff for giving me the opportunity to post here on MajorLeagueBlogging.com. I’m excited to be a part of the MLB family. With that said it is time to get to business!

I’m going to keep this post brief because want to set up my weekly fantasy add/drop session on Tuesdays and my major league round up on Fridays. But these are just a few of the ideas I have. There will be plenty to follow trust me.

When anyone offers you a trade in Fantasy Baseball what do you think about? Do you think about every stat involved with making that trade? Do you get emotional because your mancrush is involved in the trade talks? Or do you evaluate the trade on who’s getting the best player?

There are a lot of different takes on this. I can tell you though never, I mean never trade on emotion. The best man in my wedding decided it was a good idea on draft day of a keeper league to offer up Hanley Ramirez. I know the first thing I thought too was is this guy nuts? But it gets much worse. He took a trade that only netted him Jason Bay, Jon Lester, and Carlos Marmol. I tried to counter this insane offer with David Wright and any pitcher on my roster (I had hamels, billingsley, Zambrano, and Broxton drafted at this point – oh and I had A-Rod on the bench so no worries there). He turned me down, why? Because he “Really wanted Lester.” His team is also in last place at this point.

I’m not bitter anymore, but this is definitely the way to set your team back in a keeper league. The best advice I can say about trades is something a wise man once told me, “Whoever gets the best player in the trade, usually gets the best deal.”

Brad Penny made his debut in a Red Sox uniform—the “retro roadies” as they’ve been coined—and snapped a three game losing streak. He gave up three runs on five hits through six innings and Jonathon Papelbon, despite a shaky 9th, picked up the save for a 5-4 win.

The Angels took a 2-0 lead into the 5thbefore Mike Lowell tied the game up with his first home run of the year, a 2-run shot. Mike Napoli would hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of that inning to put the Angels back in front. Penny would depart after the 6th down 3-2.

In the 7th Jason Bay would belt a 2-run homer to put the Red Sox in front and put Penny in line for the win. He would add a solo shot in the 9th to give the Sox a 2-run lead. Torii Hunter’s leadoff home run put the Angels within a run in the 9ththen the Angels would load the bases with two outs before Howard Kendrick’s ten pitch at-bat ended with a line out to Rocco Baldelli in right to end the game.

As missjen said on Sunday, Jason Bay’s contract is expiring after this season. However, this doesn’t mean he won’t get an extension later in the year, though it doesn’t mean he isn’t on the market.

The Red Sox won’t be quick to make a trade since they gave up so much for him, and they are going to have a high price tag on him. Bay is only 30 and he looks even younger than that compared to the bum we had before last year’s deadline. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Manny but Bay’s work ethic looks like a young rookie trying to make a good impression compared to his.

Jen said the Indians would be fortunate to have him, and indeed they would be, Bay would be worth more than a few hotshot prospects from the Indians organization. Bay is in the prime of his career and isn’t much of a star since he was overlooked in Pittsburgh. As a result, he could be signed for much cheaper than he is worth, a tactic the Red Sox can use to their advantage.

If the Indians are serious about getting Bay at the deadline, the Red Sox would most likely be asking for Victor Martinez to fill their need at catcher as well as some prospects. This is a high price that the Tribe may not want to pay, but they might also make the Rangers a possible third team in a deal.

Texas has two players that the Sox are interested in: Jarrod Saltalamaccia and Taylor Teagarden. For a deal like this to work the Indians and Red Sox would both have to give prospects to the Rangers, and the Red Sox would preferably like to re-acquire David Murphy from Texas to fill the void in left field that they could never have imagined they might have when they traded him for Eric Gagne.

I know this trade seems far-fetched and it probably is, but I think it would be the only way the Sox could get exactly what they need out of Bay.

As announced today, Jason Bay and the Boston Red Sox were unable to come to terms on a deal.  At the end of the season Bay will become a free agent. So what does this mean?

Last season, there were rumors swirling around that the Indians were in talks with the Pittsburgh Pirates on a deal that would include sending Jason Bay to the Indians. That deal never took place and near the end of the trade deadline, Bay was dealt to the Bo Sox in a 3 team trade. Is there a possibility that the Indians could be in the talk with Boston during the 2009 season in setting up a trade with Jason Bay? Do the Indians have the talent they are willing to part with for Bay?

When trying to figure out if this would be a good move for the Indians, I personally would have to say YES! There is no doubt in my mind that Bay would make a great addition in our outfield. Not only is he a good left fielder and can hit for power, he is also best friends with Grady Sizemore and that type of chemistry will not come around every year. So who would the Indians give up for Bay? The Indians are actually in a good position to trade for Bay. Shin Shoo Choo will be gone after this season due to military duties in his home country, Korea. That will leave an opening in the outfield. The Indians do have options in the minors to fill that hole. However, these same guys could be some of the talent the Indians could trade to get the power hitter the Indians are looking for.

In other news…..

The Indians added another tick to the loss column today. Scott Lewis was impressive today by giving up 1 run in 4 innings. Kelly Shoppach hit a solo homerun and Wood was near perfect by only allowing 1 hit in the 5th.

Everyone knows the story of  how Boston’s left field took a drastic change in 2008. So instead, let’s just break down how the position is looking for 2009.

Jason Bay will be playing for a contract extension in 2009.

Jason Bay is one of the headliners of Canada’s World Baseball Classic roster, but in Boston’s powerful lineup he is just seen as another cog. But no matter how you look at him, he will contribute.

Bay proved he could contribute in the pressure of Boston and the pressure of Boston in the postseason. Him and the rest of the returning 2008 team (or to better put it, every major player) are using the disappointing Game 7 loss to Tampa as motivation for 2009.

Rocco Baldelli and Jacoby Ellsbury will most likely split time in left when Bay needs a rest, and Mark Kotsay may even see a little time there if the Sox need him late in a game.

While he is no Manny, what Bay brings to the Sox is far more valuable than what Manny brings. Bay is a good fielder, a great baserunner despite not having blazing speed, and he comes without the baggage of Manny.