Bay continues to carve out his own niche
CLEVELAND - The Dodgers have designated an area at Dodger Stadium "Mannywood" in honor of Manny Ramírez. They are selling seats in the left-field corner for $99 a pair, and they come with "Mannywood" T-shirts. Ramírez, of course, wears No. 99.
The man he was traded for last July 31, Jason Bay, should be campaigning for a "Bay Watch" area and T-shirt at Fenway Park. He is living large in his No. 44 Red Sox uniform, smoking a 99-mile-per-hour Kerry Wood fastball 408 feet to left-center in the ninth inning to break a scoreless tie and give the Sox a 3-1 win over the Indians at Progressive Field.
As the Maniacal One, Chuck Waseleski points out, Bay is now 10 for 20 (.500) with 4 homers and 10 RBIs from the seventh inning on this season. Now that's clutch. Bay, who went 3 for 4 last night, is 9 for his last 14 (.643) with two doubles, two homers, and eight RBIs.
In comparison, Ramírez is off to a good start in Los Angeles, hitting .328 with 4 homers and 13 RBIs. Bay has 5 homers and 19 RBIs for the season and is hitting .344 with a .506 on-base percentage to Ramírez's .463.
Bay is the anti-Ramírez. While Ramírez gets all of the attention, Bay seems to get very little.
"That's the way I prefer it," said Bay. "I just want to be a complementary part of this team. I want to do my part to help us win, but really it's what suits me and my personality. I don't mind doing well and getting attention for it, but I prefer things quiet."
Bay would prefer to sign a long-term contract with the Red Sox, but talks broke down in spring training when the sides realized there was no defined market for someone like him in this new baseball economy. While J.D. Drew hauls in $70 million over a five-year period, Bay, who has had more than 30 homers and 100 RBIs in three of the last four seasons, is unlikely to get that type of contract in Boston.
"I haven't even given the contract a second thought," said Bay. "I wondered coming into this year whether or not it would affect me one way or the other, but it really hasn't.
"I've come to realize not all of that is in my control. Certainly I control my performance and what I do on the field, but whether I get a contract or not, I can only go out and do my job every day. I'm not playing for a contract. I'm playing to win."
Bay acknowledges that flying under the radar has its good points and bad points, but he thinks the good far outweighs the bad. He likes to contribute, and he likes to live a quiet life off the field.
When told about "Mannywood," he just nodded. All the things that have come Manny's way - a $25 million contract this season and an option for $20 million for next - don't seem to bother Bay. He feels he'll get his at some point, and after all, he is earning more than $7 million this season, the final year of a three-year, $21 million deal. That's nothing to sneeze at.
Bay, who leads the majors with 20 walks, came into the ninth-inning at-bat 2 for 12 against Wood with one homer and six strikeouts. You know what's coming - usually it's a fastball that approaches 100 m.p.h. In this case, it was a 99-m.p.h. fastball that moved across the fat part of the plate. Bay was all over it.
"You can only hope when you face Kerry Wood that you can get a mistake to hit and put a good swing on it, and that's what I was able to do," said Bay. "He's a tough pitcher with great stuff. You don't get those opportunities too often against him."
Bay's consistency is what's so striking about his game.
"I guess it's kind of boring, but consistency is what I take the most pride in," he said. "That's what I want to be known for, to go out there every game and consistently try to get the job done. Try to avoid too many low points and just keep going and being productive."
Against Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, Bay stroked singles in the fourth and seventh innings, but neither led to anything. Bay wasn't fooled by Lee's finesse offerings, and when Wood came on, he realized he would see a lot of hard fastballs.
Bay is content to fly under the radar while his counterpart in LA lets the accolades and promotions come his way. The Dodgers are even planning to give out a limited edition "Cinco de Mayo" shirt that will read, "Yo estuve en Mannywood (I was in Mannywood)."
On Cinco de Mayo, Bay just wants to be in the lineup against the Yankees, perhaps belting a late-inning homer against Mariano Rivera.
No promos. No T-shirts. No special seating.
Just a quiet Bay Watch.
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. 
