Bay meets the media

Someone cue the "Baywatch!" headline for tomorrow's paper.

Yawn... The Sox just sent the last interesting character out of town. Now we've got a version of the Yankees: dry, clean-cut, boring, drones...put them to work and play the game. Again, yawn... No more spark, no more character, no more drama (which is, apparantly, the reason for the move). Good luck selling more pink hats.

He seems like a good guy and I want to wish him the best of luck.

Jason Bay had better do very well this year, because the Sox could easily have put Manny on the 60 day DL with his knee injury and told him to go home, and they would still have Moss, Hansen, and 2 first round draft picks. If Bay doesn't produce down the stretch and help the team to the postseason this move is a collosal bust.

We would still have Hansen who has not performed well at this level and Moss who is would never be a starter here? I don't see that as that great of a loss. As for two draft picks...this is baseball how long does it take for a draft pick to get out of the minor...if they ever do.

The Sox should now have their minds on the game. If Bay so the slightest bit of improvement in the out field and his batting numbers stay the same, he will be an improvement over Manny. Come on 6 sec to get to 1st base!!!!!

They did what they had to do. Manny was a distraction and Theo and the crew felt they needed something. I applaud the move. Give Bay a standing ovation tonight.

That makes no sense so you're saying that placing him on the 60 day dl and essentially giving up this year is a good idea? Sure Hansen and Moss are tough losses but inconsequential when you look at a team that still has the ability to contend and didn't drastically hurt our farm. Contending would not be an option with out Manny or at the very least a capable Bay, period. Furthermore, Bay provides at least a solid player in left for the next year and a half. Better and younger mind you than what would have been available via free agency this winter, at a lower cost.

The last time we traded a Boston icon and got back a less popular, yet argueably better all around player, he also took number 44. We all remember what happened after that.

Be that as it may, clearly the brass analyzed all possible scenarios and found the trade to be best. Can't say I disagree. Today will hopefully be a fresh start of the rest of the season for the Sox.

@internet_king, that is a typical pre-2004 reactionary Sox fan response. Manny unfortunately had to go. I don't take as fact that the "Soc could easily have put Manny on the 60 day DL." If that were true, they would have done so. And while they are different players, this chicken little mentality pervaded when Nomar was traded.

i hope it is a collosal bust thats what happens when you dont treat ur higher calibre hitters well. Bay hits well (22 HRs right?) but i dont think he'll have the impact as Manny.

F boston!

That would be called giving in to Manny blackmail. There was no knee injuries. What would that do for team chemistry, letting Manny go sit under the mango tree with Pedro while the rest of the team tries their best to win a pennant. Sometimes you need to act compilsion against those devoid of character.

internet_king: Moss was probably never going to be a starter for Boston, and Hansen has shown no sign of being able to perform for the big club. What Manny was doing to this team off the field was completely negating anything he was doing on it for the last 2 months. He had to go. That being said, the fact that they got a very very solid player that they control for next year makes this a good move. Having Bay through next season (and perhaps longer) versus having Moss and Hansen and a draft pick or two is a no brainer - a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. You're putting too much pressure on Bay.

sorry internet_king.

The Sox could also have let Manny go after this season, got the draft picks, then been forced to trade Moss, Hansen, Lowrie, Masterson and Bowden to get a guy like Bay.

As it stands now, they can let Bay go after 2009 if they want. And guess what... he'll probably be a type-A just like Manny (same draft picks).

Considering the situation, the Red Sox did very well getting someone the caliber of Jason Bay. Even if he stinks, the Red Sox were dead men walking had they kept Manny, so I personally don't care if Jason Bay stinks. If he does then someone else will be playing left field next year. Had the Red Sox not traded Manny I would have suspended him with pay for the rest of the season and told him to stay away from the clubhouse. Sort of like what Tampa Bay Bucs did to Keyshawn Johnson a few years back.

"Jason Bay had better do very well this year, because the Sox could easily have put Manny on the 60 day DL with his knee injury and told him to go home, and they would still have Moss, Hansen, and 2 first round draft picks. If Bay doesn't produce down the stretch and help the team to the postseason this move is a collosal bust."

what are you talking about!? Your post is useless, unless your just a ny troll.

Manny was in shutdown mode and was going to walk at the end of the season. So essentially we got Bay for Moss, Hansen, and 2 draft picks. Not bad, I say.

Good riddance Manny. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Lets all be glad that at least we got to see 2 world series championships.
Thank God football season is just around the corner.

Thank you. Manny. I feel 20M shows some respect. Never a "Dirtdog".

yeah the sox gave up a whole lot to get jason...but not to put any pressure on him, he will be fine. just cannot understand how the front office let manny go. i mean a shred of respect, in regards to picking up his option would have turned this whole deal into a non matter. at any rate they saved their 20 million, and gave away a bunch of players, but that shouldn't affect jason, i certainly hope he does well, and the same with the sox.

What a stupid comment. manny was just mailing it in,we were lucky to get anything substantial.

This is the best trade they could make. Putting Manny on the 60 day DL and telling him to go home makes no sense whatsoever. They basically traded Hansen and Moss for Bay. Damn good trade in my book. Not getting 2 first round picks, big deal. Hansen was a first rounder along with David Murphy. Both are gone. Im a big Manny fan but Im a Red Sox fan first. Jason Bay is a good ballplayer. The key word is "ballplayer".

they would've only gotten 2 1st round picks if they offered manny arbitration and he declined...that would've been risky if he didn't get any other offers. the deal will be good for the overall health of the team for the rest of the year. also, bay is signed through next year which solves another problem we had.

that's a ridiculous post.

I do not see it this way. First off, Hansen had done nothing to impress me since coming up from the minors. I do not see how getting rid of him is any kind of real big loss for the Sox. Moss was a young player with talent, sure, but with Ellsbury and Drew and now Bay, was he going to play? This trade had to be made, sadly, because both sides had just become sick of each other.

Hmm... Moss is the 5th outfielder on the big club, in an organization saturated with outfielders and Hansen is a certified arsonist coming out of the pen. Both are easily replaceable. And the compensation picks are tough to quantify in absolute terms, because they depend on who signs Manny. They definitely aren't worth the cost of holding on to a clearly disruptive player, who lost the support of his teammates. Which would in turn mean the end of being competitive this season. Sox have the best run differential in the AL, and should not be punting this year.

Manny was leaving anyway after this year and Bay is signed through year. And while all of the talking heads on TV continue to rattle about career numbers, nobody seems to be checking the fact that Bay has put up very similar offensive numbers to Ramirez this season, while playing home games in a park much less condusive to hitting. And is head and shoulders above Ramirez in the field and on the base paths.

Nobody disputes that Manny has been awesome in the past, but the writing was on the wall.. this had to happen and is a decent trade under the circumstances.

Jason Bay is going to be fine. Theo had to move Manny for the good of the Team. I wonder if Torre will make Manny shed those god-awful 'locks?

whatever. manny had it comming.

Sure, "many being many" was cute, seeing as he did have that World Series MVP trophy, but the act got old. Theo did the right thing, but as Gammons said " its' sad the red sox had to give up draft picks and young talent just to be able to trade one of the greatests hitters of all time."

hopefully the sox can bounce back like Lester, after getting rid of the cancer.

I love hearing that Manny changed his mind about leaving after the deal was done. Typical Manny, just trying to keep things stirred up and get his way over and over. Too bad it didn't work. I absolutely LOVED the reaction Jason Bay got from the Fenway crowd last night. It shows how much the fans were fed up with Manny's attitude. I never wanted him to leave until the last few days and now I realize it was the best thing for the Sox. Maybe now they can move forward with a clubhouse full of guys who'll work their butts off for another championship. If they come up a few wins short, I'll blame Manny more than anyone. We'll never know how many games they lost because he didn't want to play or made little effort when he did.

Well now even with the "New" team "new " Atmosphere. I think Jason Bay will do just fine, Quie a show! Welcome to Boston Jason Bay welcome.

When you are being paid 20 mil a year to trot down to first instead of running out a hit, you gotta go. Only alternative might have been psychological help for Manny.

After 2 titles in 4 years, some of you still don't have faith in Theo and the front office to make (although not always easy to take) SMART baeball moves that work to benefit the WHOLE club? Let's face it, losing Hanley Ramirez stunk, anyone who followed our minor league system knew that that guy was going to be as amazing as he has been, but we got Beckett (a true ace) and Lowell (who became the world series MVP, nothing wrong there!) And all the Nomah mopers... we got Mientkewicz (who made the last out in '04) and snagged Orlando Cabrera, a major contributor to that World Championship. We all know how 'Roid Rocket has turned out...

I'm saying, Have Some Faith. The sabremetric numbers for Bay and Ramirez are remarkably similar. Bay strikes out more than Ramirez, and doesn't hit for quite as high an average, but he's a MUCH better fielder, and can actually shake things up on the base-paths (he stole 20 3 years ago, the year he batted .331 with 30+ homers). Obviously Bay is not Manny, BUT Bay is 29 and Manny is 36! Manny's numbers are GOING to decline, he's not Super-Manny, and i don't think he's competitive enough to try and cheat with drugs (although he might pick that up in the Yankees clubhouse if he does end up in DoucheStripes). Bay's got at least 3 or 4 years of big production in him. His major weakness is off-speed pitches from lefties... but he literally JUST hit a 3 run blast in his 4th at-bat as a Sox.

Get on board, fella's. It's officially "Manny Who?" time!

Post #29 says it all. Well said, sir. Well said.