Meet our new stud left fielder, Jason Bay. (via d.yimg.com)
Let me start by saying that there is no possible way that I can write this now and cover everything that has been thought about or discussed in the last two hours. That's not possible, so I'm just going to cover what hits me at the moment. So, you know, more will definitely be coming later with more stuff pops into my head or anyone else's over the course of the day/week/month/season/history.
There is no rhyme or reason to this. Hence the bullets:
- I don't think the Red Sox got "fleeced" or any other term that could be substituted. Yes, it would have been nice to keep Brandon Moss or Craig Hansen or not have covered Manny Ramirez's remaining salary, but it just wasn't going to work like that. The Pirates knew what they wanted and the Red Sox knew they wanted to get rid of Manny. This is what it boiled down to and it's either pull this trade or keep a pissed-off Manny for the rest of the season.
- Keep Manny you say and get the draft picks? OK. That might be doable. But then you are essentially writing off this season. And even though the last couple of weeks have been some of the worst baseball the Red Sox have played in recent memory, we still have a shot. Draft picks are always nice but then we're risking more deterioration to this club via Manny's ways.
- I love Manny. He's a great hitter. But at this point, the Red Sox had to end their relationship with him. It has cost him them far too much to just put up with the guy. I wish him the best of luck in Los Angeles.
- Where was Moss going in the Red Sox organization? Life as a fifth outfielder? He's an AAAA guy and a fourth outfielder at best. Players like Moss come and go and I'm sure we can even find someone better (should we bring Bobby Kielty back? I wouldn't say no).
- The Hansen era is over. He had so much potential and we've all been waiting for him to show us it. It all goes back to when he was first called up, though. It was way too early. It really hurt him mentally. He had a good, high 90s fastball and a very good high 80s/low 90s slider that was just sick. But, the good thing about all this, is that we have Daniel Bard waiting in the wings who may have even better stuff.
- We bit the bullet on $7M. That's chump change in baseball nowadays.
- I think all the fans in Red Sox Nation are really going to like Jason Bay. Yeah, he's no Manny (everyone will say that), but he's a damn good baseball player. And he's got the right attitude, which is one of the best parts of this deal. We're never going to hear, "Jason being Jason" and that's a good thing. Jason, like JD Drew or Bill Mueller is a professional that goes about his job the way he's supposed to. No antics (although I wouldn't be opposed to a high-five double play once in awhile).
- Just think of the lineup Bay is going to be in versus what he left in Pittsburgh. It's a little different with David Ortiz batting in front (or behind) you and guys like Drew, Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia filling in the holes. He's going to be surrounded by talent, which should only help him. When in the 'Burgh he was the guy pitchers need to worry about. Now he's going to be 2nd or 3rd on the radar.
- Speaking of lineup, what are we looking at? I'm thinking the lineup should look something like this:
- Look at this outfield now: Bay in LF, Jacoby Ellsbury in CF and Drew in RF. That is sexy, folks. Bay isn't a gold glove left fielder, but he's probably right up there with Drew's talents, and we've seen how good Drew is in Fenway's right field. The only real weakness defensively I see in this team now is Julio Lugo at shortstop. And let's face it, he's better than Derek Jeter.
- At least we didn't give up Michael Bowden or Justin Masterson, right? I was worried the Marlins would really want to fleece us and try to take one of those guys. We lose Hansen and Moss, but we were able to get through a trade deadline without losing any real prospects in this whole deal.
- One last thought for now: Please Mr. Bay, make Theo look like a genius...
Pedroia, 2BSince Drew was so good in the No. 3 spot, let's just put him back there and slide Ortiz down. I just hope Ortiz wants to move because without Manny it seems like he'd fit best at the fourth spot. Let Drew or Bay get on in front of him and do some damage then.
Youkilis, 1B
Drew, RF
Ortiz, DH
Bay, LF
Lowell, 3B
Varitek, C
Cora/Lowrie/Whatever, SS
Ellsbury, CF