BAY WATCH

Jason Bay led the Red Sox with 119 RBI in '09. He only hit .267, but had an impressive .384 OBP, along with a .537 SLG. Only Kevin Youkilis had a higher OPS on the team. His 36 homers were the most on the Sox.

He hit .392 against the Yankees.

I honestly don't know why the Sox haven't locked this guy up. He's been a 100 RBI guy in 4 of the last 5 seasons. He's an OBP kind of guy, works counts, makes pitchers work, and he knocks in runs. He doesn't have Manny Ramirez's kind of power, but he's not looking for Manny Ramirez money. He's 31 years old, and hasn't missed significant games since '04. He's an ideal #5 hitter.

He's worth 5 years at $75 million, and perhaps a little more. JD Drew makes about that much, and Bay doesn't have the same injury history as Drew did when the Sox acquired him.

Plus there's no alternative out there. Bobby Abreu was snatched up by the Angels. Then there's Matt Holliday...



Holliday's been a great NL player, struggled a bit in his short-time in the AL, but he does have great numbers. In fact, they're slightly better numbers than Jason Bay's. But not much better. And how much more money will those BA, OBP, and OPS points cost?

Holliday is pretty much the only replacement available. But we know what Jason Bay will do in Boston and in the AL East. We don't know what Holliday will give us. I just don't think that slim upgrade is worth the risk, or the additional cost.

SOX MAKE OBVIOUS MOVES

The Red Sox made some blatantly telegraphed maneuvering Monday afternoon. They picked up Victor Martinez's option, worth $7 million. Martinez hit .303, splitting his season between Cleveland and Boston. He had 108 RBI and 23 HR. $7 million is a bargain basement price for a guy like him.

The Sox also signed Tim Wakefield to a 2 year, $5 million deal. Wakefield will get $3.5M next season, and $1.5 in 2011. There are also incentives. The Sox did have a perpetual $4 million option on him, but this might be a cheaper way to go. Frankly, I don't think Wakefield can be a starter anymore, not for a full season. He had back problems last year, and I'd like to see him shutdown until mid-summer of 2010, or converted into a mid-reliever.

The Sox also declined the $5 million club option on Jason Varitek. However, Varitek has a $3 million option of his own. It's anticipated that he'll exercise that option, and will unfortunately be a part of the team in 2010.

Sources:
WBZ
ESPN

DAVID KREJCI 1, SWINE FLU 0

David Krejci has been unquarantined and returned to practice today. He centered a line with Blake Wheeler and Vladimir Sobotka. This is fantastic news, as the Bruins are in the midst of a key stretch of games, and need every able body on the ice. Byron Bitz returned on Saturday and rejuvenated the B's, hopefully Krejci can do the same.

The Bruins followed CDC guidelines on this issue, and it seems to have worked. So far none of Krejci's teammates have contracted H1N1.

B's host the Penguins Tuesday night.



Source:
NESN

A-GON'S OPTION DECLINED

Alex Gonzalez's $6 million club option was declined by the Boston Red Sox, but the team will probably try to still keep the defensively inclined short-stop.

I really hope the Sox do hang on to Alex Gonzalez. His .284 average in 44 games with the Sox was an aberration, but so long as he can hit above the Varitek Line (.210) and perform well in the field (only 7 errors at SS last year, and a fielding percentage of .984), he'd be the best short-stop the Sox have had since Orlando Cabrera.

Sources:
Boston.com
Baseball-Reference.com

FILET O SEA MAMMAL

It wasn't perfect. It wasn't even that pretty, especially compared to their last two victories, but a division win is a division win. It's nice to be 2 full games up on the Jets, and 3 up on Miami. It's nice that when these teams play again in a few weeks, the Dolphins might already be out of the race. And it's nice when Jerry Porter finishes a game with 0 tackles.

What isn't nice is the Patriots' red zone offense. The big play offense is back, as demonstrated by Randy Moss' 71 yard touchdown reception. But the Pats' are 24th in red zone scoring efficiency at 46.7%. They were 50.8% last year with Matt Cassel at QB. It's great if you have Gostkowski on your fantasy team, not if you're a Pats fan.

3 more sub-40 yard field goals today. The Pats could have easily gone into half-time up 24-10. Instead it was only 16-10. This can't happen against the elite teams of the NFL. And the Pats' defense is solid, but it isn't a stand-alone unit that can win games by itself. It needs an offense that scored touchdowns.

But it was nice to see Adalius Thomas and Laurence Maroney have good games.

Monster game next Sunday night in Indy against the 8-0 Colts.



Sources:
ESPN.com
TeamRankings.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo

SOX MAKE MINOR MOVE FOR OUTFIELDER

The Sox traded for Jeremy Hermida yesterday, sending minor league pitchers Jose Alvarez and Hunter Jones to the Marlins for him. Hermida is 25 years old. In 129 games with Florida, he hit .259 with a .348 OBP, 13 HR, and 47 RBI. He's a 4th outfielder with upside that's never been realized.

Source:
WBZ

BRUINS SIGN RASK

The B's secured the services of Tuuka Rask for at least two more years, signing him to an extension that will keep him in black and gold until 2013. The deal is worth $2.5 million total ($1M next season, $1.5M the second season).

Rask is only 22 years old and will likely be Tim Thomas' backup for the duration of the contract. That being said, he'll be 25 when the contract expires, and could be poised to be Thomas' heir apparent.

Source:
Boston Herald

ANOTHER LOSS, BUT WITH A SILVER LINING

It's hard to be happy after losing 3 straight. I guess I feel like Barack's White House spinsters when they talk about the country losing jobs, but losing them at a slower rate. You hate to lose on home ice, in the division, against a team as mediocre as the Canadiens. But at least you scored, and at least you stole a point.

This team isn't built to win in overtime or in shootouts. And even when Phil Kessel wore black and gold that was the case. Last year, the B's won shootouts because Thomas would make incredible saves, and the law of averages would catch up to the opposing netminder.

The Bruins put 42 shots onto Carey Price. To be honest, few of them were very good. The Bruins looked desperate for a goal tonight, trying to get a junk goal off a rebound or deflection, rather than simply trying to beat the goalie.

A perfect microcosm of the Bruins' offensive woes came in the 2nd period. On the power play, Tim Thomas made a great up-ice pass to Paille on the offensive blue-line. It was a perfectly placed pass from a goalie with clear European long-ice experience. But Paille couldn't handle it cleanly and hit a Bruin at the side of the crease. Instead he opted for a pass to the slot, which was defended well, and nothing amounted to it. Paille wouldn't be on the ice at all (nearly 16 minutes of ice time) if not for injuries, and as solidly as he's played in Boston, he messed up what should have been a goal.

The Bruins better build on whatever momentum they gather from this OT Loss, because the division leading Sabres come into town Saturday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa