10/26/09 11:57 EST
Joe Urbon and his team at CAA Sports have made it clear they’re prepared to enter the offseason starting blocks.
Their client, Jason Bay, is on the verge of becoming one of the most sought-after free agents this winter, and whether it’s continuing negotiations with the Red Sox or introducing the outfielder’s abilities to another suitor, Urbon and his crew are set to make Bay's case.
“We’re ready to go,” Urbon said.
And while teams can’t talk with Bay until the Red Sox’ exclusive negotiating period ends – 15 days after the conclusion of the World Series – Monday Urbon offered one of his initial salvos when it comes to defending the left fielder. He has heard the criticism of Bay’s defense and wants to offer a differing point of view.
He knows that while some defensive metrics continue to hamper Bay’s cause, there are numbers that tell a slightly different story.
“I think the only defensive statistic that I
10/13/09 09:30 EST
It was just moments after the end of his first full season as a Red Sox.
The sting was still there, and the moving boxes weren’t too far behind. But Jason Bay also realized the reality of his situation: Something exciting — something he had been playing all of his life for, in a sense — was around the corner.
Bay was ready to head down the path to signing the kind of contract even the most well-to-do major leaguers dream of.
“I’m actually looking forward to it,” Bay said of his first foray into free agency. “I was looking forward to it after winning a World Series, or at least going further than this, but everybody, I don’t want to say 'plays to get to this point,' but it’s something new and something interesting.
“It’s tough to go out on these terms, but I guess the second part of my season is this offseason and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s out there and seeing how the process goes.”
Thus far
10/12/09 06:54 EST
So, how exactly did this happen?
The particulars of what took place after the shadows encompassed the pitching mound at Fenway Park late Sunday afternoon seems even more unbelievable as you get further away from it. As it transpired, the impression is simply that of a flurry of hits followed by a quick, 1-2-3 home half of the ninth inning and, ultimately, the Angels celebrating their 7-6, series-clinching win.
But as there is time to slow down that ninth, its construction becomes almost unbelievable.
Two outs, the Red Sox leading by two runs, and Jonathan Papelbon — not only one of the game’s best closers, but a pitcher who had retired all but one of the last 17 batters he faced (having hit Toronto’s Adam Lind on Sept. 29) — jumping out to an 0-2 count on Los Angeles’ No. 9 hitter, Erick Aybar.
But then the improbable started showing its face.
First, Aybar turned around Papelbon’s 97 mph, 0-2 fastball for a single. The fact that the shortstop jumped
10/10/09 05:33 EST
ANAHEIM, Calif. — For Dustin Pedroia, it was simple.
“Get hits,” he said.
David Ortiz offered an even more bare-bones explanation.
“Hit the damn ball,” noted the designated hitter.
Kevin Youkilis also went down a similar path.
"It’s definitely something where we have to score more runs in order to win," the first baseman said.
If only it was that simple, these players might not be flying back to Boston with a team carrying the unenviable task of coming back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five American League Division Series.
But the predicament the Red Sox find themselves in following their 4-1 Game 2 loss to the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium is more complex than anybody in the visitors clubhouse could have hoped. The hitters aren’t hitting, and solutions weren’t readily available (at least by the time the Sox left town).
Only once this season have the Red Sox scored fewer runs over a two-game span as they did in