Welcome to the Sox, Mr. Bay

A new era has begun. It's been a long time since a ball was hit to left field and we could count on a routine play. Enter Jason Bay. Sure, it's going to take Bay a while to get used to fielding off of the Green Monster, but he's shown decent outfield skills. No more crazy adventures in left.

In terms of hitting, Bay's numbers aren't that far off Manny's for this year...282, 22 homers, 64 rbis. We'll see how he adjusts to AL pitching. Bay is 29, past the usual magic year of 27, but still young enough to put up good power numbers. He was an All-Star in 2007.

WBZTV reminds us that in 1999, Jason Bay played in the Cape Cod League.

One thing that Bay has that Manny doesn't, the hunger for a World Series Championship. While Pittsburgh wants to be Titletown USA for its football glory, they've had a baseball drought that's worse than the Gobi Desert. Bay hasn't experienced the MLB thrill of victory. Let's hope his desire for a championship is contagious.

Welcome to Fenway, Mr. Bay.