Projo Sports Blog

Jason Bay met the Boston media for the first time about 45 minutes ago.

"It's pretty exciting. It has been kind of a whirlwind. When the trade deadline was done at 4 o'clock I didn't hear anything. I didn't hear anything until about a half-hour after that. We were getting on a bus to go to Chicago (when he was told of the deal). My head was spinning."

He said he hadn't had much sleep before arriving at the park around 1 o'clock this afternoon.

"Here I am. I can't wait. I was traded three times in the minor leagues before getting to Pittsburgh. It's not the same grand scale, but I'm equipped to handle this. If I was a free agent I couldn't have picked a better place to come to. The atmosphere, the winning, it's something I'm really looking forward to."

Bay has begun understanding the passion of the fans here.

"I had a lot of people asking to help me with my bags at the airport," he joked. "It was a little overwhelming. Everybody says the fans here are the best and I can't help looking forward to it."

He said that while he understands he's replacing a Hall of Famer, he can't let that affect him.

"I was traded from the Padres (to the Pirates in 2003) for Brian Giles. It's not the same grand scale. But it's something I can't control. I'm not going to be Manny Ramirez. I'm equipped to handle (those expectations) and I understand they'll be out there. I'm not going to try to replace anybody. They just needed another left fielder. I'll play left field. I can't wait."

Bay was a member of the Pirates when they played here in 2005. He has his memories.

"I remember everyone in the stands singing "Sweet Caroline." I thought that was kind of neat. Everybody got into the game."

He acknoweldges he'll have to make some adjustments defensively with the Green Monster behind him.

"At PNC Park (in Pittsburgh) it was 411 in the left-center gap and 387 behind me. I'm looking forward to not having to run so much. I'm sure there will be an adjustment. I'll go out and take some balls. I know anything over my head I'm not going to catch. Offensiveloy I'm hoping I can take advantage of the Wall."

Bay, who grew up in a small town in British Columbia, Canada, about two hours north of Spokane, Wash., was well aware of the Sox' storied history of left fielders. He picked up that knowledge through his father, Dave.

"My dad for some reason was a diehard Red Sox fan. I had a onesie (infant clothing) that was Red Sox onesie. I grew up with two big posters on my wall, one of Jim Rice another of Carl Yastrzemski. They're still on my parents' basement wall."

A week or so ago, Bay was a teammate of Xavier Nady's in Pittsburgh. Nady got traded to the Yankees last week.

"We talked yesterday. We had some banter back and forth. Whether we like it or not, we'll hate each other for a couple of weekends," said Bay, referring to the intense Red Sox-Yankee series.

-- Steven Krasner

 Tags  Jason Bay Red Sox

2 Comments

phillips said:

ALL THOSE MILLIONS AND CAN'T HIY A BEACHBALL..HARD TO STEAL BASES IF YOU CAN'T GET TO 1ST

Link | September 1, 2008 9:53 PM
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phillips said:

ALL THOSE MILLIONS AND CAN'T HIY A BEACHBALL..HARD TO STEAL BASES IF YOU CAN'T GET TO 1ST

Link | September 1, 2008 9:54 PM
Report Abuse

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