Bay Helps the Sox Sweep - Jenn

Over the three game series against the Oakland A's there were a lot of posters and signs welcoming Jason Bay to Fenway. But my favorite had to be "The Manny Show Cancelled for Baywatch." And as a TV writer, let me tell you - this midseason replacement was just the breath of fresh air the Red Sox Channel needed.

This weekend Bay made the Fenway Faithful believe in life after Ramirez. While he may not have the stats Manny has, he's not too far behind the guy. And he proved in his first three starts as a Red Sox, that his heart is firmly planted in the game. Something we haven't seen from Manny in a long time. Over his 11 at bats, Bay had four hits including the triple in the 12th inning that led to the Sox win on Friday and the homerun that cemented the win on Saturday. Although yesterday Bay failed to do anything quite as heroic as he had on Friday and Saturday, he still got two hits and scored on both of them.

But if you think his offense is something to write home about, you should've seen his defense. On Friday he kept the Red Sox's one-run lead in tact when he made a sliding catch reminiscent of Coco or Ellsbury to end the fifth inning. And he's learning how to play the wall as if he's been playing Fenway's Monster for years.

Now while I understand that it's still only been three games and there's still two months left in the regular season, I have to say, Bay's off to a pretty nice start.

As for Manny, sure he hit two homers over the weekend and had five RBI's, but he also ground into a double play on Friday in the 9th inning with two men on. And here's something else I found out about our left fielder. Turns out, the Fenway Faithful weren't the only ones sick of Manny being Manny. Lowell and Varitek both went to Theo Epstein and told him that Manny had to go. His stats weren't worth what he was doing to the team emotionally.

But the real shock was to discover that Ramirez actually lobbied to stay in Boston after he learned of the trade to the Dodgers. His agent, Scott Boras, told the Red Sox management that his client would behave for the rest of the season, if they kept him on. As you know, the Red Sox responded with a simple, "thanks, but no thanks".

In my opinion they made the right choice in sticking with their decision to cancel the Manny show. As for the shiny new season of Baywatch, only time will tell if the ratings remain high. But right now, it looks like this new show will be on for many seasons to come. Good thing I'm already a huge fan.