As fans of the Boston Red Sox, should we be blaming Jason Bay’s agent and not Bay himself as to why he won’t be back in Beantown?
If you want to believe Bill Madden of the New York Daily News then yes, Joe Urbon is to blame.
As for Bay, he, too, can thank his agent, in this case Joe Urbon, for pricing him out of Boston, a righty hitting-friendly ballpark/and virtual guarantee of the playoffs every year to, very likely, a pitcher’s paradise in Citi Field and a Mets team that, even with him, looks to be no better than a third-place club in the NL East. At least the Mets seem to realize that Urbon, after losing the Red Sox, has no more market for Bay, especially after the Seattle Mariners, who were bidders early on, acquired Milton Bradley on Friday to fill their last remaining need of an outfield bat.
I’m told that even after the Red Sox signed Mike Cameron to play left field, Urbon went back to them to see if they would re-visit negotiations with Bay, which broke off after the agent rejected their four-year offer of just over $60 million. Kind of like that scene in “The Godfather” in which the soon-to-be garrotted Abe Vigoda/Tessio pleads for mercy to Robert Duvall/Tom Hagen, who replies: “Can’t do it, Sally.”
If you want to believe Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe then Bay himself is to blame.
Be advised: The players are adults who make their own decisions. While it’s easy (and even fun) to demonize agents, the agent works for the player. His job is to present the player with the opportunities that are available and let the player make a decision
And while Jason Bay may well have enjoyed his time in Boston, he seems intent on getting more than the $60 million the Sox offered. That’s his call and good luck to him.
Jason Bay knew exactly what risks he was taking. Whether it works out well for him or not remains to be seen.
Folks, Pete Abe is right.
Bay’s agent is just doing his job. If Bay really wanted to be back in Boston, he would already be here. He could have accepted the Red Sox latest offer or tried to come to an understanding during negotiations during the season. But he made his choice.
Bay is entitled to see how much money he can get on the open market.
In my opinion, he deserves it.
