JayBay will now snack on your tasty closer

Boston Globe staff photo by Barry Chin

So, apparently Jason Bay enjoys having a little snack long about the ninth inning. Friday night, his fourth meal was served up by elite closer, Mariano Rivera - with the Sox down 4-2, Bay parked one in dead center to tie the score. Last night, again in the 9th, Bay sent one out to left. With one swing, the score went from 0-0 to 3-0 Red Sox. This time, the victim was the hard-to-hit Kerry Wood.

JayBay is fast becoming one of my favorites. He goes about his job quietly, but has become a game-changer. From this morning's Globe:

"That's the way I prefer it," said Bay. "I just want to be a complementary part of this team. I want to do my part to help us win, but really it's what suits me and my personality. I don't mind doing well and getting attention for it, but I prefer things quiet."

I think it's more than time for Theo to start crunching numbers. I can understand his hesitation to sign Bay to a long term deal during Spring Training. The market was crazy, and there was no predicting what it might look like after October. But JayBay is proving very valuable - we need to lock him up before some other team (::glares toward the Evil Empire::) jumps in.

In the meantime, closers of the AL watch out - Bay looks hungry!