A Little Traveling Music, Please?

Yesterday, more than half of the eligible players jumped into the magic waters of free agency, like a horde of shoppers barreling down the halls of WalMart on Black Friday to grab the last Tickle Me Jim Croce. Not surprising to anyone, Jason Bay was among the first into the pool, looking to improve on the four years and 60 million clams we offered him. Theo has characterized negotiations thus far with Bay as "weird", which is never a good sign. But when the player you covet admits to dressing up as a hula girl in college, well, that's what you're gonna get. While I think offering Bay anything over four years would be crazy, letting him go creates a whole new slew of problems, especially if Ortiz v2009 was the harbinger of declines to come. Bay brings some intangibles along with his 36 home runs and 119 RBIs; he's a good clubhouse guy, reps himself well in the harsh glow of the spotlight, and has never--to the best of my knowledge--been caught pantsless outside ...