Sign Jason Bay: An Open Letter to John Henry Et Al.

This Article Originally Appeared on GetOutofMyBallpark.com

Dear Mr. Henry and associates,

First and foremost I want to say thank you. You have rescued three generations of my family, and many others like us, from wondering if we were ever going to see our beloved Red Sox win a World Series. Now we have seen it, twice.

You and your group came to Boston and brought about the changes that have allowed our team to compete in the toughest division in baseball, and in the toughest economy in 80 years. The standard for excellence your teams have set is going to be the greatest challenge in the years to come.

It is for this reason that I write you with a simple request. Please, for the love of God (or Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Dave Roberts or any other deity you might pray to), sign Jason Bay to the long term contract that he deserves.

Mr. Bay, who is in the last season of his contract and earning $7.5 million, is currently the best hitter in the Boston Red Sox lineup.

With the decline of David Ortiz (face reality folks, he's on the downswing and will hit only 15-20 home runs this season, if that ) and the emergence of Kevin Youkilis as a power threat over the past season and a half, signing Bay could allow the club to have as potent a hitting combination as they did with Ramirez and Ortiz anchoring the lineup from 2004-2007.

Add to that the excellent defense, base sealing ability and his calming and relaxed presence in the clubhouse, and Bay is a bargain for whatever you can sign him for. He will be another in the line of great players to patrol the shadow of the Green Monster.

At 30, bay is having his most productive season as a hitter already, which is saying something considering the fact that he has had three 30 HR/100 RBI seasons in his 6 year MLB career.

He has already matched his home run total from last season's 49 games with the Red Sox, and done it in 18 fewer games. He has 33 RBI, is hitting .317 and has an OPS over 1.1. Most tellingly his OPS in close and late situations is over two and a half.

When the word came down that Manny Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last July 31, it was with the information that he had not only lost the support of the fans due to his actions (the dugout fight with Youk, shoving traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground, forgetting which knee was supposed to be sore) but also the faith of his teammates.

That was the last straw. He had given up on his team and he had been sent out of town at great financial cost to the ballclub. In stepped Jason Bay, who is not only a welcome veteran influence in the clubhouse, but also an upgrade in many areas of the game over Ramirez.

I as a fan have been a fan of the way Bay goes about his business (by business I mean hitting, driving in runs, and playing left field) and how he seems to genuinely love what he does.

Jason Bay is baseball's current version of Andy Dufresne. He spent years being raped in a prison of baseball mediocrity (Pittsburgh), crawled through 500 yards of shit (beingthe guy who replaced Manny in Boston), and came out clean on the other side (.317/9/33 through 31 games, on pace for .317/47/172, Yeah, 172 RBIs).

Please do all of us a favor and make this man a part of the nucleus that you locked up when you signed Youk, Pedroia, and Lester to extensions this winter.

Thank you for your time and your consideration.

Go Sox.

Done.

This Article Originally Appeared on GetOutofMyBallpark.com