Jason Bay

So far this MLB off-season, the teams in New York have been very busy.  The Yankees' move this week may have been the biggest.

Jason Bay or Matt Holliday? This was the debate on WFAN radio in New York yesterday, and nearly everyone was leaning in favor of Bay. The discussion occurred on Miked Up, a show hosted by Mike Francesa that can also be seen on the YES Network in the afternoon.

I mention Francesa because he's one of the better-respected sports radio men in the business, and yet I found myself completely disagreeing with him—a phenomenon which is not at all uncommon for me. 

I’ve come out of the woodwork for a brand new blog, because I’ve come across some interesting data, and I think it’d be just plain selfish of me not to share it with my Mets brethren.

While the media is busy debating whether or not the Mets' less than aggressive move for Jason Bay is purely a PR ploy, of greater interest to me personally is the assertion that Mets brass might actually prefer Bay to free agent Matt Holliday.

It seems that the Mets are—gasp—using statistics to evaluate how each hitter might fare in their cavernous ballpark.

The Seattle Mariners mean business.

General Manager Jack Zduriencik is entering just his second offseason at the club’s helm, but clearly has the franchise headed in the right direction.

Last offseason, he engineered a number of low-risk, high-reward deals and helped turnaround a club that had just 61 wins in 2008 to 85 victories a year ago.

The Red Sox finally winning the World Series was the best and worst thing for the franchise. It was the best day in most (well, at least mine) Red Sox fans' lives, and finally shut Yankee fans up, for at least one season.

On the flip side, winning championships is addicting for die-hard sports fans. Now, Red Sox nation wants to win every year.

Last offseason, the Red Sox made a concerted effort to bolster their offense by signing Mark Teixeira. There were also several rumors of them attempting to trade for various offensive stars. They also seemed determined to upgrade their captain Jason Varitek with a younger, more offensively oriented catcher.

They pretty much failed in every effort.

However, the team projected as stacked, and there were few public concerns.

The 2010 MLB free agent market has many players including many former New York Mets.  Here is an in-depth look at the fielders.  This is Part 1.  There will be a pitchers one in the near future.

Catchers

Ramon Castro—Castro was a member of the Mets from 2005 to the middle of this season when he was traded to the White Sox for Lance Broadway.  In 2007, Castro had his best year as a Met, playing in 52 games and batting .285 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs.

ESPN.com reports that Boston Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay refused an initial offer by the team and will dive into the pool of free agency to test the depth of its waters.

If the figures mentioned—$64 million over four years—are indeed what was offered by the front office, Bay and/or his agent may prove to be foolish. Large money is becoming much more difficult to demand with the economy suffering as it is.

Houston, you have a problem.

Your ballclub is bad, really bad.

The Astros, a perennial contender for much of the last decade, have fallen on hard times.