Last night's pitching duel between Tim Wakefield and Cliff Lee was broken open by Jason Bay in the top of the ninth as he hit a three run shot off an inefficient Kerry Wood. Jonathan Papelbon was equally inefficient, but held on as the Sox won 3-1. I just want to point out that the main question about Bay when he came to Boston was, would he be able to perform under the microscope of baseball obsessed Beantown? Sure he could hit 30 HR's and drive in 100 RBI every year in Pittsburgh where nobody gives a crap anymore. Since his first game in Boston he's been delivering in the clutch. I for one hope he stays around for a while.
As a side note, wasn't it nice to get a game in before the stroke of 10 last night? Yanks-Sox routinely becomes a four hour affair. It was refreshing to see a classic pitcher's duel that moved at a decent pace. I can't remember the last time this old man stayed up to see the conclusion of a Sox game on a weeknight.
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To extend the question for Bay, is he the type of player that actually performs better in a higher pressure situation such as East Coast baseball?
The players who choke on the big stage always get the publicity, but there have been players (David Ortiz comes to mind) who actually became better once they left a small market for the big time. Maybe Jason Bay is a .300/35/120 guy for a World Series Contender.
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