After all, slugger Jason Bay traded in his Charlie Card for a MetroCard and is now anchoring the middle of the New York Mets' lineup.
However, Bay hasn't gotten off to a very good start. In 19 games, his calling card — home runs — totals a big fat zero. RBIs? Five.
Many figured the Red Sox would have no problem with pitching and defense, but would struggle on offense.
So far, the offense hasn't skipped a beat after getting off to a slow start. The club ranks fifth in the American League in runs scored, with Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis off to hot starts. Bench players Jeremy Hermida, Darnell McDonald and Jason Varitek have also made noise.
While it's not fair to compare Bay's zero home runs in 19 games with McDonald's .765 slugging percentage in just seven games, the fact remains that between McDonald, Hermida and Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox left fielders have outproduced Bay thus far.
Let's give Bay his due, however. He has walked 11 times on the season for a .388 on-base percentage against a .269 batting average. Those walks would top the Red Sox leaderboard. But is that worth $66 million for the next four years?
It seems like general manager Theo Epstein made the right call when he wouldn't give Bay the additional years needed to bring him back into the fold.
So the BoSox aren't exactly struggling on offense, but they've certainly struggled on pitching and defense. Bay wouldn't have helped on those sides of the ledger, and this team's strength is still pitching and defense. A slow start to the season doesn't change that the Red Sox still have three aces and boast some of the game's most adept fielders.
And help is on the way.
Adding Daisuke Matsuzaka, who won 18 games just two years ago, may be the salve to the Sox' pitching woes while Tim Wakefield bolsters the bullpen with old friend Alan Embree also possibly joining the 'pen.
The Red Sox may not be at .500 just yet, but they're getting there, and the team seems to be rounding into shape. The season is far from over.
And at this point, it doesn't look like they miss Bay too much.
