The general thought seems to be that while Bay is a great hitter, Holliday was the more desirable free agent for several reasons:

* Age: Holliday is almost 30 years old and should be entering his prime years. In contrast, Bay will be 32 years old this season.

* Defensive ability: Holliday has a 6.9 UZR for career and only one season with negative UZR. In contrast, Bay's career UZR is -7.9, and he has routinely put up statistically terrible defensive seasons.

And yes, Holliday is generally thought of as the superior offensive player, even though Bay is a pretty darn good hitter in his own right.

Admittedly, it seems that there are roughly a gazillion angles that you could take to examine the offensive ability and production of Jason Bay and Matt Holliday throughout their respective careers.

Matt Holliday

Holliday played a majority of his career at the very hitter friendly Coors Field. How much did that help him?

Holliday struggled during his brief tenure with the Oakland Athletics. How should that performance be taken into account?

Holliday's offensive numbers exploded once he was traded to the Cardinals. Was his statistical spike simply because of hitting behind Albert Pujols, or did Holliday finally find his stroke?

Jason Bay

For years, Bay performed very well offensively for the Pirates (with the exception of 2007) even though the Pirates offense routinely stunk and Bay was surrounded with subpar talent. How would Bay's stats be different if he played in a hitter's ballpark with great talent around him?

Over the past year and a half, Jason Bay has been one of the Red Sox's best hitters and consistently put up big numbers when he was surrounded by great offensive talent. How much did that affect his stats? Does this prove that Bay can hit in both the National and American Leagues?

No matter how you slice it, the point is this: Both Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are excellent hitters. In fact, over the past two seasons, Holliday's wRAA (which judges the number of runs over replacement) was 46 and 33.9 (average 39.9), while Bay's wRAA was 32.4 and 36 (average 34.2).

So while it's clear that Holliday has been the superior offensive talent, the numbers suggest that Bay is not that far behind, and there is a good chance that Holliday's numbers will decline now that he is away from Coors Field, as evidenced by the drop from 46 (2008 with the Rockies) to 33.9 (2009 with A's/Cardinals).

So I think it's safe to say that Holliday was the more attractive free agent because he was younger than Bay and the superior hitter and defensive player of the two.

But does that justify why Bay only landed a four-year/$66 million contract with the Mets and Holliday got a seven-year/$120 million contract with the Cardinals? Is there any way to justify that Holliday should have landed a contract that is almost $60 million richer than that signed by the second best hitter on the free agent market? I don't think so.

Here's what I think happened: Holliday and Bay both struggled to find teams that were willing to meet their asking price. Bay wanted five years at $16 million annually; Holliday wanted at least seven years at $18 million annually and hoped for a Mark Teixeira-like contract.

Why did Holliday come so much closer to his desired contract? Blame it on Scott Boras.

The main suitor for Bay—the Mets—were willing to go four years maximum with Bay and refused to go any higher given how little competition there was for Bay and the risk involved with giving a 32-year-old a five-year contract. Sure, Bay still has the possibility of landing a five-year deal, but only four seasons are actually guaranteed with the Mets.

The main suitor for Holliday—the Cardinals—strangely gave in to Holliday's contract demands even though there was no other real competition for his services. Hell, Holliday's contract even includes an option for an eighth season! Was that really necessary?

The only offer that we know of for Holliday was the five-year/$82.5 million offer from the Red Sox (a few weeks back), and the Cardinals simply blew that offer away even though the Red Sox were no longer in the picture. It sure looks like the Cardinals wound up bidding against themselves, even though they eventually landed their guy.

I think the Cardinals could have landed Holliday without guaranteeing a seventh season and including anything about an eighth. Something in the six-year/$96 million range would have worked.

Maybe the Cardinals got anxious and wanted to have Holliday in the fold ASAP. Maybe the Cardinals wanted to act quickly, fearing that a big market club would swoop in and sign Holliday. Or maybe the Cardinals just really, really like Holliday and feel comfortable giving him such a large contract.

For my money, I'd take Jason Bay at $66 million over Matt Holliday at $120 million any day.

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From SI.com:

The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a seven-year, $120 million deal with Matt Holliday, SI.com has learned. Holliday will also get a full no-trade clause.

Holliday batted .353 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs in 63 games with the Cardinals after being acquired in a July trade from the Oakland Athletics . He helped stabilize their batting order by providing a consistent power threat in the cleanup spot behind NL MVP Albert Pujols. When they added Holliday on July 24, the Cardinals led the NL Central by just 1½ games, but by the end of August their lead had swelled to 10 games and they cruised to the division title.

While there is a high level of risk involved with this deal, the Cardinals ultimately decided to pull the trigger because there was no competition. Holliday represents a rare opportunity for the Cardinals to dramatically improve their team:

Risk

• Severely limits payroll flexibility in the future.
• Will Matt Holliday be on the decline by the end of the contract?
• Did the Cardinals need to give Holliday seven years given how little competition was out there?
• Full no-trade!

Reward

• Dynamic one-two punch with Pujols; deep and potent lineup.
• Teams can no longer pitch around Pujols like they used to.
• Increases the Cardinals' chances of retaining Pujols after 2011.
• Are the Cardinals the team to beat in the National League?

Conclusion

The reality of this deal is simple: If the Cardinals win a championship with Holliday and resign Pujols, then this deal is a win for the Cardinals. They now feature one of the best lineups in the National League and have given the best hitter in the world some much needed protection. From that angle, it's very easy to like this deal.

From Pujols' perspective, it has be great to see the Cardinals spend the big bucks to surround him with impact talent. If you believe somehow the Holliday signing is linked to Pujols eventually resigning, then it's very easy to like this deal.

But I have to honest, I'm worried about the future impact of this deal for the Cardinals. If the Cardinals payroll remains around $100 million, then with Holliday on board for $17 million and Pujols on board for roughly $20-$30 million, that would not leave the Cardinals with much room to spend on other players.

Can a team with a $100 million dollar payroll win with 40-plus percent of its payroll committed to two great players? That's the question Cardinals fans have to be thinking about.

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The Mets have made no splashy moves, no free-agent signings, and no impact trades as they determine how the market will play out.

But while the Mets have remained stagnant, the Mets' chief rivals have all made impact moves that will improve their prospects for 2010:

Phillies

Acquired Roy Halladay

Braves

Acquired Billy Wagner, Takashi Saito, and Jesse Chavez

Yankees

Acquired Curtis Granderson

Red Sox

Acquired John Lackey

There's no doubt that the pressure is on GM Omar Minaya to make splashy moves, not only to match the other clubs, but also ultimately to improve the Mets and give this team a chance to compete in 2010.

But as the money burns a hole in Minaya's pocket, one has to wonder what move the Mets' GM will make next.

Option One

The Mets could continue their heavy pursuit of OF Jason Bay, who was reportedly offered a four-year $65 million contract by the Mets last week.

Bay would be a welcome addition to the Mets' offense, which struggled mightily last season to hit for power.

With the Red Sox presumably out of the running for Bay, it's tough to see what other serious suitors Bay has at the moment.

Option Two

The Mets could opt to go for the big splash and make a serious run at the best free agent on the market, Matt Holliday.

Like Bay, Holliday is one of the best power hitters in all of baseball, and he plays very good defense, as well.

Adding Holliday would be a signal to the rest of baseball that the Mets are serious about competing in 2010.

At the same time, Holliday would be far more expensive than Bay and likely require a commitment of at least seven to eight years.

Option Three

The Mets could continue their pursuit of Benjie Molina and hope that he finally agrees to the two-year deal the Mets have been offering.

Option Four

The Mets could go after Joel Pineiro, who is the best free-agent starting pitcher out there.

Pinero would be a great fit for the Mets, given his propensity to throw ground balls.

However, Pineiro is reportedly looking for a four-year contract, and, with Lackey off the board, all of a sudden Pineiro could have some serious leverage over the Mets.

Option Six

Try to acquire pieces via the trade market.

Good luck with that, Omar.

Conclusion

If the Mets decide to go after Holliday, then it would be very difficult for them to sign Pineiro or any of the other top free-agent starting pitchers on the market.

As a result, if Holliday comes to the Mets, then I would expect the Mets to dabble in the "low cost-high reward" starters and sign Benjie Molina.

At this point, I would say that it's far more likely that the Mets continue their aggressive pursuit of Jason Bay and try to sign him to a four-year contract.

This would give the Mets the splashy power hitter they so desperately need and allow them to spend money on starters like Pineiro and Benjie Molina.

However, the Mets MUST remain cautious in their discussions with Bay and Pineiro and not become to eager to make a deal happen just for the sake of making a deal happen.

It's crucial that the Mets don't wind up bidding against themselves for either guy's services or do something stupid like giving Bay a five-year deal or giving Pineiro a four-year contract.

Best-case scenario: The Mets bring in Molina, Pineiro, and Bay all for prices that favor the Mets.

How much better do those signings make the team in 2010?

Can we honestly say that this team would compete for a playoff spot?

Would the Mets even be in the same stratosphere as the Phillies?

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The Boston Red Sox have reached a tentative agreement on a two-year deal with free-agent outfielder Mike Cameron, a baseball source told ESPN.com on Monday.

The deal would be for $7 million to $8 million annually, according to The Associated Press.

Cameron will have to pass a physical exam for the deal to become official.

The addition of Cameron to play left field—coupled with Monday's $80 million-plus investment in free-agent starter John Lackey—would make all but official Jason Bay's departure from Boston.

Cameron, 36, is a .250 career hitter with 265 home runs in 15 seasons with the White Sox, Cincinnati, Seattle, San Diego, the Mets, and Milwaukee. He has a reputation as a positive clubhouse presence and is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner.

So lemme ask you this: Would you prefer Jason Bay for $70-$75 million and an additional $25-$30 million or Mike Cameron ($15.5 million) and John Lackey ($85 million)?

Given that equation, I'd take Lackey and Cameron, given how few impact starting pitchers there were on the free-agent market.

However, I bet there are Red Sox fans out there who do not agree with this move, simply because Mike Cameron is not as sexy a name as Jason Bay or Matt Holliday.

While Cameron is not nearly the offensive force of Bay and Holliday, he does hit for some power, get on base, play splendid defense, and provide good leadership in the clubhouse.

Mike Cameron is a good role player on a playoff-caliber team, but asking him to be anything more than that is a problem.

And that's exactly why I think Red Sox fans are taking issue with this deal.

Cameron is a solid role player at best and does not provide the impact bat that the Red Sox lineup needs right now.

But if the Red Sox are able to acquire a power hitting corner infielder (Adrian Gonzalez!), then I think Mike Cameron will be a welcome addition to the Red Sox, despite his limitations, age, and high strikeout rate because he brings to the Red Sox a dimension that they were sorely lacking with Jason Bay last season: solid outfield defense.

With that said, the Red Sox NEED to address their offensive needs and bring in a power hitter, because simply relying on David Ortiz to regain his stroke and JD Drew to stay healthy is not going to cut it.

The only way to make up for Jason Bay's offensive ability is to bring in talent who can help fill the void.

Hello, Adrian Gonzalez and Adrian Beltre.

My only question for Epstein is this: Why give two years to Mike Cameron, who is 36 years old?

Doesn't the second year make this deal extremely risky?

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The Obvious

1. Try to Trade Nick Johnson

Johnson will be a free agent at the end of the season and probably will not return to the Nationals in 2010. Johnson is putting up solid numbers at .315, 5 HR, 30 RBI, and will certainly draw interest from several teams (METS!).

The Nationals should be able to bring back a solid package for Johnson, as long as the injury prone first baseman stays healthy. Johnson is the best chip the Nationals have and trading him at the deadline could bring back a nice package of young players.

In addition, if Johnson is moved, Adam Dunn will finally be moved to first base where he rightfully belongs.

2. Trade Joe Beimel if His Numbers Improve

As I wrote on Friday, Beimel could become an attractive trade chip for the Nationals. Beimel is a free agent at the end of the season and has historically been dominant against left handed hitters.

Even though Beimel has struggled against lefties so far this season, if his numbers improve in the coming weeks, contenders could begin to take a long look at Joe Beimel for the stretch run. The Nationals must hope that Beimel pitches well enough to raise his value in the coming weeks so that hey receive a larger return.

3. Hold Josh Willingham

It's been a rough season for Willingham, who was benched at the beginning of the season in favor of Austin Kearns and has struggled to gain consistent playing time. However, there is reason to believe that Willingham could be a future asset to the Nationals, despite the fact that he is arbitration eligible until 2011.

When Willingham plays consistently, he hits. When Willingham played consistently in May, he hit .303 with eight home runs. This guy is a 20-25 home run talent when given the chance to play

His value is rock bottom. Because Willingham has not played consistently this season, his numbers have suffered. Because Willingham is not a free agent until 2012, the Nationals have several more seasons to see if Willingham can produce over a full season or if Willingham can increase his value enough so that the Nationals can maximize return.

Debateable

1. Trade Cristian Guzman?

I wrote extensively about this two weeks back, and I am firmly in the camp that the Nationals should trade Guzman and get back as many quality prospects as they possibly can. But if the Nationals trade Guzman, who is one of their best players, will they lose even more goodwill from their fanbase?

You be the judge. I say that sometimes, the best moves are the hardest to make.

2. Trade Julian Tavarez and Ron Villone?

These two veterans have basically been the only consistent forces out of the Nationals bullpen, which has been horrific this season. Tavarez has come on strong as of late, lowering his season ERA to 4.26, while Ron Villone has a 0.96 ERA in 22 games this season (WOW).

Also, keep in mind that both guys are above 35-years-old and are not long term building blocks for the Nationals. Plus, both guys could help contenders down the stretch, which would give the Nationals even more potential pieces to play with in the future. But can the Nationals really afford to get rid of the only two effective relief pitchers they have?

If they do, are the 1962 Mets in their sight?

Conclusion: The Nationals have a lot of work to do before they can be thought of as contenders, let alone respectable. In my opinion, the Nationals should use their expendable pieces that have value to obtain as many pieces for the future as possible.

But what I cannot figure out is what happened to Odalis Perez. Here is a guy who went 7-12 with a 4.34 ERA with the last-place Washington Nationals last season—numbers that should have him pitching in the majors this season.

But for some reason, no one has taken a chance on Perez.

Well, that's not entirely true. As I mentioned before, the Nationals did sign Perez to a minor league contract in February, but Perez refused to report to camp because he thought that he could do better.

Are teams trying to make a statement against Perez that going against contracts (including minor league deals) is not acceptable and therefore, no one has seriously looked to sign him? It is doubtful, but cannot be ruled out.

Did Perez's antics with the Nationals scare off potential suitors? Perhaps.

Or maybe, teams are wary of giving Perez a major league contract even though his performance last season was certainly worthy of an offer. Likely.

I don't know what's going on, but since the WBC began, I have not heard anything on the Perez front. Shouldn't the Indians, White Sox, or Astros at least take a look at Perez?

All I know is that if Livan Hernandez, Sidney Ponson, Russ Ortiz, Adam Eaton, and Mike Hampton can find work, then there is no reason why Odalis Perez should not at least get the opportunity to strut his stuff with another team, even if he is nothing more than a fourth starter.

And who knows, maybe in a month or two Perez will have a job , making an impact for a team down the stretch. But for now, the lack of information (or even whispers) is strange, don't cha think?

The Atlantic League generally maintains a strong monopoly on ex-MLB players, but there are plenty of gems still muddling around the various professional baseball leagues.

The first independent league that I will be covering will be the Northern League. Even though I have never attended a Northern League game, after seeing some of the names on Northern League rosters, I might have to take a road trip.

So without further ado, Jorge Says No! proudly presents:

Randall Simon, 1B, Fargo-Moorhead—I can now continue on with my life: Randall Simon has been found in the Northern League!

I think the following video says everything you need to know about Simon.



And by the way, Simon hit third for the Netherlands in the 2009 WBC.

Ken Harvey, 1B, Kansas City—Can you believe that Harvey was an All Star in 2004? It is even stranger that Harvey was out of MLB by 2005.

Pat Mahomes—Mahomes was a member of the 1999 and 2000 New York Mets, and as a result, he will always have a special place in my heart.

• Strange fact No. 1: Mahomes went 8-0 for the 1999 Mets as their long relief man. What a team.
• Strange fact No. 2: Mahomes hit .313 for the Mets in 1999 and was a lifetime .256 hitter. How impressive is that?

Damian Rolls, OF, Kansas City—Rolls was on the Devil Rays when the Devil Rays sucked. He actually put up pretty good numbers in 2003 (.255, 7 HR, 46 RBI), but he bottomed out badly in 2004, only hitting .162.

Daniel Haigwood, P, Winnipeg—At one time, Haigwood was one of the top prospects in the White Sox organization and was involved in the trade that brought Jim Thome to the White Sox in 2006.

Haigwood performed pretty well at AA last season, but at 25 years old, I'm guessing that teams simply did not believe his ceiling was that high.

Joey Gomes, OF, Joliet—Many times I ask myself why players would continue to play in an independent league even though there is little chance that they will ever make it (back) to the MLB. Well, I think this piece from the PressDemocrat.com about Gomes sums it up:

"Petaluma's Joey Gomes left today for an independent baseball team in Illinois, still keeping alive his dream of Major League Baseball.

"Whether that happens or not, Gomes has the kind of personality and charm that one day when his playing career is over, he will rise in the sport, either as coach, scout, front office official or instructor. Joey has that innate quality that makes people want to listen, learn and follow."

Best of luck, Joey Gomes. Keep the dream alive.

Edwin Almonte, P, Schaumberg—Yes, Almonte was one of the guys traded from the White Sox to the Mets for Roberto Alomar in 2003. Almonte pitched in 11 games for the Mets in 2003 and finished with a 11.12 ERA. Needless to say, Almonte never returned to the majors.

Jermaine Allensworth, OF, Schaumburg—I'll admit it: I was stunned to see Allensworth's name on a roster. This guy has not played in the majors since 1999 with my beloved New York Mets. But hey, if you love the game, then ya' gotta play.

• Strange fact No. 1: Jermaine Allensworth was portrayed on SNL in 1997 by Tracy Morgan in a skit about Jackie Robinson Day. How random is that?

Yurendell de Caster, 3B, Fargo-Moorhead—Played on the 2009 Netherlands team that defeated the Dominican Republic twice in the WBC.

Felix Jose, OF, Schaumburg—This is not a joke. I swear. Felix Jose was an All Star all the way back in 1991. The last time Jose played more than 100 games in the majors was in 1993. Oh yeah, Felix Jose is 44 years old. Word.

Wally Backman, manager, Joliet: Yes, this is the same Wally Backman who was a member of the 1986 Mets and was famously fired by the Diamondbacks in 2004 because of his "past incidents."

I have yet to find a statistic that reflects just how bad this team is when they have runners in scoring position, especially late in games.

But trust me folks, it's ugly.

But what surprised me is that Wright has not been nearly as bad as I thought with runners in scoring position this season.

According to ESPN, Wright is hitting .226 in 31 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Perhaps my mind was deceived by the number of times Wright failed to come through when the Mets absolutely needed him to deliver. Either way, the stats are pretty interesting.

Cameron Maybin (18 ABs) .000

Felix Pie (12 ABs) .000

Chris Snyder (11 ABs) .000

Geovany Soto (14 ABs) .071

Miguel Olivo (14 ABs) .071

J.J. Hardy (22 ABs) .091

Felipe Lopez (11 ABs) .091

Torii Hunter (20 ABs) .100

J.D. Drew (28 ABs) .107

Jermaine Dye (18 ABs) .111

Michael Young (17 ABs) .118

Jhonny Peralta (25 ABs) .120

Alfonso Soriano (16 ABs) . 125

Mike Fontenot (16 ABs) .125

Lance Berkman (22 ABs) .136

Jim Thome (14 ABs) .143

Brandon Phillips (19 ABs) .158

Chris Young (19 ABs) .158

Alexei Casilla (25 ABs) .160

Hunter Pence (18 ABs) .167

Travis Hafner (18 ABs) .167

Adam Dunn (18 ABs) .167

Ryan Church (18 ABs) .167

And it is interesting to note that there are guys on this list who are otherwise off to great starts at the dish: Adam Dunn, Michael Young, Torii Hunter, etc.

I'll be honest, I did not expect to see any of those names on this list (well, maybe Dunn given his terrible history hitting with runners in scoring position).

I'm also wonder how there's only one Met on this list.

So take these numbers for what they're worth at this point, because I'm sure these numbers are bound to go up in the following months.

Keep in mind that statistics do not tell the whole story.

I have yet to find a statistic that reflects just how bad this team is when they have runners in scoring position, especially late in games.

But trust me folks, it's ugly.

But what surprised me is that Wright has not been nearly as bad as I thought with runners in scoring position this season.

According to ESPN, Wright is hitting .226 in 31 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Perhaps my mind was deceived by the number of times Wright failed to come through when the Mets absolutely needed him to deliver. Either way, the stats are pretty interesting.

Cameron Maybin (18 ABs) .000

Felix Pie (12 ABs) .000

Chris Snyder (11 ABs) .000

Geovany Soto (14 ABs) .071

Miguel Olivo (14 ABs) .071

J.J. Hardy (22 ABs) .091

Felipe Lopez (11 ABs) .091

Torii Hunter (20 ABs) .100

J.D. Drew (28 ABs) .107

Jermaine Dye (18 ABs) .111

Michael Young (17 ABs) .118

Jhonny Peralta (25 ABs) .120

Alfonso Soriano (16 ABs) . 125

Mike Fontenot (16 ABs) .125

Lance Berkman (22 ABs) .136

Jim Thome (14 ABs) .143

Brandon Phillips (19 ABs) .158

Chris Young (19 ABs) .158

Alexei Casilla (25 ABs) .160

Hunter Pence (18 ABs) .167

Travis Hafner (18 ABs) .167

Adam Dunn (18 ABs) .167

Ryan Church (18 ABs) .167

And it is interesting to note that there are guys on this list who are otherwise off to great starts at the dish: Adam Dunn, Michael Young, Torii Hunter, etc.

I'll be honest, I did not expect to see any of those names on this list (well, maybe Dunn given his terrible history hitting with runners in scoring position).

I'm also wonder how there's only one Met on this list.

So take these numbers for what they're worth at this point, because I'm sure these numbers are bound to go up in the following months.

Keep in mind that statistics do not tell the whole story.