Holliday has averaged a slash stats line of .317/.384/.547 with 29 home runs and a 130 OPS+ over 162 games in six major league seasons. He has also produced rates of 8.5 BB% and 19.0 K% and a .399 wOBA. It would be impossible to ignore his home/road splits, however; prior to '09, he boasted a career line of .357/.423/.645 when hitting in the thin air in Denver, with a .280/.348/.455 line away from home. During a three-year stretch from '06-to-'08, his home OPS of 1.099 was considerably higher than his road OPS of .856; he also hit 62 of his 95 homers over that time span at Coors.

This season will be an interesting case study, as Holliday will have to adjust to hitting in pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum. While his production will certainly slip as the result of his new home stadium, he is still a dangerous hitter who, ballpark-assistance aside, has been one of the top offensive players in the game. Although he is struggling early (.246/.300/.338 through Sunday), expect him to end up around .290/.370/.490 with at least 20 homers.

Holliday is more of a complete player than Bay as well. He is not a real speedster, either, but he is an excellent base runner overall; in fact, according to the Bill James Handbook 2009, he was the third-best base runner in baseball in '08 with a +52 in Baseball Info Solutions' scoring system. He was efficient stealing bases, swiping 28 bags in 30 chances. While he is unlikely to get as many steals in Oakland, which values outs so greatly, he is also excellent when going first to third on base hits.

Holliday is also an above-average defensive left fielder, much better than Bay. He has registered positive UZR totals every year except 2006. His most recent marks come in at 14.2 and 9.1 in '07 and '08, respectively. He finished fifth among left fielders with a +11 mark in James' +- ranking system in '08 and tied for sixth with a +9 in '07.

When accounting for defense, offense and positional factors, Holliday has been worth 23.3 value wins since breaking into the league; he has provided $92.5-M of on-field production. During '07, he was incredibly worth 7.9 wins, thanks to the tremendous combination of his defensive and offensive output. Going forward, even moving into a newer ballpark, he profiles as a 5.0-win player.

Conclusion:

Holliday is the better all-around player. He is a year younger, and much better on the bases and in the field. Bay has been the more productive hitter, but he is defensively challenged and not quite as valuable overall. Whether or not Holliday can perform in Oakland, though, will dramatically affect his and Boras' bank account. In a weak market, he could be the Mark Teixeira of the '10 offseason; the New Yankee Stadium would be a nice destination for him, production-wise. Holliday, who will earn $13.5-M in '09, could end up regretting his decision to turn down the Rockies' four-year, $72-M offer if he really does struggle and the economy does not rebound. Odds are, though, that will not happen.

With that said, Bay could end up providing better value, since he is likely to come at a much cheaper rate.

What do you think?

The Red Sox made a move to bolster their starting rotation Tuesday with the acquisition of veteran right-hander Paul Byrd from the Indians in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations. Byrd is 7-10 with a 4.53 ERA this season but he's 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five starts since the All-Star break. The loss of Tim Wakefield to the disabled list and struggles of Clay Buchholz created a need for starting pitching.

Byrd has a career Major League record of 104-91 in 330 games/242 starts with the New York Mets (1995-96), Atlanta (1997-98; 2004), Philadelphia (1998-2001), Kansas City (2001-02), Los Angeles Angels (2005), and Cleveland (2006-08). He has won 10 or more games five times, including four of the previous five seasons (2002-07). Byrd has issued just 2.12 walks per nine innings in his career, the sixth lowest figure among active pitchers with at least 1,500 innings. He was a member of the 1999 NL All-Star Team with the Phillies.

Byrd established career bests for wins (17), starts (33), innings (228.1), and strikeouts (129) with Kansas City in 2002. Last season, he was 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA in 31 starts for the AL Central Division champion Indians and led the AL with a ratio of 1.31 walks per nine innings. Byrd was 2-0, 3.60 in his two postseason starts, including a 7-3 victory over the Red Sox in Game 4 of the ALCS on October 16 in Cleveland. He also won the fourth and deciding game of the ALDS on October 8 at New York.

HOUSTON SMITH'S VIEW:  Short-term solution.  Should help Sox reach post-season play in 08.  Skills are average at best but capable of big games.

Ron Godwyne of Total-Deliverance Ministries

Sick and tired of being lampooned and lambasted (and
for all the wrong reasons), authors S.E. Cupp and Brett Joshpe, both
20-something and perhaps unlikely Republicans living in New York City,
examine the careless characterizations of conservatives in their first
book. With chapter titles like "Republicans Are Homophobic,"
"Republicans Are Warmongers" and "Republicans Have No Feelings," the
book is a provocative, probing, and often hilarious catalog of liberal
complaints – and their lack of validity. The book not only proves
these stereotypes false, it proves, more importantly, that all
conservatives are not the same.

With
moderates, libertarians, social conservatives, neo-conservatives,
Christian conservatives and GOP Republicans weighing in, "Why You're
Wrong About the Right" is a compilation of view points that helps to
define the Right better than any 30-second sound bite or Al Franken
quote could.

S.E.
Cupp was born in 1979 in California and raised primarly in Andover,
MA. She was a classically trained dancer and danced for Ellicott City
Ballet, Washington Ballet and Boston Ballet for a period of 10 years.

After high school, she studied art history at Cornell University and
worked for her college paper, the Cornell Daily Sun, as the Arts &
Entertainment editor. During college, she worked for the Vose
Galleries in Boston, the Whistler Museum, and the Johnson Museum as an
intern. She graduated a year early and worked for short periods at an
online magazine and a PR company. In 2002, she was hired by the New
York Times to write and edit for the Index Department.

She is currently pursuing a Masters degree at NYU in religious studies,
and plans to write about American culture, including politics, sports
and religion, in the future.

S.E. follows the Mets, the Packers, and NASCAR, and enjoys fishing, target shooting and travel.

Brett Joshpe

Brett
Joshpe was born in 1980 in Stamford, NY, where he was raised in a
family of four with his father, Glen, mother, Vicki and brother, Chad.

He
graduated from Cornell University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree and from Harvard Law School in 2005 with a Juris Doctor. While
in law school, Brett formed a student organization called Students for
Protecting America, which garnered national media attention for its
support of the war in Iraq. He also served on the Republican National
Committee’s 72 hour task force in Miami, Florida in the days leading up
to the 2004 Presidential election.

After
law school, Brett worked as a corporate and real estate attorney at the
law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. He now serves as
a corporate counsel at the law firm of Wrobel & Schatz LLP and has
several business pursuits outside of law, including serving as a
principal in the commercial real estate firm, Iconik Enterprises, LLC.

Brett’s passions include playing sports, spending time with his family, discussing politics and following the New York Mets.