AN INTERVIEW WITH JASON BAY

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Boston is the new "Bay Area." ... Sorry, we'll let ourselves out.

Red Sox OF Jason Bay, better known as "that guy they got for Manny," is enjoying his first trip to the MLB postseason. Just before Boston's 12-inning, 5–4 loss to the Angels last night, which snapped the Halos' legendary playoff losing streak, we talked about everything from combating jet lag to the fine line between routine and obsessive superstition.

Mag.com: The Red Sox landed at 10 a.m. Saturday morning after playing Game 2 Friday night, what is your best trick for fighting jet lag?
Bay: "I don't have one yet, that's the problem. Someone told me just to stay up, but I had already taken a nap, so I blew that one out of the water. I'm not really used to the back and forth stuff, so I have no trick."

What is your ideal time for a playoff game to start?
"Ideally would be seven o'clock Eastern, whether that's four o'clock Pacific—is that four o'clock? Is that right? Yeah. Because we play so many games here at Fenway at that time. That's what time your body is used to everything. For me anyway, that would be the number one time I like playing."

What time did you get to the ballpark?
"Two, which is how I usually do it every day. It gives me time to get here, watch some video, grab something to eat, decompress. I HATE being rushed. More than anything in the world, I can't stand being rushed. It drives my wife nuts to no end because I probably leave an hour earlier than a lot of people, but it's part of my routine."

Who did you leave tickets for?
"My mom and dad. My in-laws had been in town for the last two weeks because we just had a new baby. [My parents] actually got off the flight that my in-laws got on yesterday going back to Seattle. They're here and they're excited."

How many ticket requests did you turn down?
"It's actually been easy because, unbeknownst to me, we don't get tickets. During the season you get so many tickets provided. During the playoffs, you have to request before that you need this many tickets. I didn't know that, so when people asked me, I said, 'Sorry, I don't have any.' I only turned down five or six people and those were only the blunt ones who were bold enough to ask."

Which teammate is having the most fun being in the playoffs?
"Can I say me? This is my first one. My first kick at the can and I'm having a blast. Not that the guys who have done it before are not having fun, but the way things have gone, just being out there in October has been a blast for me."

Who is your most superstitious teammate?
"[Dustin] Pedroia. He's more routine than superstitious. He does everything at the same time every day. He's very regimented. Baseball is viewed as routine, but people call it superstition."

Who can't stop talking in the dugout during these playoff games?
"Sean Casey is always chirping. David Ross has turned into a big cheerleader as well. He's a big part of our team now. I played with him before and he's a good guy."

Who can't sit still during the games?
"I'd have to say Pedroia again just because he drinks so many energy drinks. He's unable to sit still."

Best advice you've received before the playoffs?
"It's the same game. Before the playoffs started, everyone was asking what I was going to do different, how it was going to affect me, all this stuff. And I said that I don't know because I hadn't played any yet. So I am taking the exact same approach, the same routine—superstition if you will—that I would every other regular game, and that's been the biggest thing, trying to keep it as normal as possible because it is a little bit different. From my end, everything that I can control, everything that I do that keeps it even for me, on an even keel, that's what I've done. That's basically what the guys have said, don't start changing stuff because it's the playoffs."

Our interview was briefly interrupted as Red Sox bullpen coach Gary Tuck handed Jason a baseball.

Is that a special ball?
"This is the homerun I hit off John Lackey. It was my first postseason hit. They got it in the bullpen. It's a keeper and it was nice they got it for me."

Best part of being in the playoffs?
"The atmosphere. Going up there, I'm emotionally, physically spent after every game. The intensity in every pitch, you run into that maybe once or twice a month in the regular season, in a big game maybe, but you don't run into them very much in a 162-game schedule."

What has surprised you the most about the playoffs?
"We went into Yankee Stadium and played the Yankees, we went into Tampa and played the Rays when we were battling for first place, but then we went to Anaheim and that place was rocking, that was some atmosphere. People try and prepare you for it, but the bottom line is until you go through it, you don't know. That was kind of it for me. It was like, 'Wow, THIS is the playoffs.' I'm happy not to see any more rally monkeys."

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