Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein called in to Boston sports radio station WEEI's "Dennis & Callahan" show on Thursday morning and touched on a number of topics, including Jason Bay's free agency, J.D. Drew's value, and Daniel Bard's future (listen to the interview here). Among the highlights...

• Early exit. Epstein said he was very happy with the team's regular season, saying they just went cold at the plate at the wrong time in the ALDS against the Angels. "I just feel like we just didn't show up for those three games," Epstein said.
• Bay's free agency. Theo did not provide an update on negotiations with soon-to-be free-agent outfielder Jason Bay, but continued to remain confident the Red Sox could strike a deal with him.

  "Certainly there's a good feeling involved," Epstein said. "He wants to be here, and we want to keep him. ... If it works out, great. If not we'll move on."

• Drew's value. The most interesting part of the conversation wasn't about the team's potential plans for the offseason, but rather about whether J.D. Drew was worth his $14 million contract this season.

  When it was pointed out that Drew's .279 batting average and RBI total (68) seem to be disappointing numbers for a corner outfielder making so much money, Epstein defended his player, indicating the metrics he used to quantify success weren't necessarily the ones most fans used.

  "There's been a lot of strides in the game in terms of how people properly value players based on more meaningful statistics," Epstein explained. "Drew is sort of a touchstone, so to speak, for that, because you actually look at the underlying performance and things that really matter as far as winning games and not winning games, he's been over the length of the contract one of the 10 most valuable outfielders in baseball. Over the last two years, I think he's been one of the top two or three in the league, and this past year, again, one of the top two or three most valuable outfielders in the American League.

  "And yet if you simplify the game down to what somebody's batting average was, how many home runs they hit or how many RBIs they had, which is what we all grew up doing, but by today's standards is a pretty primitive way to look at the game.

  "From a straight objective standpoint, what he contributes offensively and what he contributes defensively, and add in baserunning, so it's the total value of the player -- on a rate basis he was outstanding, and there aren't too many outfielders who compare to what he did."

  Asked whether he thought Drew was worth his $14 million salary, Epstein said, "What he's done qualitatively, and when you even factor in the amount he's played over these three years, yeah, he's come out to a tick more than $14 million per year."

• Interpreting comments on Ortiz. It appeared to some media and fans that Epstein was sending a message to designated hitter David Ortiz after the season when he made the following statement the day after the season ended:

  "If [Ortiz is] going to be the DH on this team [next season], we need him to be a force," Epstein said. "We're a different team when he is that force. There will be conversations about what he thinks he needs to do to get back there. It's important. It's important for this club for him to be that force as the DH."

  When asked about that comment Thursday, Epstein said his intention was misinterpreted.

  "I'm not trying to send anybody a message," Epstein said. "I don't send messages to the players through the media. I talk to our players a lot about things, but I don't send messages through the media."

• Bard as closer? Epstein also addressed whether he thinks 24-year-old reliever Daniel Bard is ready at this point in his career to be a closer.

  "I think he has the physical ability to do that, and I think we saw as he developed over the course of the year he has the mental makeup to do that as well," Epstein said. "At the same time, I think he's a work in progress.

  "This is somebody who performed really well at the highest level but is still working on some fundamental parts of his game. He's still tweaking his breaking ball. He's got a good breaking ball, but it probably isn't where it will be eventually. This is somebody who is still really a work in progress, and while he may have the ability to do something, it might not be the best thing for the long term and his career if we force him into something."

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