INDIANAPOLIS -- What we don't know is what the final contract numbers will be for Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, and this shouldn't be a one-versus-the-other thing. They are big, middle-order, right-handed power bats in a sport in which three right-handed-hitting outfielders had more than 20 homers and at least a .900 OPS and .500 slugging percentage in 2009: Ryan Braun, Bay and Holliday.Sure, people will debate the sagacity of five- or six-year deals to Bay, who turns 32 in September, or Holliday, who turns 30 next month. But they are left fielders. Yes, Bay's had a couple of surgeries and his defense has been debated, but check John Dewan's Fielding Bible and you'll find 12 teams with worse defense in left field. At worst, at age 34, Bay can DH, and he's proven to be someone unaffected by the pressures of the Northeast Corridor, a quiet man well respected by his peers.Anyone who knows Holliday knows that he is a baseball rat who also happens to be an extraordinary athlete and an even better person. As Bay has been publicly depreciated for his defense, Holliday has been labeled a "National League player" susceptible to decent fastballs on the inner half of the plate, as if they don't throw fastballs in the National League. Did Holliday get off to a dreadful start in Oakland? Yes. It was partly the misery of the cold and anonymity of the Al Davis Dump (McAfee Coliseum), partly due to some changes he tried to make in his leg kick during the offseason. Yes, he was awful for 22 games; then in his last 71 games in the American League, before his trade to the Cardinals, he batted .310 with a .905 OPS. And after those 22 games, factoring in what he did in St. Louis, he batted .328 with a .955 OPS. For his career, Holliday against American League teams is hitting .312 with an .885 OPS. And by the way, the only American League outfielders with an OPS higher than .885 in 2009 were Bay and Drew.Phillies scouts following the Cardinals claimed that the Dodgers threw 43 fastballs on the inner half out of 45 pitches to Holliday, and he went 2-for-12, his one homer coming on a breaking ball. Albert Pujols batted .267 in two World Series. Short series do not allow hitters time to adjust to the game plans put in place by team scouting reports. In case you're wondering, Holliday was 5-for-17 with a homer in Colorado's four-game series against the Red Sox in 2007. Look, there were people in the Braves' camp who privately questioned Mark Teixeira's ability to hit good pitching, and now point to his .237 career postseason average. Meanwhile, the Yankees point to his ring, his Silver Slugger Award, his Gold Glove and the fact that his signing was the difference in this season's episode of the 130-Year War.It's hard to guess where Bay and Holliday end up, although there's an industry-wide feeling that one of the two will end up in Boston, in the middle of an order with Kevin Youkilis, Victor Martinez, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew and either Mike Lowell or ar another third baseman like Mark DeRosa or Adrian Beltre. It's hard to gauge the timeline; several agents have read that this could be a first-come, first-serve market at many positions, which may be why Placido Polanco, Chone Figgins, Marco Scutaro and Billy Wagner have been signed relatively quickly.A deal for DeRosa could get done quickly. One for Beltre probably will not. The Cubs think they can pull off the Milton Bradley-to-Tampa Bay deal and have months to figure out what to do with Pat Burrell, whom they'd get in return. They'd like to acquire Curtis Granderson, but the Tigers have little interest in trading the center fielder. The Joel Pineiro (that major league leading 33 double plays and only one stolen base sure makes him attractive)/Randy Wolf/Vicente Padilla delegation could go one after another. The fact that the Dodgers have made virtually no effort to bring back Wolf worries a lot of their followers that the McCourt operation may be in the hands of lawyers and judges.Holliday and Bay are precious commodities. So is John Lackey. What their agents are counting on is that some team will do what the Yankees did last winter, make a pre-emptive strike and offer what 29 other clubs will call an "overpay," because when you're one of the revenue-producing teams, boardroom theory and on-field production can be two distinctly different languages.