How do I create a shorthand for bash output redirection?

Question

I've been running a lot of similar commands lately, e.g.

python foo.py some args 2>&1 | tee foo.log
python bar.py otherarg 2>&1 | tee bar.log

To save typing, I'd like a shorthand for 2>&1 | tee like

python foo.py some args $tee foo.log

but when I say export tee='2>&1 | tee', this gives me this error: Variable assignment '2>&1' invalid (no "=")

Is there a way to create a convenient shorthand (not necessarily identical to what I've written above) for this kind of output redirection?