Search This Blog

Thursday 17 March 2011

CTOD: Boston Red Sox

Last year was a difficult one for Red Sox fans (myself included) as an injury plagued campaign had them finish the season in third place, behind the still surprising Rays and the always tough Yankees. Without key players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett and Kevin Youkilis for much of the year, new additions Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre picked up much of the slack but it wasn't enough to reach October. This year those two players are lost to free agency, but that long list of walking wounded has returned - alongside a few marquee additions.




While Beltre's dramatic shots over the Green Monster (off one knee) and Martinez's steady presence behind the plate will be missed, Theo Epstein had perhaps the best off-season of any GM securing the services of star outfielder Carl Crawford and long-coveted first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Crawford will pair with Ellsbury to form a potent one-two punch at the top of the order, and defensively I don't think many balls will be finding green on the left side of the outfield between that speedy duo. Gonzalez will join the heart of the order, batting third, where his numbers will no doubt balloon thanks to some protection in the lineup and Fenway's short porch in left. The bottom of the batting order gets a little less imposing with new catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (platooning with Jason Varitek) and the soft hitting Marco Scutaro getting the call at short stop over Jed Lowrie. But despite the lack of pop at the bottom of the lineup it's safe to say there will be no shortage of offensive fireworks in beantown this summer.

Perhaps the most uncertainty on this 2011 Red Sox team lies in the starting rotation. While it's not as bad as the rival Yankees', there certainly are some questions to be asked of this starting 5. Clay Buchholz had a phenomenal year last year but much has been made of how much luck played a factor in that with his ridiculously low BABIP. Can the good luck continue? Josh Beckett (now the #4 starter) was never himself last year as lingering injuries and blister problems led to easily his worst year in Boston. Can he bounce back? John Lackey had some difficulty adjusting to the hype and pressure of baseball in the AL East, and while he performed fairly well, his ceiling for this year has to be slightly higher. Daisuke Matsuzaka has never really panned out, and while he's been slightly above average you never know what you're going to get from him on a given night. That brings us to opening day starter John Lester, who's consistency and competitive fire make him the sole exclamation mark in this rotation filled with potential questions. But should any of the starters falter, the Red Sox do have deep coffers to draw from including veteran Tim Wakefield and Felix Doubront. So even if the injury bug (Beckett) or ineffectiveness (Matsuzaka) strikes, this pitching staff is going to be alright.

Once the starters are done, the already solid Sox bullpen has a few new faces that will make innings 6-9 even more difficult on opposing batters. Big Bobby Jenks brings his bad blonde goatee (and Dan Wheeler) to join the likes of closer Jonathan Papelbon and closer-in-waiting Daniel Bard to form one of the best 'pens in the bigs.


Prediction: First in AL East. The team to beat in the AL.


Surprise Player: Jonathan Papelbon. While he had his struggles last year, I expect a big year from the intense closer as he re-establishes himself as one of the games best firemen with Bard and Jenks breathing down his neck.

Given the additions they've made in the off-season and the top tier talent returning from injuries, anything less than first place versus the depleted Rays and the aging Yankees would be considered a failure. While the rotation is perhaps the weakest link on this team, it is one of the best in the American League and will undoubtedly perform well while the retooled (and rehabilitated) offense paces the Red Sox to a pennant and beyond.

1 comment:

  1. I think the Sox will be expecting nothing less than a World Series birth this year. With a line-up like theirs, they'll reek havoc on opposing rotations night in and night out.

    ReplyDelete