Papelbon’s Future: Papelbon is no longer reveered in Boston and his replacement is ready to go. Can he bounce back from a disappointing 2010 (5.78 ERA) and pitch more like 2009 (3.86)? I say yes. Josh Beckett: Beckett is unpredictable and widely considered a jerk. I bet manager Terry Francona has gotten alot of headaches thinking about how he will hit all these guys second in the lineup at once. 2 hitters? Surely GM Theo Epstein should have recognized this and gone after more traditional roles. How can a lineup be any good with that many No. Drew may all be best suited for the 2-hole. 2 type hitters: Dustin Pedroia, Carl Crawford, Marco Scutero, and J.D. If he doesn’t the Sox certainly have the resources to go get another catcher. In a stacked lineup, Salty could produce. 248 BA and only had 24 AB’s in 2010 as he sorted out his…issues. At all.) taught Salty how to throw it back to the pitcher, he’s still a weak place in the lineup. Assuming Jason Varitek (the CAPTAIN!!! I always hated that he wore that C on his chest. Not a good sign for a team with World Series aspirations. Dude can hit but can’t throw it back to the pitcher. He threw what one scout called the most dominant inning he had ever seen (99 MPH fastball, 7 pitches, 2 K’s).Ĭatcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the No. Remember Andrew Miller, the guy in the Miguel Cabrera trade who couldn’t throw strikes with the Marlins? He’s back with the Red Sox as a left handed specialist out of the bullpen and has looked great in Spring Training. This team has three guys who could close on a lot of teams. Don’t forget (as I did) that this team also has Bobby Jenks who has had at least 27 saves in each of the past 5 years. 176 BAA and didn’t post an ERA over 3.07 in any single month. Should Papelbon struggle, look for Daniel Bard to get the shot at closing, Bard, and his upper-90s fastball, should have no problem in the closers role especially considering he had a. Bullpen: Jonathon Papelbon may not be the top closer of two years ago but he still had 37 saves and more K’s than IP. Oh, and there is Clay Buchholz (17-7, 2.33 ERA-2nd in the AL, age 26) who looks awesome in his Phiten necklace. We haven’t even mentioned Jon Lester (3.25, 19-9, 225 K, 1.20 WHIP, age 27) who was recently named opening day starter. You know what your getting with Lackey so don’t expect too much. John Lackey was brought over last year to help the team and posted his typical season (200+ IP, over 3.50 ERA, and under 200 K’s). Daisuke may not be the $100 Million man the Red Sox thought he would be when they brought him over from Japan but he gets people out (4.69 ERA in the AL East is not terrible). But, its an informative blog so I’ll tell you more. That should tell you all you need to know. Youkilis, Crawford, Ortiz, and Drew are perennial all stars and in combination could create a bit of Murderers row. Pedroia was hurt last year but is only two years removed from an MVP 2008. While the lineup is admittedly a bit lefty heavy (5 lefty only) the team will score a ton of runs. Lineup: With the offseason additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, the Red Sox transformed their team into the most formidable lineup in the Majors. Anyway, with the post-2004 Red Sox an annual contender, can the 2011 Sox make it 3 Championships in 7 years? One of the best series ever and part of my baseball memories from my childhood that I will tell my kids when I’m older (Along with “I saw Barry Bonds play”, “watched on TV as McGwire hit number 62”, and “left a game in the eighth inning with the Braves down 9 only to listen on the radio as they had a 10 run ninth-never leave a game early”). All of us non-Yankee fans remember that ALCS when the Sox beat the Yankees after going down three games to none. Then Curt Schilling, bloody sock and all, helped an unruly, unkempt crowd of players reward Boston with a World Series win in 2004. The Red Sox could not get over the curse of the Bambino for a full 86 years.
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