Season Preview: Boston Red Sox

joe: Save for Manny Ramirez, there is no one on the 2007 World Series Champions that I particularly like. My whole life I have been staunchly anti-Yankee because of my unwavering support for the New York Metropolitans. So naturally by extension I've been sympathetic to the Red Sox and their never ending quest to topple the evil-empire. Now for the first time ever, I can honestly say that I would be happier if the Yankees had success than this team. I'm not sure if it's the annoying dancing, the frat-boy arrogance or the constant yapping about Red-Sox nation from their fans that annoys me most, but every time I see coverage about the Red Sox I am irritated to the point where I change the channel or turn the radio dial.

All that aside, I still very much do appreciate Manny Ramirez. Talent is so important in baseball, there is less of that concept of intangibles and "making your team better" so often seen in basketball. Manny Ramirez is blessed with the most natural hitting talent I have seen since I started seriously watching baseball in the mid 90s. Talent aside, his general aloofness and almost child-like displays of admiration with his own abilities is what many people hate about him but I cant get enough of the highlights of him mashing a monster homerun of some schlub pitcher and keeping his arms fully extended, lingering in the batter's box until the ball leaves the park. He has his quirks, he says what he feels when he wants to, and does what he needs to do when he needs to do them and is completely unapologetic to those that say his 'antics' are disrespectful to the game.

Regardless of my personal feelings about the rest of the Red Sox, this is a team built to win. Josh Beckett has truly become the player he was groomed to be since his early success with the Marlins, Jonathan Papelbon is as dominant as he is irksome, Dice-K will be more comfortable pitching in the U.S. during his second year as the mania surrounding his arrival dies down. With those kinds of weapons in their arsenal, if David Ortiz can keep in shape for one more season, there is no reason to not expect the Red Sox in the thick of things in late August and' September. Dustin Pedroia and to a lesser extent Jacoby Ellsbury came up and played a huge role in the teams success in their first years which always leads to high expectations in the sophomore season. It will be interesting to see if their success continues, as the team cannot afford to have these guys slump when nothing that Coco Crisp, J.D. Drew or Julio Lugo are expected to offer can be counted on.

dhivy: The question all of Boston is asking is what to expect from Curt Schilling. His shoulder has become a major concern and it’s unknown when he’ll be able to contribute to the rotation. Unfortunately, it hasn’t affected his egomania, so we’re still subject to Curt’s views on everything from steroids to foreign policy. While Boston’s other starters lack his desire to annoy everyone around him, there’s plenty of talent to carry the Sox. Josh Beckett has proven himself one of the premier pitchers in the league and fans expect Jon Lester & Clay Buchholz to improve on their ’07 campaigns. Of course, Clay threw a no-hitter last year so I’m not sure how much he can improve. Maybe he’ll throw no-hitters and take over as designated hitter on his off days. Papelbon is the big name out of the pen, but don’t discount the importance of Hideki Okajima. The lefty’s changeup baffled hitters for most of the season, and his ability to manage the late innings could dictate the direction this bullpen turns.

The Red Sox know what they’re going to get out of Manny, Lowell & Ortiz. They know Lugo’s going to play great D and Youkilis is going to have a high OBP. After that there's a high level of uncertainty in the lineup. JD Drew turned in a great postseason, but can we expect him to replicate that success, or is another sub-par regular season on tap? Jason Varitek is the unquestioned leader of the squad, but will his production continue to wane as he enters his twelfth season? Dustin Pedroia won the AL Rookie of the Year, but can he avoid a sophomore slump? Perhaps the biggest unknown and the one player that everyone is excited to see is Jacoby Ellsbury. He hit .355 in 141 ABs spanning the regular and postseason and stole 11 bases in 40 starts. His defense in center has also been good enough to unseat incumbent and cereal mogul Coco Crisp. As the first Native American to play in the majors, he might even step his game up when Cleveland comes to town. Just try not to litter around him.

In 2004, I was a senior in college and was excited to see the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years. I even wore the same green sweatshirt for the final eight games of the postseason. Three years later when the Red Sox swept Colorado to capture their second title in four years, I found myself hating everything about them. Schilling & Beckett were the most pompous people I’d ever seen. Manny & Ortiz were lazy, overpaid oafs. Pedroia & Ellsbury had a couple good games and the media was anointing them as saviors. What made me sour on this organization so quickly was the attitude the fans took on overnight. Boston fans went from hoping to win to expecting to win, which puts them on par with the Yankee’s fans in my estimation. Combine that with the Patriots' historic run and the Celtics' new found relevance and Boston's entitlement has become a cultural phenomena on par with its slurred speech pattern. Here’s hoping the AL East race isn’t limited to Sawks and the Yuckees.

Unsung Hero:

• Sean Casey(j)
• Jacoby Ellsbury(d)
• Clay Buchholz(q)

Achilles' Heel:

• Curt Schilling(j)
• Jason Varitek(d)
• Julio Lugo(q)

Favorite Memory:

• In game four of the ALCS Manny Ramirez smashes a majestic 451 foot shot and stands in the box for a full 9 seconds as the ball travels through the air. The Red Sox were still down by 4 runs after the homer.(j)
• Jon Lester wins his first start back after recovering from lymphoma.(d)
• Against Oakland, Curt Schilling had a no-hitter going with two outs in the ninth. Shannon Stewart ended Schilling's bid at history with a sharp single and in turn started his bid at Most Valuable Player Who Spared Us From A World Where Curt Schilling Has Pitched A No-hitter. (q)

Bold Prediction:

• In his quest to continually do annoying dances, Jonathan Papelbon does "the superman dance" after each strikeout.(j)
• Manny Ramirez takes a bathroom break inside the green monster. The Red Sox give up 7 runs as they have no left fielder for the inning.(d)
• Red Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen decides to adopt Boston's popular "Manny Being Manny" credo. In his first appearance of the season, Delcarmen gives up seven runs in a third of an inning while eating hot dogs on the mound and is ejected for doctoring the ball after getting mustard everywhere. (q)