Red Sox Nation is starting to spur as the sox report to Ft. Myers this week! Pitchers and catchers reported on the day of love, the 14th, and the position players are expected to all be there by the 18th. Some players have reported, such as newcomer Adrian Gonzalez, who is expected to be the cleanup hitter/gold glove first baseman for the team this summer.
This season is going to be something special; I can just feel it in the air. After main off season signings of Carl Crawford and Gonzo, the team's offense is the deepest it's been in years. I mean when you potentially have one of the best, and most clutch hitters in baseball in Big PAPI hitting 6th or 7th, you know they did something write to fix this line up.
Yes, the offense has been improved, but that was never the issue last year. Last year the team hit for a total avg. of .268 with a .339 OBP and a .451 slugging percentage. And that was with key injures such as Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis out for a lot of the summer. The issue was the lack of a bullpen and the inconsistent pitching from the starters..Josh Beckett in particular.
As the starters look to have a bounce back year, and Beckett promising that last season was a fluke and he will be on his game this season, the bullpen is the thing that everyone is watching. The main Bullpen acquisition this winter was that of Bobby Jenks. Jenks has been the closer for the White Sox since 2005 and has proved himself in the M LB with a career 173 saves(About 36 a season). That's not my reason however. I think Jenks will become our closer next season. Papelbon will probably leave after his last season this year, and Bard is just not ready yet. Jenks and Bard should split the set up time this year to get Jenks into the normal rotation. Other key bullpen acquisitions include: Dan Wheeler and Felix Doubront.
With Spring Training just days away from being in full swing, this is what I see right now as the lineup being for opening day(check back for updates right up until opening day):
1. Jacoby Ellsbury
2.Carl Crawford
3. Dustin Pedroia
4. Adrian Gonzalez
5. Kevin Youuuukilis
6. David Ortiz
7. J.D Drew
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia/V-Tek
9. Marco Scutaro/Jed Lowrie
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