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| A master of disguises, Bobby Valentine, takes over a Red Sox team who did their best impression of the Chicago Cubs in 2012. |
Bobby Valentine is the law in Boston.
No beer in the clubhouse. No private jets. Fundamentals. The works.
He has also opened his mouth enough to draw comparisons to Rex Ryan. However, the man is hell-bent on getting this team to play up to their potential. That potential is a championship.
They have a great 1-2-3 punch in the rotation. Provided Daniel Bard can make a successful transition from reliever to starter and the rotation stays healthy, the Red Sox will be fine in that department. The bullpen will feature newcomers Mark Melancon and Andrew Bailey pitching the 8th and 9th. Credit to the Red Sox for trying to piece together a competent bullpen. With Papelbon in Philadelphia, the Red Sox managed to replace him with two closers. Dice-K, Rich Hill and Bobby Jenks will be on the DL to start the season and John Lackey will be on the DL all season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Outfielder Carl Crawford will also start 2012 on the DL. So that means you will see a healthy dose of Darnell McDonald and Ryan Sweeney early. Another position of note is Shortstop. Mike Aviles will most likely start the season there, but there have been questions him throwing to first. Jarrod Saltalamacchia will take over at Catcher after Captain Jason Varitek retired over the offseason.
On the bright side, the Red Sox have David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury in the lineup to start 2012. There is no excuse for this team to miss the playoffs, yet they are among the most fallible of the contending teams this season.
This is the most talented team in the AL. They need to go prove it to everyone.
X-FACTORS:
Lineup: OF Carl Crawford. He'll be back from injury at some point and he will need to make a difference.
Rotation: Daniel Bard. Like I mentioned earlier, a successful transition to the rotation will keep the staff afloat.
Bullpen: Matt Albers. Right now, Albers seems like the best candidate for a Bishop in the Sox bullpen.
The Kids: None. The Red Sox literally have no Backstreet Boys.
ROYAL LIST:
#51 3B Will Middlebrooks: I have the urge to call him "Mill Widdlebrooks."
#38 SS Xander Bogaerts: Finally seeing what the cast of Drawn Together is doing post-series.
#72 C Blake Swihart: Expect this kid to come up and be the best Sox catcher since Jason Varitek. Yes, I pulled that line out already.
PROJECTION: 1st Place AL East
-I don't see why they shouldn't be. Most talented team in the division is cleaning up their act a little bit, while fixing their bullpen.
No beer in the clubhouse. No private jets. Fundamentals. The works.
He has also opened his mouth enough to draw comparisons to Rex Ryan. However, the man is hell-bent on getting this team to play up to their potential. That potential is a championship.
They have a great 1-2-3 punch in the rotation. Provided Daniel Bard can make a successful transition from reliever to starter and the rotation stays healthy, the Red Sox will be fine in that department. The bullpen will feature newcomers Mark Melancon and Andrew Bailey pitching the 8th and 9th. Credit to the Red Sox for trying to piece together a competent bullpen. With Papelbon in Philadelphia, the Red Sox managed to replace him with two closers. Dice-K, Rich Hill and Bobby Jenks will be on the DL to start the season and John Lackey will be on the DL all season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Outfielder Carl Crawford will also start 2012 on the DL. So that means you will see a healthy dose of Darnell McDonald and Ryan Sweeney early. Another position of note is Shortstop. Mike Aviles will most likely start the season there, but there have been questions him throwing to first. Jarrod Saltalamacchia will take over at Catcher after Captain Jason Varitek retired over the offseason.
On the bright side, the Red Sox have David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury in the lineup to start 2012. There is no excuse for this team to miss the playoffs, yet they are among the most fallible of the contending teams this season.
This is the most talented team in the AL. They need to go prove it to everyone.
X-FACTORS:
Lineup: OF Carl Crawford. He'll be back from injury at some point and he will need to make a difference.
Rotation: Daniel Bard. Like I mentioned earlier, a successful transition to the rotation will keep the staff afloat.
Bullpen: Matt Albers. Right now, Albers seems like the best candidate for a Bishop in the Sox bullpen.
The Kids: None. The Red Sox literally have no Backstreet Boys.
ROYAL LIST:
#51 3B Will Middlebrooks: I have the urge to call him "Mill Widdlebrooks."
#38 SS Xander Bogaerts: Finally seeing what the cast of Drawn Together is doing post-series.
#72 C Blake Swihart: Expect this kid to come up and be the best Sox catcher since Jason Varitek. Yes, I pulled that line out already.
PROJECTION: 1st Place AL East
-I don't see why they shouldn't be. Most talented team in the division is cleaning up their act a little bit, while fixing their bullpen.
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