2009 Record: 95-67
Lineup:
1. Ellsbury LF
2. Pedroia 2nd
3. V-Mart C
4. Youk 1st
5. Ortiz DH
6. Drew RF
7. Beltre 3rd
8. Cameron CF
9. Scutaro SS
The Sox have a solid lineup top to bottom, the question is do they have enough firepower in the middle to drive in runs. All these guys can hit, but there is no superstar. V-Mart/Youk are the closest, but there is a big difference between that and the Ortiz/Manny days of old. So, it will be interesting to see how this lineup comes together. I know they will have a bunch of hits, but I question who is going to be the RBI machine.
Pitching:
1. Beckett
2. Lester
3. Lackey
4. Wakefield
5. Buchholz/Dice-K
CL: Papelbon
In short this rotation is filthy. Beckett/Lester/Lackey should be the best 1-2-3 in baseball. Buchholz looked strong at the end of last year, and Wakefield was an all-star before injuries took him down. Dice-K is a question mark, and it will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy and who place he will take in the rotation (my guess is Wake). I am a little worried about Papelbon, but I think he can hold it together long enough to get through this season (I think this will be his last here). The bullpen is OK, but not great. Bard, Papelbon, and Okajima are very good, but the guys getting to them (Ramirez, Delcarmen, ect) are big question marks. Still, this is one of the best pitching teams in the MLB.
Overall:
I question the hitting, but I do think the have the pieces to bring in a big time hitter (Cabrera/A-Gon) if they need to. I like this team, and it will be interesting to see how this whole "defense" will go. Wouldn't be awesome if the Sox crowd started chanting defense every game...I do.
2010 Record: 96-66
No comments:
Post a Comment