Boston Red Sox Season Preview
What a team. Why these guys can’t get over the job done, I don’t know. My best
guess comes down to the theory of the Curse of Babe Ruth. The Red Sox have been
poised to make a run at the World Series for several years now, but it’s always
something. Just look at the group: They have the very best one and two starter
combo in the AL in Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe. The pair combined to win 41,
finished first and second in AL ERA (2.26 and 2.58 respectively), and Pedro led
the AL in strikeouts with 239. Tim Wakefield will move into the rotation instead
of swinging back and forth like he has the past few years. Wakefield finished
fourth in the ERA race with 2.81. The bullpen looks a bit shaky, but they did
add one of the Yankees relief super stars by signing Ramiro Mendoza. Then
there’s the line up, led by LF Manny Ramirez who might be the best run producer
in the AL. Ramirez won his first batting title in ’02, hitting .349 to go with
33 HR and 107 RBI in only 120 games. In addition, Nomar Garciaparra should be
back to %100 after wrist surgery in 2001. Nomar has two career batting titles to
his credit. The rest of the group is very solid – four of the remaining seven
have been All-Stars. Just like the last few years, Boston has the potential to
win it all, but something always happens to stop them. This team is good enough
on paper to win the World Series, but I don’t think they’ll do it this year.
Line Up CF Johnny Damon, 2B Todd Walker, SS Nomar Garciaparra, LF Manny Ramirez,
DH Jeremy Giambi, 1B Shea Hillenbrand, RF Trot Nixon, C Jason Varitek, 3B Bill
Mueller Rotation RH Pedro Martinez, RH Derek Lowe, RH Tim Wakefield, LH Casey
Fossum, RH John Burkett Closer Closer by Committee