Boston Redsox Preview
Win Total (5dimes)
Over 94.5 +105
Under 94.5 -125
The Redsox won 95 games last year but lost to the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. This may be why they went out and got John Lackey to solidify an already very good rotation. I'm not going to beat around the bush here, these guys are the best team in baseball as we speak. I know its still spring training and we have many injuries and trades ahead of us..but as far as I'm concerned the Yankee's and the rest of baseball are behind the 8-ball as we begin the season.
Whats to Like: When Dice-K is your worst starter, you are in very good shape in my mind. They improved their defense, brought in John Lackey to be their third starter, and still have one of the best bullpens in baseball.
Ive heard some posters say "how are they going to score runs?"
Lets start with Jacoby Ellsbury, he may need to work on his onbase % (.355) but he still hit .301 and stole 70 bases. He'll get to everything in leftfield so I think we agree they are in good shape here. 2008 MVP Dustin Pedroia has a .307 career average and will most likely hit 50 doubles and about 15 HR's, not bad for a second baseman.First baseman K.Youkilis will hit over .300, be onbase over .400, and slug around .550.. go ahead and see hom many guys you can find that do this now a days, i promise you the list is short. Catcher Victor Martinez has hit over .300 4 of his last 5 years and should easily hit 25 HR's and 40 doubles. On his days off he will play first or DH so his bat will most likely always be in the lineup. Most people dont realize that J.D Drew has a career .392 Onbase % to go along with his power and sweet stroke. He is injury prone so Theo did the right thing and brought in Hermida from the Marlins to fill in if he goes down. Marco Scutaro hit .282 with 35 doubles and scored 100 runs for the Blue jays last year, look for him to improve on these numbers this year in a better lineup all while playing a smooth shortstop. Scoring runs will not be a problem for this team, That I can promise you fukks..
As I said before, Dice-K is their worst starter so there is no purpose in going through each guy and telling you how good they are.(They are Good) I do want to say that I think Clay Buchholz will be the talk of the town by the All-Star break and most likely known as the Sox best pitcher come playoff time.
Papelbon is great as their closer, Okajima is as solid as they come as a setup guy. Daniel Bard is a closer-to-be wih a high 90's fastball. Delcarmen needs to rebound from a shaky '09 but if he doesnt R.Ramirez is ready to take is pace. The bullpen is solid.
Mike Lowell, B.Hall, Jason Veritek, J.Hermida.. these are guys that will be riding the bench in Boston.. that is what you call depth. Tim Wakefield is going to have to be a long reliever/ spot starter because their rotation is so strong.
Marco Scutaro is going to bat ninth people, how could you not like this team??
Whats Not to Like: Im a little worried about newly acquired CF M.Cameron and 3B A.Beltre. These guys could both have bad years and end up hitting around .245. That being said these guys play great defense and I believe they were brought in for this one reason.
You cant like how Big Papi hit last year, but he did end up with 28 homeruns after doing nothing for the first couple months. When you have guys like Mike Lowell on the bench this really isnt a big a problem as many think. Papi will hit 35 HR's with about a .270 average, he'll find a cocktail they cant test for yet and be almost as good as new. Relax People...
Recap: They are my pick to win it all, and when you offer me Over 94.5 at Plus Money, Ill take it. They are the only team in the AL with a shot at winning 100 games, and I look forward to bumping this when they do..
Win Total (5dimes)
Over 94.5 +105
Under 94.5 -125
The Redsox won 95 games last year but lost to the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. This may be why they went out and got John Lackey to solidify an already very good rotation. I'm not going to beat around the bush here, these guys are the best team in baseball as we speak. I know its still spring training and we have many injuries and trades ahead of us..but as far as I'm concerned the Yankee's and the rest of baseball are behind the 8-ball as we begin the season.
Whats to Like: When Dice-K is your worst starter, you are in very good shape in my mind. They improved their defense, brought in John Lackey to be their third starter, and still have one of the best bullpens in baseball.
Ive heard some posters say "how are they going to score runs?"
Lets start with Jacoby Ellsbury, he may need to work on his onbase % (.355) but he still hit .301 and stole 70 bases. He'll get to everything in leftfield so I think we agree they are in good shape here. 2008 MVP Dustin Pedroia has a .307 career average and will most likely hit 50 doubles and about 15 HR's, not bad for a second baseman.First baseman K.Youkilis will hit over .300, be onbase over .400, and slug around .550.. go ahead and see hom many guys you can find that do this now a days, i promise you the list is short. Catcher Victor Martinez has hit over .300 4 of his last 5 years and should easily hit 25 HR's and 40 doubles. On his days off he will play first or DH so his bat will most likely always be in the lineup. Most people dont realize that J.D Drew has a career .392 Onbase % to go along with his power and sweet stroke. He is injury prone so Theo did the right thing and brought in Hermida from the Marlins to fill in if he goes down. Marco Scutaro hit .282 with 35 doubles and scored 100 runs for the Blue jays last year, look for him to improve on these numbers this year in a better lineup all while playing a smooth shortstop. Scoring runs will not be a problem for this team, That I can promise you fukks..
As I said before, Dice-K is their worst starter so there is no purpose in going through each guy and telling you how good they are.(They are Good) I do want to say that I think Clay Buchholz will be the talk of the town by the All-Star break and most likely known as the Sox best pitcher come playoff time.
Papelbon is great as their closer, Okajima is as solid as they come as a setup guy. Daniel Bard is a closer-to-be wih a high 90's fastball. Delcarmen needs to rebound from a shaky '09 but if he doesnt R.Ramirez is ready to take is pace. The bullpen is solid.
Mike Lowell, B.Hall, Jason Veritek, J.Hermida.. these are guys that will be riding the bench in Boston.. that is what you call depth. Tim Wakefield is going to have to be a long reliever/ spot starter because their rotation is so strong.
Marco Scutaro is going to bat ninth people, how could you not like this team??
Whats Not to Like: Im a little worried about newly acquired CF M.Cameron and 3B A.Beltre. These guys could both have bad years and end up hitting around .245. That being said these guys play great defense and I believe they were brought in for this one reason.
You cant like how Big Papi hit last year, but he did end up with 28 homeruns after doing nothing for the first couple months. When you have guys like Mike Lowell on the bench this really isnt a big a problem as many think. Papi will hit 35 HR's with about a .270 average, he'll find a cocktail they cant test for yet and be almost as good as new. Relax People...
Recap: They are my pick to win it all, and when you offer me Over 94.5 at Plus Money, Ill take it. They are the only team in the AL with a shot at winning 100 games, and I look forward to bumping this when they do..
