Let's Go Sox!

Well it is hard to believe that with all the Red Sox have been doing I have written very little in the past couple weeks, but here are my thoughts. The Red Sox offseason this year can be summed up in a few words, “awesome,” “perfect,” and “finally!” Now that the most glaring issue, the bullpen, has been addressed here are my thoughts, predictions, and anecdotes. First off a few thoughts, right now the Red Sox are stacked and probably have their best team in years. With the addition of power hitting Adrian Gonzalez and the speedy Carl Crawford, they have a formidable lineup that can top any pitching thrown at them. Their starting rotation is set (first year in a while that wasn’t a problem) and they finally fixed the leak in the bullpen. Remember the days when Lackey would pitch 7 innings and give up one run only to have the bullpen give up four, well they are over. Basically now the Sox have three closers and a couple long relievers. Now, there was one time when Theo thought getting a closer to act as Pap’s setup man would be a good idea (need we mention “give it up Gagne?”) so to say Jenks will work out is not yet a sure thing. But a well rested Bard and an extremely nervous Papelbon will be good for the team. Added to that Dan Wheeler and a healthy Doubront and you have an airtight, bullpen, or at least one that keeps you in the game. That said, here is my prediction, the Sox will (hopefully) win the Al East title with around 100 wins, the Yankees will be in 2nd and the Rays in either 3rd or 4th place. The Jays and Orioles will probably resume their “cellar dweller” status although the O’s have done a fair amount of retooling this winter. I’ll post a few polls up but for now the question is this: How many games will the Sox win in 2011? 1) 100-105 games, 2) 95-100 games, 3) 90-95 games, 4) 85-90 games? Vote early and vote often.