Feeling the springtime butterflies
Normally, I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day. Too many hearts and teddy bears and googly eyes for me. But this year, we’ll also hear the four little words every Red Sox fan has been yearning for: “Pitchers and catchers report.” Now that’s romantic.
The landscape of the AL East looks different heading into 2008. The Tampa Bay Rays have new uniforms to go with their new name and a talented young squad poised to break out of the cellar. The Orioles spent the winter conducting a fire sale of sorts and look about ready to sink to the bottom. The Blue Jays have rejiggered their roster, too, but aren’t likely to crack the top two slots in the league this year, barring a complete disaster in the Bronx. (A girl can dream.)
Speaking of the Yankees, this was a stand-pat offseason for them. After this year, a number of their expensive, older players will be free agents, and you can expect a flurry of activity then. For now, they’re content to watch young hurlers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy develop. But by relying on three young pitchers who should all be on strict innings limits, the best the Yankees can realistically hope for is another wild-card berth. But even with their stacked-as-always lineup, the strength of both the Tigers and Indians this year means even that’s not a lock.
Thus, Boston starts the year as the divisional favorites. The Red Sox went into the winter without too many items on their to-do list. Add a hot young pitcher and a leadoff-hitting center fielder? Check and check, and fresh from their own farm system, too. Re-sign Mike Lowell? Check. Let Eric Gagne go as far away as possible? Check.
However, there are a few areas of potential concern. First, Clay Buchholz is sure to be on a strict innings limit himself and won’t throw much more than 175 innings. With Curt Schilling out until at least the All-Star break (and possibly for the year), that leaves a bit of a gap. The Sox will need 41-year-old Tim Wakefield to stay healthy, eat up innings and make his regularly scheduled starts. They’ll need Jon Lester to pitch like Jon Lester can pitch. And even so, they’ll need occasional help from Julian Tavarez and Justin Masterson. Mean-while, David Ortiz will be coming back from offseason knee surgery, and Manny Ramirez will be attempting to recover, at age 36, from a down season. And no one knows whether we’ll see the J.D. Drew of the 2007 regular season or the J.D. Drew of the playoffs.
Yet in February, details like these can be easily brushed aside. This ballclub has homegrown youngsters, venerable veterans, good pitching, solid defense and patient hitting. Today, that’s enough to give even the most cynical Red Sox fan the very googliest of eyes.
