Spring Training Preview 2013

Do you smell it in the air yet? The smell of springtime? The smell of sweet grass freshly mowed? The sound of baseballs cracking off a stick of pine? Well, me neither.  Blizzard of 2013 had different ideas and that little weasel Punxsutawny Phil is a lying sack of shit.  But anyway, the Red Sox spring training truck has departed Boston and gone to Ft. Lauderdale.  Pitchers and catchers have reported to camp and baseball has officially technically sort of begun!  We all know the Sox are coming off one doozy of a year.  Every player underperformed to the best of their ability and Bobby V lead the team about as well as Roy Horn played with Bengal Tigers.  BUT...there are reasons to be optimistic about this team moving forward:

John Farrell and Starting Pitchers

Jon Lester and Clay Bucholz have both pitched for Farrell when he was pitching coach, and they both have a ton of respect for the guy.  Respect was a huge problem for last year's squad as Bobby V struggled to gain confidence and trust from both the players and the coaches.  Farrell is already respected and is as professional as they come in the league.  I could easily see Lester regaining his ace of staff form under the guidance of Farrell, and Bucholz was pitching lights out early last season before the entire operation sort of went to shit.  If both those guys can become leaders, and with John Lackey looking to be in the best shape of his life, I don't see how it won't rub off on young guys like Felix Doubront, Daniel Bard, Matt Barnes, and Allen Webster.  Oh, and Ryan Dempster has the potential to be the best #3 or #4 starter in baseball.

No More Big Ego's

Sayonara Beckett! Adios Gonzalez! Happy trails Crawford! Man, getting rid of those players and their absurd contracts was superb.  Look, if the Sox want to get back to being on top they need players that just live to play the game.  Look at the San Francisco Giants for example.  Nobody in their lineup really stands out as a superstar.  They just play sound baseball and have an above average pitching staff. Hell, Lincecum is a Cy Young winner and they won the World Series without him last year.  Looking at this year's Sox team I like the players we have.  Ortiz and Pedroia are obviously great emotional leaders, and young guys like Middlebrooks and Drew/Iglesias are playing with something to prove.  Ellsbury is a Scott Boras client in a contract year, so you can expect him to play at an MVP caliber. And Victorino is one of those gritty guys that love playing the game.  I'm excited to see what this lineup can do.

Bullpen Stability

Joel Hanrahan is a proven legit closer.  Unlike when we signed Andrew Bailey and Bobby Jenks, Hanrahan has no recent injury concerns.  Also, John Farrell was so clutch in naming Hanrahan the closer because it eliminated unneccesary uncertainty amongst the players.  Bailey seems willing to accept his set up man role with open arms.  Franklin Morales is a dynamite lefty who throws gas and Andrew Miller (former #1 overall pick) has transformed himself into a dependable lefty specialist.  Throw in Alfedo Aceves' wild and unpredictable swag and you got yourself a respectable bullpen.  All good bullpens have that one wildboy, you guys.

I got a feeling things are about to turn around for the Red Sox!