Boston Red Sox Spring Training Stories To Follow

Forget about the groundhog, today is the day that officially marks the end of winter for baseball fans everywhere. Pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training camps in Arizona and Florida and not a moment too soon. While the Hot Stove League is entertaining for a while and gives us something to talk about during the off-season, it loses steam once the new year begins and we are left yearning for the day when the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues kick into gear. It is here that we get our first looks are the new acquisitions, the hot rookies and the comfort of the returning stars. We get the first glimpses of what our favorite team will have in store for us and we really get to ramp up the predictions and debates for the new season. Here are some of the stories I’ll be following with the Red Sox this spring.

Curt Schilling is out until at least the All-Star Break with a sore shoulder, and it is possible he will never pitch again. It is all but certain that Clay Buchholz will be the fifth starter, but when? The indications before Schilling went down was that Buchholz would begin the year in Pawtucket so the Red Sox could more closely monitor his innings and would be eased into the rotation later. Now that Schilling is gone will they put Buchholz in the rotation from the start, or will they still hold him out and go with some one like Julian Tavarez or Kyle Snyder as the fifth starter for now?

With the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury and the re-signing of outfielder Bobby Kielty as a right handed bat off the bench, Coco Crisp has become expendable. Crisp has made it clear that he wants to start. With several teams still in need of a centerfielder, there is no lack of potential trade partners. Boston could always use reliable arms, especially in the bullpen, but they also need a young catcher to develop to eventually replace Jason Varitek, who is certainly not getting any younger. However, there does not appear to be any rush to trade Crisp and Theo Epstein seems content to wait for the right deal to come along, and it certainly will as one of these teams will eventually become desperate for a proven centerfielder. Will that happen before the Red Sox break camp or will they wait until during the season and they get a better sense of their pitching situation?

Boston is opening the season with a two game series against the Oakland A’s on March 25 and 26 in Tokyo. The Red Sox will surely have no problem handling the rebuilding A’s, but what about after? The Yankees opened the 2004 season in Japan and it took them almost a month to recover from the travel as they opened the season 8-11 before going on to win the division. Should we expect the same from the Red Sox? They’ll have six days off before returning stateside for 2 more games against the A’s in Oakland and then a three game series in Toronto before the home opener.

Ortiz played all of last season on a balky right knee that clearly affected his power numbers, though he still managed to post a career high batting average. Last November he had arthroscopic surgery on the knee to clean it out and is expected to fully participate in Spring Training. Certainly the Boston medical staff will keep and eye on him and make sure he doesn’t reaggravate the knee. The is little doubt Ortiz will be ready for opening day, but will it take some time before the power returns to the level to which we have become accustomed?

Daisuke Matsuzaka’s 2007 season was met with mixed reviews. On the one hand, he won 15 games, threw 204 innings and struck out 201 batters. At times he looked dominant and had opposing hitters completely overmatched. He finished the year with a mediocre 4.40 ERA and walked 88 batters. September was especially brutal as he posted an ERA over 7.00. His control at times was erratic and walks came in bunches and led to big innings. There is no doubt that last year was full of adjustments for Dice-K especially adapting to a new culture as well as American League hitters. Josh Beckett also struggled his first year in the American League but he made adjustments the second time around and was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game last season. If Dice-K can similarly adjust and cut down on the walks, Boston will have an absolutely lethal 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation.

If it weren’t for the grand slam J.D. Drew hit in game 6 of the ALCS last year, everyone would only remember last season as a colossal bust. With that post season hot streak however, Drew will be cut a little slack this season, but not much. He finished last season with a .270 batting average and only 64 RBI, not the production you expect when you pay someone $70 million for five years to hit in the 5^th spot in the order. However, Drew was another player adjusting to a new league last season while he also dealt with off the field distractions with his child enduring health problems, something that would make top performance difficult for anyone. In addition to the torrid post season, Drew also hit .342 in September with 18 RBI. Given that performance and his past production when healthy, it seems likely that he will bounce back this season.