Sox Set to Defend Crown. The Red Sox are coming off a successful 2007 campaign where they once again managed to capture the World Series title, in four quick and easy games against the Colorado Rockies. This team will no doubt be one of the favorites to win the World Series again as they return most of their key starters. They will no doubt have to duke it out with the New York Yankees in the AL East, but a playoff berth seems likely for this team.

Bats. Of course the Red Sox are returning their two major threats, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz to anchor the lineup. While both are beginning to get a little up there in age, there is no doubt that they are still two of the premier power hitters in baseball, and will scare the crap out of any opposing pitcher in the three and four slots in the lineup. In addition, the re-emergence of Mike Lowell as a good hitter last year gives the Red Sox one more threat if he can manage to reproduce that same success. Of course in right field they have perennial underachiever J.D. Drew who will be good for frustration and about nothing else during the course of the 162 regular season games. Jacoby Ellsbury looks to earn a slot in the starting lineup, and based upon his stretch run performance as well as his key contributions in the playoffs, it looks like the Red Sox have a very good offensive center fielder for this year. Julio Lugo is clearly still with this team for his defensive abilities, but he brings speed to the basepaths, and somehow managed to drive in 78 runs last year, something he will look to come close to this year. The right side of the infield in Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis will provide consistency throughout the year as both of these players continue to develop in their own right. Pedroia can hit for average and certainly is a rally starter, and Youkilis is just a solid all around offensive player, though I think the Red Sox would like a little more pop out of the first base position. And of course at catcher is the old standby in Jason Varitek who will contribute as much as he does every year.

Pitching. I think the big question mark for the Red Sox is going to be with their pitching. They appear to have the bullpen solidified, more on that in a minute, but their starting rotation is a little scary if you’re a Sox fan. For starters, it appears as if Josh Beckett spent most of his offseason at the Twinkie factory. Then there is the major issue with Curt Schilling and whether or not he is going to be healthy, not just at the start of the season, but for the entire season. I think that Beckett will be fine, even if he did put on a bit of weight, but Schilling I’m really not so sure about. Then there is Dice-K, who for all his pomp in coming over to the United States, never really lived up to his hype. He might be a good third or fourth starter, but if they need him to step into the role of the number two starter they’re going to be hurting a bit. Wakefield is going to do what he does every year, hell he’s probably going to be on the mound until he’s 60. The big question mark is Jon Lester, who made a great comeback last year, but will have to continue that success for an entire season this year as the fourth or fifth member of their rotation. If the cards all play out right, this rotation will be fine, but it looks like there are a lot of questions as of now. The bullpen with the loss of Eric Gagne has gotten infinitely better and should be able to shut down the competition in the later innings. Jonathan Papelbon has shown that he is an elite closer and Hideki Okajima was a great eighth inning guy for this team last year. I fully expect this bullpen to be as strong, if not stronger than it was last year, and that is certainly good news.

Prediction. This team shouldn’t have any problem contending for the AL East title, and in my estimation will win it again over the Yankees. They might run into a tough time facing the Detroit Tigers in the playoffs, but in my eyes there is no way this team isn’t making the playoffs and a run at the World Series.