2007 PREVIEW, PART 6: OUTFIELD

The Red Sox outfield is capable of being a top flight trio, or a complete mess.

We've got Manny in left, of course, but God knows what he's going to pull this year. He might opt to retire early to pursue his eBaying career. We know what we're going to get production wise from Manny, when he's playing. He's, gulp, the most dependable guy we have in the OF right now.

I think Manny will hit .320, with 40 HRs, 135 RBI, .420 OBP, .620 slugging (very nice OPS).

Center-field we'll start out with Crisp. We really don't know what we've got with Crisp. He still seems a bit less than healthy, and his Spring Training was horrible. I really don't think Crisp will have a good season. I think he hits .265 and by the middle of his season will find his playing time dramatically reduced.

Right-field is another big question mark in J.D. Drew. Drew's health and ability to maintain that health is the big unknown here. I think he won't get injured, though. I don't know why. I actually think he'll become a very productive member of the team. He'll hit .285, with 25 HRs, and 110 RBI, with an OBP of .400.

Wily Mo Pena is actually a really good 4th outfielder. Defensively he's essentially useless, but he is capable of putting up good numbers. I think we'll see a concerted effort to get Pena at-bats. He'll play in RF against certain lefties, allowing Drew to sit. He'll play in center if Coco struggles, he'll get pinch-hit ABs when we need a power hitter up, he'll DH when Ortiz gets a day off, and if Drew, Manny, or Coco cannot play, Pena will get the not. He'll give us some production, with a lot of strikeouts thrown in. But looking at his numbers from last season, they aren't that bad. The 90 K's in 276 ABs is very poor, but he also hit .301, with an OBP of .349, 11 HRs, and 42 RBI in limited playing time.

The Sox have some guys that are capable of occasionally playing in the OF. They might get in there in case something bad happens to Crisp, Manny, or Drew, which is unfortunately quite likely. Hinske can play the corner outfield spots, Lugo has some appearances at all outfield positions, Youkilis can play the outfield, and Cora has been used as a LF in the past. But these will be in tight spots.

The true 5th outfielder, right now, is David Murphy. Murphy played 20 games with Boston last season, and will be in AAA Pawtucket this year. He's not a stunner of a prospect, but he's close, and he can fill in as a backup outfielder should the need arise.

By the middle of the season, the 5th outfielder will be Jacoby Ellsbury. He hit .308 with AA Portland last year, had a solid Arizona Fall League campaign, and had a very impressive Spring Training. He is our #1 prospect, and will be starting the season in Portland. Expect him to move up to Pawtucket soon. The Sox might be hesitant to use him as a bench player in 2007, because it is important for him to play every day, not just sit on the bench and play an inning or two here and there. This is why I believe they'll use Murphy in the role of 5th outfielder to start the season. But Ellsbury's got something, my friends. He's got potential to be something very, very special.

2007 PREVIEW, PART 5: SHORT-STOP

Another year, another short-stop. The Red Sox franchise has gone from Nomar Garciaparra to Orlando Cabrera, to Pokey Reese, to Edgar Rentaria, to Alex Gonzalez, to Alex Cora, and now to Julio Lugo.

Lugo's been sought after by the Sox for a long time now, and his name has been bandied about in trade talks. Finally, we got him. But who do we got?

Last year Lugo had great stats with the Devil Rays, then not so great stats with the Dodgers. With Tampa, he hit .308, slugged .498 (pretty solid for a SS), and had an OBP of .373.

I think Lugo will do well in Boston. However, it is quite a transition to go from the pressure free spa environment of Tropicana Field to the intense cauldron of Fenway Park. How he adjusts to that will be critical.

A criticism of Lugo is his fielding. Although he has very good range, he makes a lot of errors. He had 19 errors last year between LA and Tampa. The year before he had 26, and in 2004 he had 20. He's got a career fielding position of .965 at short-stop. For comparison's sake, last year Gonzalez had a .985 FP, Reese had a .979 FP at SS in 2004, and Cabrera has a career .978 FP. We've seen some great defensive SS play in the past few seasons, which will make Lugo's less than sensational defense seem even worse than it is. And Boston loves things that are worse than they really are.

I think Lugo will do well offensively in Boston. He'll hit .285, with an OBP of .380, 10 homeruns, and 70 RBI in an early position in the lineup. He has good speed which we might utilize, and I think he'll steal 20 bases. But I also think he'll make 20 errors. Hopefully, his defensive problems won't affect his offensive performance.

Lugo will probably see himself replaced in later innings by Alex Cora for defensive purposes when the Sox have a lead. Pedroia could also do this, but I think Cora will be used in this role. Even if Cora starts the game at 2B, Pedroia will be brought in at second and Cora will shift to SS. I think you'll see Cora with a good deal of playing time in between platooning with Pedroia, and defensively replacing Lugo.

UGUETH URBINA IN JAIL

Former Sox closer Ugueth Urbina has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in Caracas, Venezuela for attempted murder of several men who were employees on his ranch. Urbina was acquired in a trade by the Sox in 2001 and pitched through 2002, racking up 49 saves with the team.

Ugueth's claim to fame is that he is the first MLB player ever to have the initials U.U.U. His middle name is Urtain.

I'm organizing a strike force to free Ugueth. So far I've got Rolando Arrojo, Rich Garces, Hipolito Pichardo, Bill Pulsipher, and Sun-Woo Kim on board. Any more volunteers?

NADA ADO ABOUT COCO

I don't know what the title of this post really means, it just sounds funny.

The overreacting wannabe muckrakers at Boston Dirt Dogs once again are trying to create something out of nothing. Moreover, the not-so-brights of the Boston sports media are following suit, trying to break the newest controversial story along the same lines as Keith Foulke's Burger King debacle.

Here is what Coco Crisp said. These are excerpts from a Gordon Edes article which can be found Here

Edes: Looking forward to showing people in Boston the real Coco?

Coco: I don't really care what the people think about me. Or you guys [the media] or anything like that. I just go out there and play and have fun. Hope the rest of the people enjoy watching me.

But as far as me wracking my brain about what anybody thinks, I don't do that. I hope they enjoy watching us play as a team, I do something, they enjoy that part of it. But I don't care if people think I suck, or they think I'm good. I just go out there and have fun, and hopefully the ball falls in.

Don't get me wrong, I like the fans.

Edes: You really don't care if people think you "suck"?

Coco: No. I don't care. I go out there and play hard. If people think I'm good, then thank you. If they think I suck, then thank you anyway. I don't really care. Go out there and play hard and try to do my job and have fun with it. Hopefully, I do well at it.

Fans are pissed at Coco for saying stuff that is really inconsequential. Let me try to clue Red Sox Nation in on what he seems to be trying to say. He is going to do the best he can whether or not he gets standing ovations or earth shattering boos and jeers. He doesn't care if he's loved or hated, he's going to do his job.

Isn't this what people want????? Quite honestly, I don't want a ballplayer on the Sox who plays the game hoping to be cheered. I want a ballplayer who plays the game hoping to be the most productive. I don't want a ballplayer who needs to be motivated by booing in order for him to get off his ass and perform. We had that in Kevin Millar, and Kevin Millar sucks!

We had a guy in Keith Foulke who really hated being booed, and we tore him down for it. We have a guy in Crisp who claims he doesn't care if he's booed, and we're tearing him down for it.

Crisp did not come out and say "I don't care about the fans" or "I'm in it for me and me only." He simply said that what the fans do is up to them and he doesn't care if he's booed or cheered.

GET THE F OVER IT!!!!!

2007 PREVIEW, PART 4: THIRD BASE

Mike Lowell was a pleasant surprise last season, and was perhaps the best part of the Josh Beckett deal. He'll be starting at third base this season, and should be anchoring the 6th spot in the lineup behind the heavy hitters. He had 20 HRs, 80 RBI, and 68 extra base hits for us last season. And if you want my honest opinion, he was slightly misused by Francona. Lowell would often be hitting after Varitek or some other offensively inferior hitter, which I think cost him (and the Sox) some production.

Lowell is a solid player, which is why I like him. He's far from a star, but he comes in and does his job, and does it well. In that respect, he reminds me of Bill Mueller. Winning teams may seem to be built around stars, but they're built on the foundation of good, solid players. Just look at the NY Yankees from 1996 to 2000.

I think Lowell will have a productive 2007 season. He'll hit around .280 to .290. He'll also hit 25 homers, and knock in 90 runs.

But let's say he struggles and/or gets hurt. We've got Eric Hinske on the bench who can come in for him, Alex Cora can play third base, and we all know Kevin Youkilis can, too. So we've got some insurance, there.

I think Hinske might come in for certain situations against RHP. But normally, I'd expect/hope to see Lowell batting 6th behind Ortiz-Ramirez-Drew. That'll give us a good L-R-L-R combo in the middle of the lineup.

25 MAN ROSTER "SET"

It isn't completely official, but it is quite clear. The Red Sox have set their 25 man roster.

C - Jason Varitek
C - Doug Mirabelli
1B - Kevin Youkilis
2B - Dustin Pedroia
3B - Mike Lowell
SS - Julio Lugo
IF - Alex Cora
IF/OF - Eric Hinske
LF - Manny Ramirez
CF - Coco Crisp
RF - J.D. Drew
OF - Wily Mo Pena
DH - David Ortiz

SP - Daisuke Matsuzaka
SP - Curt Schilling
SP - Josh Beckett
SP - Tim Wakefield
SP - Julian Tavarez
CP - Jonathan Papelbon
RP - Brendan Donnelly
RP - JC Romero
RP - Hideki Okajima
RP - Javier Lopez
RP/SP - Kyle Snyder
RP/SP - Joel Pineiro

So the Sox decided to go with 12 pitchers, which I think is the right thing to do for now. They also decided to go with three lefties. I would not be shocked if that number decreased as the season wore on and things became clearer as to who was pitching well and who wasn't.

Mike Timlin will start the season on the 15 Day DL, but the Sox believe he will be activated sometime around April 10. Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, and Jon Lester will start the season in AAA Pawtucket. Hansen and Delcarmen each had disappointing springs, and Lester is still kind of rehabbing from cancer. I think Lester will be in the starting rotation by the All-Star break.

PAPELBON TO CLOSE

No kidding?

When the Red Sox passed on the few available closers out on the market this offseason, and collected a mass of set-up men and bullpen driftwood, you kind of had the feeling that the search for a closer would end where it began.

The Red Sox claim (claim being an operative word) that the shoulder damage done last season has been sufficiently healed that it will be OK for Papelbon to close next year. Weird how this news emerges from Sox camp AFTER all of his potential replacements fail to shine, AFTER Mike Timlin has trouble with his arm, and AFTER the announcement was made that he would close. Just a tad weird.

Papelbon was to take the #4 spot in the rotation. Wakefield will move up to said slot, and Tavarez will pitch in the 5 hole. I would not be at all shocked if Jon Lester is even more carefully watched by the front office in Boston while he's pitching in AAA. The same goes for any other pitcher down there.

In sad news, it is being reported that NESN broadcaster/journalist/hotty Hazel Mae will be getting married to Kevin Barker, a non-roster invitee to Blue Jays Spring Training.




Honestly, a tear came to my eye when I read this story.

5 HOCKEY EAST TEAMS GO TO NCAA TOURNEY

The Hockey East sent a record 5 teams to the NCAA tournament, which fields a total of 16 teams. UNH received a 1 seed, Boston College and Boston University were each 2 seeds, Maine was a 3 seed, and UMass a 4 seed. Here are their first round games:

Friday 3/23:
2:30 PM #1 Clarkson vs. #4 UMass @ Rocheser, NY
6:00 PM #2 St. Cloud State vs. #3 Maine @ Rochester, NY
8:30 PM #2 Boston University vs. #3 Michigan State @ Grand Rapids, MI (BU kind of got screwed there)

Saturday 3/24:
1:00 PM #1 New Hampshire vs. #4 Miami (Ohio) @ Manchester, NH
4:30 PM #2 Boston College vs. #3 St. Lawrence @ Manchester, NH

The teams that win their region advance to the Frozen Four in St. Louis. Since my basketball bracket is already busted, here are my predictions for the winners of each game.

East Regional:
#1 Clarkson vs. #4 UMass - Clarkson
#2 St. Cloud State vs. #3 Maine - Maine
#1 Clarkson vs. #3 Maine - Clarkson

Midwest Regional:
#1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Alabama-Hunstville - Notre Dame
#2 Boston University vs. #3 Michigan State - Michigan State
#1 Notre Dame vs. #3 Michigan State - Notre Dame

West Regional:
#1 Minnesota vs. #4 Air Force - Minnesota
#2 Michigan vs. #3 North Dakota - North Dakota
#1 Minnesota vs. #3 North Dakota - North Dakota

East Regional:
#1 New Hampshire vs. #4 Miami (OH) - New Hampshire
#2 Boston College vs. #3 St. Lawrence - Boston College
#1 New Hampshire vs. #2 Boston College - Boston College

Frozen Four:
Boston College vs. Notre Dame - Notre Dame
North Dakota vs. Clarkson - North Dakota
Notre Dame vs. North Dakota - Notre Dame

Sad, but true. I hate Notre Dame.