Does having a manager who hasn't coached in MLB in ten years, make the sox a better team? I doubt papi will do better then last year, so his recent signing does not make the sox better. The sox pretty much have stated that there will no more signings for a while. If this is the team we have on opening day, is it better then last year's team?

Tough to imagine less production from RF and LF.  Some of that improvement will be offset by some regression by Papi, but the bullpen looks close to last years.  the rotation should also be improved over last season, simply by subtracting Lackey's terrible performance.  Beckett should also regress a little though.

Hey pison Jackbu, Friday night at George's place. Bring your own wine this time.

We should see big improvements in LF, RF & 3B, and roughly similar performance at the other 6 positions.

If the pitching is healthy we're laughing.

Yup.  My thinking goes - 

In Response to Re: Are the sox a better team this year?:


Space, you stated it as well as it could have been. I'll add that not being  crowned the World Champions, without having played a game, will help make them better...the pressure is off. Sox have as good a shot as any other team and more than most. Just play the damn games

In Response to Re: Are the sox a better team this year?:


J-Bay - I think the pressure will be even greater just to remove the stigma from last Septemeber. I remember the Mutts blowing it a few Septembers ago and then blowing it again the following Sept when the pressure was on.

That being said, this is a very good Sox team. Personally, I still think Paps/Bard is much better than Baily/M.M.

I like the Sox for 95 wins - hopefully the Yanks win 96.

In Response to Re: Are the sox a better team this year?:


Could be, Jess but I don't think there's more pressure than living up to what you should be. That's where Valentine's greatest value may be and why he was ultimately hired.

A catalyst makes a reaction happen. In a process known as catalysis, a relatively small amount of foreign material, called a catalyst, augments the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the reaction. A catalyst can make a reaction go faster and in a more selective manner. Because of its ability to speed up some reactions and not others, a catalyst enables a chemical process to work more efficiently and often with less waste. Hence, catalysts are important in industrial chemistry.

In the BDC Forum, Jackbu is a catalyst. He is a small amount of foreign material that says something stupid that is devoid of fact or logic and BINGO - all of the molecules start circulating, bumping into each other, heating up the ingredients and like magic the reaction is on its way in full gear. What would we do with such a catalyst. On the shelf, if needed, are jars of denatured Softlaw, powdered Andrewmitch, Georom Bromide, and granulated Botox1941. What a lab.

The Red Sox could exceed last year's 90 wins despite talent diminished with the departures of Jonathan Papelbon, Marco Scutaro and Josh Reddick (and the absences of Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey ... yes, John Lackey).

A well-performing good team can achieve better results than a poor-performing team with more gifted personnel.

In Response to Re: Are the sox a better team this year?:

My guess is our positional player roster is just about set, so here's my positional projections before ST.

It's very difficult for me to not mention the obvious upgrade at manager.

In Response to Re: Are the sox a better team this year?:


Yes, very difficult I'm sure.

What about the upgrade at 3B coach? Isn't that worth at least 2 wins right there?

It's a much better team than the team we ended up with last year.  We had one healthy starter in September.  We should start the season with at least 4.

If you use the argument of addition by subtraction, we could easily be viewed as the front runner:

don't think the sox are a better team this year because all 4 teams in the division improved more than the sox who basically threaded water.No way Paps goes and the other 2 good closers get shifted to starters is gonna improve this team much if any

At least on paper, I do not think there is any way you can say they have improved.  Too many holes, including a reliable 5th starter, the outfield, the SS platoon, middle relief...Injuries to the Yanks or Rays could easily give the Red Sox the Wild Card, but I doubt seriously they will make the playoffs this year...

I'd still like to see anothr starter added. And also a better left field stopgap than Darnell McDonald....

The Boston Red Sox will go 162-0 in 2012. Count on it.

the bullpen looks close to last years.

False. The bullpen will be weaker, minus Papelbon, but it is quality starter depth that determines pitching effectiveness over the course of a long season.

Outfield:

Drew was an outstanding defender, even in his last years. The OF will be worse, overall. Crawford was overrated, but only a few stated not to touch the guy as a FA. Crawford and Ellsbury make for poor overall defense and bad arms. Speed from point to point is not what makes a good baseball outfielder. Offensively, the RH power hole was not addressed, and don't mention Cody reject Ross. Ellsbury and Crawford clash, they do not compliment. One needs to go, and that will be Ellsbury, in the very near future. The OF production will appear to be good, in the aggregate, but will feature inconsistent production and poor defense.

Infield: SS will be worse, which should be surprise. Defensely, it will be no better unless Iglesias is given time to develop to MLB defense. Offensively, it will be much worse. Youk has odds on his side for a healthy year and better season long production. Very limited defensively at 3rd. In baseball, the left side of the infield needs range, and that is a big zero. Pedroia had an outstanding bounceback from injury year, and AGon should be better after shoulder surgery about a year ago. Combined, even if Pedroia drops off from 2012, those 2 players will be, by far, the best Red Sox overall players on the field. Overall, the infield will be slightly less overall both sides of the ball productive.

Catcher: Salty and Varitek were pitiful defensively. Salty displayed a strong throwing arm, which was all these two provided. Both were horrific catching the ball and displaying agility behind the plate. With modern techonology for pitch sequence in each ballpark, calling a game is overrated and used to validate catchers who are no good otherwise. Pitchers are creatures of habit and timing, and can become anal retentive when it comes to seeing a figure and target behind the plate. Salty and Varitek were terrible offensively, which is fine if they were strong defensive catchers. Of course, they were horrible defensively. Shoppach will improve the defensive production from catcher. If they split some of the catcher time with Lavarnway, the two will compliment one another which is the entire point of a 25 man roster construction. But, even with Salty, catcher is the one spot where there will be some overall improvement. 

The offense, overall, was not balanced and was inconsistent and created extreme 2 month lows with too many less than 5 and 4 games. That will continue in 2012, unless trades are made during the season.  

Starting Pitching: Beckett and Lester and company are now under the spotlight of accountability. That will create an environment where the starting pitching should improve. Subtracting Wakefield subtracts an horrific ceremonial distraction. Bucholz' health is still a question mark because it involves the spine. The starting pitching overall was poor in 2011. Because starting pitching is about having at least 3 quality starters for a season, the fallout from the 2011 debacle will produce better combined performances from the big contracts and has already rid the team of the cancerous Wakefield and added deeper pool of retread starter depth. Either Aceves or Bard should provide a serviceable bottom tier starter. Overall the starting pitching should be improved.

Pen: It will be weaker in the top 3, but an improved starting pitching staff quality performance will make the pen marginally season sufficient over the full season. Overall, the pen will be a little weaker but offset by starter staff

Overall, this team and it's nearly quarter billion a year payroll will have the parts to return to the playoffs if they benefit from poor performances from the other teams in the division, but it does not have the balanced strength in the middle of the lineup or the overall lineup to offset an overall less than outstanding pitching staff to make the team a true title contender.

The best case scenario would be for the team to flounder in the first half so that the problem long term contract seekers and current parasitic long term contract profiles can be dealt out of town and the orgainization can take the few remaining building blocks and begin to construct a balanced active roster and better balanced farm system.  

Nothing about the clubhouse members and character of the 2012 Red Sox players conveys a compelling message of leadership and hard teamwork.

Valentine is best judged on a 2 year basis, as he has his work cut out for him just to reach the 2012 playoffs with the current cast of starting characters.

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I think the team will be a bit worse.  There's no reson to expect the SP to be much better, there's holes all over the place. The hitting was drastically overrated last year when they pumped their stats in the blowouts.

But even if the team is comparable to last year or even a little better, the rest of the AL has improved dramatically, leaving the Sox in the dust.

This team doesn't sniff a playoff spot.

So much of it comes down to Beckett/Lester/Buch. If they stay healthy and play to their potential, I think we're a better team, perhaps a significantly better team.