[Vladman]

Anybody seen the untamed grizzly-bear Red Sox who grinded their way to the top of the food chain a few years back? Kevin Millars bat wiggle doesn't seem to be around, and I think I hallucinated that Johnny Damon signed a deal with the devil and became a Yankee! Surely the former batting-champ / gold-glover Billy Mueller will be guarding the hot-corner. I mean, he's just vacationing in Bali or off saving the whales right? That's 470 base hits that are missing from the lineup! Alright. So what's left in the pot?A pinch of Manny, a splash of Trot, a pint of Varitek and a chunk of Big Daddy? Sounds like a recipe for success to me. Fact is, the Red Sox are a team with such astounding depth, that even shuffling half the squad isn't going to diminish the flavour of this team. Sure the Jays are looking glossy and dangerous. Yes the Yanks have a good enough team to win 100 again. But the 2006 Sox may just keep on outscoring teams if they can build some chemistry and momentum as soon as possible, starting in spring training.

Newcomers. Some good. Some sketchy. Coco Crisp is by far the best everyday player pick-up for the Sox in the offseason, although Mark Loretta may challenge that notion. He may have had a rough 2006, playing in only 105 games, but Loretta really turned his game around in 2003, and should return to his .300 BA & 40 doubles form this year in the cozy confines of Fenway. Big Papi backing him up in the 3 slot will mean a steady diet of fastballs for this dead-red hitter (nevermind the heart palpitations pitchers will be enduring during his AB's with Big-Daddy waving his weapons of mass destruction in the on deck circle).

Lowell and Gonzalez came over from the Marlins, and both figure to be very expensive question marks in 2006. Lowell is coming off one of the most disappointing seasons of his career, going yard only 8 times in 500 AB's after knocking 27, 32, and 24 the previous three seasons. Could he return to form? He could, but don't count on it. Lowell is a dead pull hitter, and the green-monster is usually friendly to sluggers like Lowell, but it may also cause him to over-swing when trying to re-establish himself as a Red Sox, and a legitimate power threat. Similar story for Alex Gonzalez, knocking only 5 out of the park after 23 and 18 in '04 and '03. Considering his end-of-season elbow surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, Gonzalez is a weak link at a key position for a contender.That being said, baseball isn't all about hitting Papi style bombs that clear the bases and rattle a pitchers confidence for weeks. We are all familiar will the theory that pitching and defence wins ball games, and the Sox have the potential to be a solid fundamental team on these dimentions (potential being the operative word here).

From a pitching perspective, a healthy Shilling and Beckett will rival any one-two punch in the bigs, and there are many these days. (Halladay-A.J. Burnett, Prior-Wood, Carpenter-Mulder,etc.). Health is a major concern for these two, but if everything goes according to plan for their aces, the Sox should be able to provide enough run support to help them win 14-20. Clement, Arroyo, Wakefield and Wells are solid insurance policies in case Murphy's law takes the stage. Their are certainly some issues surrounding the middle relief setting it up for Foulkey. Sure you have a steady crew of crafty veterans like Timlin, Tavarez and Rudy Seanez holding down the fort, but the Sox may run into some trouble finding a solid lefty out of the bullpen to turn to in key spots of a ball game.(look for Wells to change roles if things play out as such). Losing sidewinders Bradford and Myers, Miller, Mantei and Mota, things could be better for the Bull-dogs.

Defence may prove to be an achilles-heel for the Sox this year, but don't tell that to Terry Francona and company. Red Sox management seems to think they have put together a stellar defensive unit for 2006, but they have taken a small step backwards without Renteria or Cabrerra at short, Mueller at third, and an unproven Kevin Youkilis at 1B. Look for veteran magician J.T. Snow to step in from the 7th inning on in tight games. And unless something radical happens in the next little while, Manny will still be rockin to his Oakley MP3 tunes in leftfield, where he's been all his life. Talent aside, it can take a new infield a while to adjust to eachothers playing style, making spring training (as mentioned earlier) a crucial period of time for the Sox. Too bad Alex Gonzalez will be playing for Venezulela, and will likely miss a lot of playing time in spring training to Dustin Pedroia (one of the organizations top prospects).

Overall, it should be an exciting spring for the Sox, and you can bet that Red Sox nation is already going Co-Co for Co-Co Crisp, sporting shiny new Sox jerseys with Beckett on their backs, and shouting Papi "MVP" chants in their sleep. The Sox will slug, there is no question about that, and if I were a pitcher in the AL East this year, I would fake a groin injury, take 2 months off, and develop a splitter, a screwball and a knuckle-curve before entering a 9 game stretch against the Sox, Yanks and Jays in '06. Let the games begin!

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

Just need to correct one thing: Renteria was terrible defensively at SS last season for the Sox. Millar, too, was far from strong on the bag at first.

You'd be hard pressed to find many Sox fans who feel that defensively, the team took a small step backwards this offseason.

[rmjvol]

Vladman, thanks for the in depth writeup on the Red Sox spring training situation!!

Every team has talent. I'll agreee chemistry is often what puts a team on top or puts them in the cellar.

[Vladman]

Renteria won the Gold Glove in '02 and '03. Gonzalez has made 16 errors in each of the last 3 years. Lowell did take the cake at 3B last year though, so perhaps that evens it out a bit.

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

Renteria won the Gold Glove in '02 and '03.

True. But last season, playing with the Red Sox, he had 30 errors and the lowest fielding percentage of his career. So to say that the Sox defense is worse off than they were last year is probably not all that accurate.

[Vladman]

30 errors ... sounds like Chuck Knoblauch ( not sure how to spell his name ) ... remember when he couldn't throw to first? Very weired psychological problems he was wrestling with !