Manager: Terry Francona
Arrivals: 1B Sean Casey, RP Matt Miller, RP David Aardsma, RP Dan Miceli, RP Dan Kolb, RP Jon Switzer, P Michael Tejera
Departures: P Matt Clement, RP Brendan Donnelly, RP Eric Gagne, 1B Eric Hinske
Offseason grade: B-
Starting rotation
The bad news: Curt Schilling's health is up in the air.
The good news: The Red Sox have Clay Buchholz, who if you remember, threw a no-hitter last year.
So, Red Sox fans who are still stung over the Super Bowl loss, don't fret about Schilling. Buchholz is more than capable to fill in for an injured Schilling. In fact, Buchholz may be a better option than a guy like Schilling, Tim Wakefield, or even Jon Lester.
That doesn't mean that those pitchers aren't good, though.
In 24 starts in 2007, the 41-year-old Schilling still was able to post a 3.87 ERA, even throwing a complete game shutout.
He's lost a lot of velocity and will have to win on cunning and guile, but Schilling is a smart enough pitcher to do just that.
While Wakefield saw his ERA climb to 4.76 in 2007, he still won 17 games with his dancing knuckleball. He may still have another decent season left in him, but he will need some good run support to win 17 games again this year. With this Red Sox lineup, though, that's not that big of a problem.
If Lester makes the rotation, he should be a suitable back-end starter. Boston is high on him despite the fact that his career ERA is 4.68 over 144.1 innings, but given a full year without health issues, he should settle down and pitch well.
Daisuke Matsuzaka could be primed for a breakout year after a full season to adjust to major-league hitting. Along with Josh Beckett, Matsuzaka will give the Red Sox a dominant 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation.
Beckett put up monster numbers in 2007 after struggling mightily in 2006, a year in which Beckett served up 36 home runs and finished with a 5.01 ERA.
There's no reason to worry that Beckett will go back to the struggles of 2006. When you switch from the NL to the AL (especially the AL East), it'll take a little while to adjust.
Another Cy-Young contending season should be expected from Beckett.
Overall, though, I'm not as big on this rotation as I am with other teams. Beckett and Matsuzaka should turn in big seasons and Buchholz could be dominant if given the chance, but guys like Wakefield, Lester, and Schilling can't be characterized as sure bets.
They'll get their wins, though, because Boston's lineup will score for them. And, in the end, you can't make the playoff without winning pitchers.
Starting rotation grade: B+
Bullpen
The Red Sox have the most dominant closer in the game today in Jonathan Papelbon to shut things down in the ninth inning.
Just look at the stats: 37/40 saves, 1.85 ERA, 84 strikeouts, 15 walks, and a 0.77 WHIP over 58.1 innings.
Yeah. He's good.
Setting up Papelbon is a dominant combo of Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen/Mike Timlin.
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