Boston Red Sox: Why Sox Will Win the World Series Despite Naysayers and Bobby V

First off, let's get one thing straight. I am a fan of the Red Sox.

So before everybody jumps on my back and says they're headed for third place again, hear me out.

It's April. So until the 162 games are done, I feel my nine is the best in the league. Seriously, though, I think the members of the team who endured the meat grinder of September 2011 (aka the worst regular season collapse in history) and the brutal aftermath of the offseason are on a mission.

No one is opening his yap to say it. But if you ask them—from Pedey to Beckett, from Lester to Papi—they have a lot to prove when they open up the 2012 slog in Detroit against MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander.

No one has them making the playoffs this year, a real snub to a team that raked from May to August of last year. There are no questions about Adrian Gonzalez's shoulder. I feel Carl Crawford will come back strong when he joins the team in May.

I think Lester and Beckett will both win 20. My gut says this may finally be the year Lester turns super elite and runs off with the Cy Young. Beckett will grab the World Series MVP.

Clay Buchholz will be a critical piece to the puzzle, becoming the best No. 3 pitcher in the league and winning 16-18 games. Felix Doubront is a sleeper lefty who would be a prime bet for a breakout year and win 12-16 games, becoming especially effective against the Yanks.

The question for the rotation is if Aaron Cook, whose sinker has returned after all these years of injuries, will get a chance or be allowed to opt out on May 1.

For the first time in years, I feel Kevin Youkilis will finally get through a season without something debilitating derailing his season. Will Middlebrooks is in the wings and can spell Youk.

Jose Iglesias is on the farm and can already be a defensive force. Pedro Ciriaco should be great off the bench.

The talent is there for the Red Sox to be a force. The only thing holding them back is in the heads of the analysts who look at the collapse last year and somehow extrapolate that the team is simply not as good this time around.

The wonderful thing about baseball is that you roll the ball out and play the game to see who wins. The game is not won on paper.

About new manager Bobby V. To be honest, I do not feel comfortable about him, either. There are moments when I watch him and he acts like he's bigger than the game.

Every knucklehead says he's smart. But is he too much of a smartass by half?

Or do we get a manager who is driven by the idea that to validate his greatness, he needs to win a World Series?

"If he can't win the Series with this team, then he's not really that good of a manager," a friend in my office said.

I think the Sox can win the whole thing. And they will.