Boston Red Sox's Five Questions for 2009

Four postseason appearances, three trips to the ALCS, and two World Series sweeps would be enough to satisfy the fans of almost any team out there, but members of Red Sox Nation can’t get enough these days.

After losing a postseason series for the first time since 2003, to the usual AL East whipping-boy Tampa Bay no less, has fans ready for next season more than ever.

Here are the Boston Red Sox’s five biggest questions going into 2009.

5.) Will Dustin Pedroia continue as one of the two best second basemen in Major League Baseball?

While Phillies fans won’t like to hear it, Pedroia can give Chase Utley a run for his money. With two full seasons under his belt, the 25-year-old has collected Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the AL. 2008 saw him hit .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBI while playing in all but five of the team’s games.

The diminutive Pedroia also had a fielding percentage of .992, second best in the majors for everyday second basemen, and had his fair share of highlight reel plays as well. His combination of hitting and defense make him an incredible asset to the Sox.

4.) Will Jason Varitek provide any offense?

Speaking of assets, one could argue that no one has been as important to Boston’s recent success as Jason Varitek. The catcher’s defensive ability is on display every night, and you can’t read an article about without catching a part about how involved he is with the pitching staff and its game plan.

However, it is the Varitek’s inefficiency at the plate that is called into question. Since a career high of .296 during the curse-breaking year of 2004, Tek’s average has been on the decline.

In 131 games last year, his line was .220 with 13 dingers and 43 RBI, his worst stats for a full season in his career. While not too many teams expect a lot of offense out of their backstop (unless you’re playing in Minneapolis and you have a kid named Mauer on your team), some wonder if the AL could just tweak the DH rule for Varitek.

3.) Will David Ortiz return to his injury-free 2007 form?

It is easy to say that David Ortiz is Boston’s most beloved player. Since 2004, he has had a flair for the dramatic, with something like 134,284 walk-off hits. However, in 2008, the drama came from his wrist. A nagging injury left him out of 53 games and his stat line fell to .264 with 23 homers and 89 RBI.

This is after the period from 2004-07 when he averaged .304, 44 and 135. Even with the adjustment for games played, those 2008 numbers were dismal. With '04-'07 Big Papi in the lineup, the Red Sox have one of the best in the AL East, which automatically makes it one of the best in the Majors.

A healthy Ortiz means a healthy offense.

2.) Can what could be the league’s best pitching staff stay healthy?

When you are going up against the number one lover of free agency (no, not the Pirates, the other one), who can afford to pay its starting rotation over $40 million in 2009, it’s going to be tough. Boston’s modest $25 million rotation will have to stay healthy.

In what could be the best rotation for the money in the Majors, you have mainstays Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka in the one and two spots, last year’s no-hitter throwing, “can somebody please give me some &@%$ offense” favorite Jon Lester, and Tim Wakefield in the three and four spots, and young guns Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson or veterans Brad Penny and John Smoltz to fill it out.

In 2007, Beckett had a nagging injury, neither Buchholz or Masterson could quite get the job done as a starter, Dice-K seemed like he walked as many as he struck out, and, as previously alluded to, Lester would give up two hits, a walk and one run in 8-2/3 innings and lose the game 1-0.

If they ward-off the injury bug, these things will work themselves out and this young rotation is just a year older.

1.) Can the offense of Manny Ramirez be replaced?

In one word: no. In a few more: You can’t replace a future first-ballot hall of famer and one of the top five right-handed hitters ever (with Hornsby, Wagner, Mays, and Aaron, but this is neither the place nor the time), but this line up can get pretty close.

While with the Sox, the slugger did not have a full season with less than 35 dingers and 102 RBI. Since 2004 he was the man who prevented David Ortiz from being intentionally walked 300 times a season. He was the one you could count on to produce day in and day out, despite being a drama queen.

Until 2008, he was Chad Johnson, seemed like a pain in the butt but everyone loved him and he was good for the team. In 2008, he turned into Terrell Owens, a cancer.

It was the right move to get rid of him although he was irreplaceable. Directly in line to fill in was Jason Bay, who batted .293 with nine homers and 37 RBI, plus some timely hits, to close out the season for the Sox.

The healthy return of major bats like Mike Lowell, J.D. Drew and Ortiz, a little help from Jason Varitek, along with the continued progression of youngsters Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie will leave this lineup in great shape for 2009.