2011 Boston Red Sox: "I actually think that we're better than people think," Francona told the New York Post

http://www.nesn.com/2011/02/terry-francona-on-2011-red-sox-i-cant-wait-to-see-this.html

Terry Francona on 2011 Red Sox: 'I Can't Wait to See This'

by Michael Hurley on Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 2:33PM

While the emotions of Red Sox fans have been running high all winter long, you'd think it'd be a safe to assume that the even-keeled manager of the team wasn't going overboard with excitement early in spring training.
But even Terry Francona can't help himself.
"I actually think that we're better than people think," Francona told the New York Post's Kevin Kernan. "I don't usually say that, but I think these two additions are so significant. The one guy [Carl Crawford] runs, the other guy [Adrian Gonzalez] hits for power.
"I can't wait to see this."
Fracona, of course, has good reason to be excited. With a healthy Dustin Pedroia, a likewise healthy Jacoby Ellsbury, a determined Josh Beckett, a motivated Kevin Youkilis and the aforementioned new additions, hope abounds in Fort Myers. Part of Francona's excitement might stem from his surprise in the offseason.
"I'm not gonna sit here and say, 'Oh yeah, I know we could get those two,'" Francona said of Crawford and Gonzalez on Sunday's Red Sox Live. "To get both of them, it's really exciting. ... I think our organization really clutched up."
It sure did, and Francona finds himself having something in common with millions of Sox fans worldwide.

In my opinion, they look like the best team in the AL East. They have a solid rotation and with the addition of Crawford and Gonzalez their lineup looks very good.

It's going to be a great year. After boycotting the MLB package for the past 2 years, I think I may just give in and order it again this year.

They look very good...however they lose Beltre so swap him with one of the additions. They are not 2 players better then last year. Pitching is a concern as Dice Clay and Beckett r question marks. Ortiz is getting older and they have some power concerns..also lost Martinez. The Yanks will make some trades as well...i expect Burnett to be decent this yr. Phillies have 3 number 1 starters....they also r the clear fav to get to World Series

Jenks and Wheeler signings will really help the achilles heel of last years team.

Who did they replace Victor Martinez with as well???????????????????????

CujoLatte said:

go phillies !​

Click to expand...

ope:

hockey8799 said:

They look very good...however they lose Beltre so swap him with one of the additions. They are not 2 players better then last year. Pitching is a concern as Dice Clay and Beckett r question marks. Ortiz is getting older and they have some power concerns..also lost Martinez. The Yanks will make some trades as well...i expect Burnett to be decent this yr. Phillies have 3 number 1 starters....they also r the clear fav to get to World Series

Click to expand...

They are considering ELSBURY missed basically the entire season......not to mention YOUK and PEDROIA also missing a boatland of games.


CRAWFORD
PEDROIA
GONZALEZ
YOUK
ELLSBURY
ORTIZ

HELL OF A LINEUP!

5teamparlay said:

Who did they replace Victor Martinez with as well???????????????????????

Click to expand...

They would not have signed crawford and traded for gonzo if they had resigned martinez.
As Nick said, they upgraded the bullpen which was the big weakness from last year.

hockey8799 said:

They look very good...however they lose Beltre so swap him with one of the additions. They are not 2 players better then last year. Pitching is a concern as Dice Clay and Beckett r question marks. Ortiz is getting older and they have some power concerns..also lost Martinez. The Yanks will make some trades as well...i expect Burnett to be decent this yr. Phillies have 3 number 1 starters....they also r the clear fav to get to World Series

Click to expand...

Almost any team would love to have Dice K as a fifth starter, except for maybe the Phils. It will be interesting to see how Beckett performs, luckily for the Red Sox he is only their third starter.
I don't think people realize just how much the the sox were missing with Ellsbury out. I expect some big battles with Ny this year, with the sox winning the division by 6 games.

Dice-K is a legit #1 starter when healthy. I still have faith. His stuff is nasty if he can avoid the injury bug.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp...16732156&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb


02/25/11 1:00 PM EST
Red Sox have reason to strut into 2011

Coupled with big additions, return to health has club confident

By Mike Bauman / MLB.com

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Soaring optimism is the order of the day with the 2011 Boston Red Sox. But this is not the typical, run-of-the-mill, rose-colored Spring Training optimism. This optimism is well-founded and well-grounded.
This is not simply a reflection of the fact that the Red Sox brought in premier acquisitions in the offseason. Add in Boston's players returning from injuries, and this Spring Training looks like a full-fledged revival.
On the acquisition front, left fielder Carl Crawford is speedy and versatile, the leading position player available in the 2010-11 free-agent class. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez is a multi-talented player whose opposite-field stroke should be ideal for Fenway Park.
The bullpen has been fortified with the additions of former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler, a highly reliable setup man. If nothing else changed on the personnel front, the Red Sox would have every right to feel as good as they wanted to about their chances for 2011. But, given good health, the 2011 Red Sox will look markedly different than the Boston team that finished the '10 season. Boston won 89 games last season. The team's third-place finish in the American League East ordinarily would have been a cause for gnashing of teeth. Last year, it should have been a cause for pride, because, with the tidal wave of injuries of injuries that struck the ballclub, winning 89 games was a tribute to both Boston's organizational depth and fortitude.


Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury played only 18 games. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia played only 75 games. First baseman Kevin Youkilis played only 102 games. Outfielder Mike Cameron played only 48 games. Infielder Jed Lowrie played only 55 games. All of this is just a sampling.
They're all healthy now, eager for the seemingly unbroken promise of the new season. The Red Sox play two exhibition games on Saturday, against Boston College in the afternoon and Northeastern at night. Pedroia is starting at second base in the BC game. Ellsbury will start in center in the Northeastern game.
When asked on Friday about resuming play, Pedroia, coming back from a fracture in his left foot, used the phrase "it's going to be fun," repeatedly. "I've put a lot of hard work in," Pedroia said. "I just can't wait."
So the Red Sox get not only Crawford and Gonzalez, but also Pedroia, Ellsbury, Youkilis, etc. There are always questions about players returning from injuries, but the early returns have been uniformly positive.
The Red Sox did lose two very useful performers from 2010, third baseman Adrian Beltre and catcher Victor Martinez. Third is no problem at all, because Youkilis played there and played there very well earlier in his career. At catcher, the Sox will go with the relatively untested Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a 25-year-old with just 250 big league games played. Saltalamacchia's potential is clearly evident, and veteran Jason Varitek will provide backup and support.
On the mound, the Red Sox are paying Josh Beckett like an ace -- he signed a four-year, $69 million extension last year -- and it would be convenient if he pitched like an ace. Fortunately for the Red Sox, two of their starters -- Clay Buchholz, 26, and lefty Jon Lester, 27 -- pitched like aces last year, and there is no reason to expect any less from them now. John Lackey's career indicates that he should perform better overall than he did last season. Daisuke Matsuzaka remains an enigmatic figure -- he's capable of greatness in one start and frustration for the Red Sox in the next. But as fifth starters go, he is, on balance, more than adequate for the task at hand.
There has been public discussion of a 100-victory season, and while that is not unrealistic, it is also not the central point. The core issue remains: How do the Red Sox stack up relative to the rest of the AL East? The answer to that question, at this early date, is pro-Boston. The Orioles have improved and the Blue Jays are more than presentable. But the two primary opponents of recent seasons -- the Yankees and the Rays -- have issues the Red Sox do not. New York -- which has questions in its rotation -- and Tampa Bay -- which still has a fine pitching staff -- have had to retrench, and they have lost key personnel, including, of course, Crawford, who was a staple of the Rays' franchise.
The level of optimism surrounding this club is such that Cameron -- who will be a fourth outfielder on this club, along with possibly serving as a DH against some left-handers -- was asked on Friday if the Red Sox could match the record for regular-season victories, 116, set by the 2001 Mariners. Cameron was in a position to know something about this issue because he played a large role in the success of that Seattle team.
Cameron was optimistic as well, but, wisely enough, he wasn't biting on the 116 victories.
"I don't know about 116; we play in the East, man," Cameron said. "What we do have is the pitching staff and the team to minimize losses and prolong winning streaks." The Red Sox won the winter with the acquisitions of Crawford and Gonzalez, and the additions to their bullpen. Now, for the upcoming season in which the games are actually played, they will be further fortified with the return from injuries of some of baseball's best players. The combination of new impact players and renewed health among Boston's returning regulars makes the optimism surrounding the Red Sox completely justified.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/30/sportsline/main20048867.shtml

March 30, 2011 Red Sox team to beat as Opening Day arrives

Boston will grab most of baseball's trophies, CBSSports.com's Scott Miller says as he makes his 2011 predictions

• 
  The Green Monster is about to become Adrian Gonzalez's personal housebroken pet, Scott Miller predicts. (Getty Images/J. Meric)

(CBS News) This column was written by CBSSports.com senior writer Scott Miller


Final box score line of the spring: Six sun-drenched weeks, two states, two rental cars, 3,106 miles driven, 26 camps visited (apologies to the Astros, Royals, Indians and Blue Jays), enough mustard-stained receipts to supply the Giants with ticker-tape for another victory parade and one request from Manny Ramirez ("Put in a good word for me").

So how wrong can these big and bold, brassy and bossy 2011 predictions be, anyway?

Wait. Don't answer that.

CBSSports.com experts: 2011 predictions
Top 20 things to expect from 2011 season



But before you take personally what I'm about to write, a word of warning first: You're talking to the guy who, one year ago, told you six months in advance that Seattle's Felix Hernandez and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay would win the 2010 Cy Young Awards.

Just sayin'. ...

So as you become flush with anger in the next few moments because I'm disrespecting your Yankees, I've got an agenda against your Cardinals, I'm too devilish to pick your Angels, I'm too boneheaded to see the light that your Indians will be the surprise team of 2011, just remember those Cy Young picks.

(And maybe forget the fact that I had the Phillies over the Yankees in last year's World Series. Just sayin'. ...)

AL East

1. Red Sox : The Green Monster is about to become Adrian Gonzalez's personal housebroken pet. You watch: By midsummer, it'll even roll over for a belly rub from Boston's new first baseman.

2. Yankees : There's Something About A-Rod: With main squeeze Cameron Diaz watching, he hit this spring like he's primed for a monster year. And no, I'm not (messin') with you.

Jeter's 3,000th hit among 2011 milestones

3. Rays : Sorry, Manny. Tried to put in a good word for you. But can't see your club finishing in the money after losing Carl Crawford, Matt Garza and pretty much the entire bullpen. Kyle Farnsworth as closer? Yikes.

4. Blue Jays : If Jose Bautista hits 54 home runs again, I'll key in Oh Canada and wake to it each morning next winter on my iPod alarm clock.

5. Orioles : Really like Buck Showalter as manager and really was going to pick Baltimore higher. Then Derrek Lee and Brian Roberts this spring started saying "ouch, ooh, ouch ... "

AL Central

1. White Sox : So many power arms in the bullpen, and Adam Dunn will take to U.S. Cellular Field so much like John Belushi to mashed potatoes ("What am I now? A zit!"), that GM Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen will fall back in love like the late Elizabeth Taylor with another husband.

2. Twins : Don't like the way Justin Morneau seems so fragile. But maybe I'll Netflix Slapshot and reconsider. (Plus, Twins took the most underrated losses of the winter in losing relievers Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier).

3. Tigers : Middle of this order -- Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez -- will provide more horsepower than Chrysler. This is the Motor City, and this is what they do.

4. Royals : Finally, the Royals appear to have figured out a way to produce and bottle minor leaguers as appetizingly as Arthur Bryant's does barbecue sauce. Check back in a couple years, when the Royals will be finger-lickin' good.

5. Indians : Even Chief Wahoo is covering his eyes.

AL West

1. Rangers : Josh Hamilton and Co. will continue to bludgeon opponents while young arms like Derek Holland and Michael Kirkman develop. And if you don't believe me, club president Nolan Ryan will go all Robin Ventura on ya.

2. Athletics : I so wanted to pick Oakland first based largely on Mr. Perfect Game Dallas Braden's hat collection. But I figured that would be irresponsible, even for a team built around wickedly talented young pitching.

3. Angels : Can anybody here play third base and produce offensively at the same time?

4. Mariners : After producing the fewest runs in the DH era a year ago, even with Ichiro, Seattle again will have a harder time scoring than the freshman class nerd.

NL East

1. Braves : Behind the young legs of Jason Heyward and Fast Freddie Freeman, and the pitching led by Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe, the Braves will be so good Jane Fonda might even come back to see 'em.

2. Phillies : Liberty Bell and Rocky aficionados want to know: Can a killer rotation including Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt overcome a lineup that appears to have aged more quickly than tired Rocky jokes?

3. Mets : Lawyer Irving Picard says the Wilpons made millions in the Bernie Madoff scheme, which is in dispute. What's not in dispute is that the Wilpons now are looking to extract more dough at the box office from a fan base that has received nothing but diminishing returns in recent years.

4. Marlins : No truth to rumor that new Marlins stadium set to open in 2012 will come complete with underground nets at each position designed to unobtrusively rise up and aid Marlins in catching the ball when Florida is in the field.

5. Nationals : Could even finish higher if young middle infielders Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa stop spending their time trying to scoop up $126 Million Man Jayson Werth's dropped loose change.

NL Central

1. Reds : Joey Votto is an MVP, Brandon Phillips is Twitter-licious and the Reds still have the division's deepest rotation. They'll be the top story on WKRP all summer long.

2. Brewers : If Zack Greinke's ERA at season's end is better than his rebounds-per-game, Prince Fielder will make a pit stop in the postseason before diving into free agency.

3. Cardinals : Adam Wainwright's elbow makes it imperative that Chris Carpenter avoids the disabled list all summer.

4. Cubs : Fat, disgruntled and lousy Carlos Silva moves rookie pitching coach from "what's-his-name" status to first-name basis. That's "Mr. Mark Riggins" to you, Cubs fans.

5. Astros : If Biggio, Bagwell, Berkman and Oswalt can ... wait a sec. Who the hell ARE these Astros?

6. Pirates : If new manager Clint Hurdle yells out an order for a new reliever but someone brings him a Primanti Bros. sandwich instead, will it really affect the Bucs' place in the standings?

NL West

1. Rockies : Without a Miley Cyrus song taking the edge off his Coors Field at-bats, the sky is the limit for Troy Tulowitzki. If he, Carlos Gonzalez and Ubaldo Jimenez stay healthy, the Rockies have the best talent in the division.

2. Giants : Worrisome early signs with Matt Cain and closer Brian Wilson. And recent history tells us that no matter how good a team's pitching is -- and San Francisco's is great -- all those extra pitches in October leave it flat the next year.

3. Padres : New first baseman Brad Hawpe is using former Colorado teammate Todd Helton's glove. Now if he can just use Adrian Gonzalez's bat ...

4. Dodgers : If protesters' demonstrations in Egypt can lead to Hosni Mubarak stepping down as president, can't Dodgers fans get it together and do something about Frank and Jamie McCourt?

5. Diamondbacks : Kirk Gibson has the intense look of a major-league manager. The Diamondbacks do not have the look of a major-league team.

Wild Cards

American League: Yankees. Best second-place team $200 million can buy.

National League: Phillies. With that rotation, Phillies will have a winning record if they average two runs a game.

World Series

Red Sox over Rockies: Fortunes have changed so dramatically in Boston over the past decade that now you only have to be 4 years old to say, "If the Red Sox can just win the World Series, I can die peacefully."

Awards

AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox. He finished fourth in NL MVP voting last year. Now, in a ballpark that won't swallow his long fly balls and backed by a killer pitching staff, Gonzalez is an MVP in waiting.

NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies. Remember, he missed six weeks last season with a broken wrist.

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Tigers. In a very close race over Seattle's Felix Hernandez (who again will battle lack of run support), Boston's Jon Lester (whose numbers will be a little inflated because of the AL East lineups), David Price (ditto) and Oakland's Trevor Cahill.

NL Cy Young: Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies. Hard worker and filthy stuff.

AL Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, Red Sox. Like an actor who wins an Oscar after years of near-misses, Francona is primed for the award after last season's excellent job of keeping an injury-ravaged team in contention.

NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy, Rockies. He'll move (Rocky) mountains this summer.

AL Rookie: Jeremy Hellickson, Rays. Tampa Bay keeps pumping them out. ...

NL Rookie: Freddie Freeman, Braves. Jason Heyward last year, Freeman this year. ...

Wild pitches

First manager fired: Edwin Rodriguez, Marlins. The guy is whip-smart in a Felipe Alou/philosopher kind of way. But under impatient owner Jeffrey Loria, Sparky Anderson and Earl Weaver wouldn't have a chance.

Biggest Name Traded at July Deadline: Jose Reyes, Mets. Contract year, shrinking Mets' finances, unreliable health history, it all adds up.

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Jake Peavy, White Sox. This spring's quick comeback was bound to come with a setback. When he cranks it up in late April, look out.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Nate McLouth, Braves. Do not underestimate the concussion symptoms he experienced last year in helping to sabotage his season.

AL Home Run Champ: Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox. That swing. Fenway Park. That ball could be, it might be ... it is.

NL Home Run Champ: Prince Fielder, Brewers. Can you say, contract year?

AL Surprise: Erik Bedard, Mariners. He's feeling better than he has in a long time. Maybe this is the year he decides to pitch -- and his body allows it.

NL Surprise: Brad Hawpe, Padres. One bad year in 2010 and everybody forgets about him. Hawpe was bothered by a rib-cage injury last year and hit 23 home runs as recently as two years ago.

AL Disappointment: Brian Roberts, Orioles. Do not like the sound of injuries popping up already this spring.

NL Disappointment: Pat Burrell, Giants. Don't look for a repeat of the Look, I found my swing! run by the Bay last summer.

Jake T. said:

Dice-K is a legit #1 starter when healthy. I still have faith. His stuff is nasty if he can avoid the injury bug.

Click to expand...

I will continue to pound you without mercy on this as the season rolls on.....

Either that, or Matzu will win 18+, era of 3.5 and I'll owe you an Olive Garden gift card by mail

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/bo...-red-sox-still-winless-after-loss-to-indians/

Closing Time: Red Sox still winless after loss to Indians04.05.11 at 9:53 pm ET
By Rob Bradford

Josh Beckett gave up three runs over five innings Tuesday night. (AP)

CLEVELAND — The Red Sox didn’t follow Charlie Sheen’s lead Tuesday night.
While the actor was performing his ‘act’ just a few blocks away — surely drawing more than the announced crowd of 9,025 at Progressive Field (the smallest crowd the Sox have played in front of since 2000) — Terry Francona’s bunch couldn’t stake claim to such Sheen staples as “Winning” (or even “Tiger Blood.”)
Truth be told, as bad as Sheen might have been in his debut in Detroit, what the Red Sox continued to churn out might be considered more offensive.
The Sox dropped to 0-4 on the season after falling to the Indians, 3-1, in a game where Josh Beckett wasn’t quite good enough, and the team’s offense was far from acceptable.
Here is what went wrong and went right for the Red Sox:
WHAT WENT WRONG
- The lineup, which was supposed to be perhaps the best in team history, has yet to find its way. Against Cleveland’s fourth starter, Josh Tomlin, the Sox managed just three hits over seven innings. Some key cogs in the batting order stayed cold at inopportune times, with Carl Crawford (0-for-4, .133), Kevin Youkilis (0-for-2, .182) and Marco Scutaro (still without a hit for the season) coming up empty.
- J.D. Drew offered a healthy dose of optimism when ripping a double in the right field corner in the second inning in his first at-bat. Unfortunately for the outfielder, who was playing in his second game of the season, the good times came to a screeching halt when he waited far too long to slide when running home on Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s single. The result of the baserunning boo-boo (which wasn’t the fault of David Ortiz, who was urging Drew to slide after crossing the plate, himself) was an out.
- Beckett couldn’t make it into the sixth inning against what is considered a far-from-potent Indians lineup. He finished throwing 106 pitches over five frames before giving way to Matt Albers. A 24-pitch fourth inning, along with a 33-pitch fifth didn’t help matters for the righty.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
- Beckett’s outing, while far from spectacular, wasn’t all that discouraging. He finished his night giving up three runs on five hits over his five innings, striking out four and walking four. His best pitch was clearly the change-up, which dipped down to as low as 85 mph (a level usually not seen with the righty throwing the pitch). The fastball, however, failed to have the giddy-up seen in Houston, sitting at 93 mph.
- Keeping Saltalamacchia in the lineup paid off for Red Sox manager Terry Francona, with the catcher giving the Sox a 1-0 lead in the second inning when he plated Ortiz with an opposite field single on Tomlin’s 0-2 pitch. Saltalamacchia also drew a walk.
- The bullpen held its own despite being stretched out due to Beckett’s pitch count. Albers, Bobby Jenks and Daniel Bard each came on to throw one scoreless inning apiece.

it's Sunday and that means it's time to play Boston:


Red Sox are 9-1 in their last 10 Sunday games.


Red Sox are current owners of best record in AL:

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Team W L PCT GB
Boston 38 26 .594 -
NY Yankees 35 27 .565 2.0
Tampa Bay 34 30 .531 4.0
Toronto 32 33 .492 6.5
Baltimore 30 32 .484 7.0
View Expanded Standings

I'm a bit scared of today's game. Between them scoring 16 yesterday and today being my birthday I have a feeling they lose.

KillaRSox said:

I'm a bit scared of today's game. Between them scoring 16 yesterday and today being my birthday I have a feeling they lose.

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Dodgers will not get 18 hits again today either, but I digress, getting back on topic, even the most died in wool Yankee fans, me included, have Boston and Philly meeting in October in the classic, with Philly winning that series, UNLESS two of their four aces falter.

I'm on record two or three times as saying this.
Good (great) pitching, usually beats good hitting, and Boston is solid on offense in every position except SS and C. (I'll give JD Drew a pass)

Having said that, Howard is a beast, a healthy Utley is a force, Rollins wreaks havoc on the bases, Victorino more so.
Ibanez is declining, but can not be ignored, Ruiz is one of the better hitting catchers in the league, and Polanco (he's such a gamer) makes every play at third, and hits, what? .310 or so.

Plus Philly's bench is deeper, but that series I would watch every inning of every game.

billhill999 said:

Dodgers will not get 18 hits again today either, but I digress, getting back on topic, even the most died in wool Yankee fans, me included, have Boston and Philly meeting in October in the classic, with Philly winning that series, UNLESS two of their four aces falter.

I'm on record two or three times as saying this.
Good (great) pitching, usually beats good hitting, and Boston is solid on offense in every position except SS and C. (I'll give JD Drew a pass)

Having said that, Howard is a beast, a healthy Utley is a force, Rollins wreaks havoc on the bases, Victorino more so.
Ibanez is declining, but can not be ignored, Ruiz is one of the better hitting catchers in the league, and Polanco (he's such a gamer) makes every play at third, and hits, what? .310 or so.

Plus Philly's bench is deeper, but that series I would watch every inning of every game.

Click to expand...

good points..plus..if ortiz continues pounding the ball..where does he play in philly?