Sunday, March 29, 2009

Red Sox are Crazy Deep

Recent injury problems have recently reminded me of just how deep and how good the 2009 Boston Red Sox are. John Smoltz and Mark Kotsay will both start the season on the disabled list for the Boston Red Sox, but it doesn't seem to matter. If this had happened when both players were with Atlanta, the Braves woud have been dead in the water.

But the Red Sox outfield also features J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jason Bay. Rocco Baldelli is also available for occasional play despite his mitochondrial disorder. Kotsay was a star with the Braves, but in Boston, he is a fourth outfielder at best, and depending on Baldelli's play, a fifth outfielder and backup first baseman. That is really impressive depth.

The Red Sox will open the season with Josh Beckett, to be followed in some order by Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and Brad Penny, who has recently impressed. If anyone else goes down, Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson are waiting in the wings. How many teams would take that rotation from Matsuzaka on, and exchange it for their actual one? John Smoltz, who?

In the infield, besides Kotsay, Julio Lugo will serve as the backup to Jed Lowrie. The only weak spot on the whole roster is catcher. Why they didn't flip some of that depth for the heir to Jason Varitek during the offseason is a complete mystery to me. They may live to regret it during the season.

1 comment:

  1. It's also worth mentioning how tough Terry Francona's job will be trying to use all this talent in the right way and keep everybody happy. If it was anybody other than the Red Sox, I'd say it has the potential to blow up in their faces by midseason.

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