Biggest question going into ST

[yeszir]

What's the single biggest question facing the Sox heading into Spring Training?

I'm saying Ortiz. Even if our pitching and defense doesn't live up to expectations, this team is still going to give up very few runs, especially on the road. Offense is clearly the question and I think Ortiz is the biggest factor there. If he snaps out of it (or starts juicing again....) this team will be unbeatable. If not, expect a lot of 1-1 or 1-2 nailbiters going into the 6th or 7th...

[TheMino007]

Got to agree 100% with this. Ortiz needs to have bounce back year in a big way. We need 30+ home runs from him this year and can't afford him to go through long stretches of nothingness this year. He is one of the few keys this offense has in terms of being a power threat. Another question is how will Dice-K bounce back. Another two are how will Papelbon do this year, will he bounce back to what he used to be or will he continue to trend downward and slide from last years performance? Lastly, when and where will Mike Lowell be traded?

[Dojji]

Disagree. The biggest question is what we're going to get out of Shortstop. It's been our big Achilles heel for several years now and Scutaro being able to solidify the position with half decent production would be absolutely huge, disproportionate to the actual production even..

[yeszir]

But the sox are accustomed to 0 production out of SS. Scutaro is all about the defense. Offensively, Ortiz has the potential to be an impact player, Scutaro doesn't.

[Dojji]

That's why Scutaro has the potential to be bigger than life. Because the Sox are used to not getting much there, and he can improve on that. While Ortiz falling apart entirely would leave the Sox scrambling for a replacement, a replacement DH is not all that difficult to find and we could possibly limp along with Lowell in that role.

[jacksonianmarch]

Ortiz is a part of it, but the offense after Youkilis is the biggest questionmark IMO. Drew is the only guy whose offensive production you can bank on, yet his injury problems and chronic shoulder/back issues make his contribution questionable. If the new acquisitions and Papi get their shit straight and play well, then this team is gonna be very, very good.

[yeszir]

You think Drew is the only guy whose production the sox can bank on?

[Dojji]

that's not what he said. He said Youks is the only guy whose production the Sox can bank on, and that if Drew, Ortiz, VMart, et. al. play up to their ability the Sox are going to be very good. Not a lot to disagree with.

[jacksonianmarch]

What I meant was the positions after Youkilis. I think the sox top 4 is gonna be solid from Ells-Pedroia-VMart-Youkilis. You can bank on those guys hitting around or near their standards set over the past couple seasons. From the #5 spot on, the questions arise with every single hitter

[yeszir]

Drew is the only guy whose offensive production you can bank on, yet his injury problems and chronic shoulder/back issues make his contribution questionable

I guess I just see this statement as a contradiction. Shouldn't "bank on" mean that he's consistently productive? Not injury prone and questionable?

[jacksonianmarch]

Sorry yz, what I mean was that after Youkilis, he's the only guy who you're pretty sure what his OPS is gonna be. Its gonna be around .900. The question is, will that be over 100 games or over 140?

[yeszir]

Sorry yz, what I mean was that after Youkilis, he's the only guy who you're pretty sure what his OPS is gonna be. Its gonna be around .900. The question is, will that be over 100 games or over 140?

Fair enough, but I still think Ortiz's consistent production over 162 games (maybe) is a bigger question mark than if we can get an extra 40 out of Drew.

[Coco's Disciples]

I think Ortiz and Matsuzaka are the major two questions. There are a ton of slightly smaller question marks: Papelbon, Beltre and Scutaro come to mind.

[a700hitter]

Run Production will be the biggest issue. Secondarily, can Dice K and Buchholz become solid and dependable starters. At least one needs to answer the bell. If neither gives a solid performance, they will have problems.

[msubulldogs21]

Agree that it's Ortiz with Dice-K a close second.

Although... if you had told me during his HR drought last year that he would finish with 28 HR and 99 RBI, I would not have believed it for a second. Lets just assume this year he doesn't go 35-40 games or whatever it was before he hit his first homer. If he's a little more consistent I think he could still hit somewhere around 30-35 home runs this year. That would not shock me much.

The OBP however, has fallen off a cliff the past 2 years. Lets hope he can right the ship there and at least bump it up a little bit from '09.

[a700hitter]

Agree that it's Ortiz with Dice-K a close second.

Although... if you had told me during his HR drought last year that he would finish with 28 HR and 99 RBI, I would not have believed it for a second. I did and you didn't.:D

[msubulldogs21]

I did and you didn't.:D

Somehow I don't remember this. Maybe it's because I was too busy banging my head into a wall after every April/mid May David Ortiz strikeout/weak groundout.

[yeszir]

May be getting ahead of myself here too, but Ortiz is also the key to playoff success.

[a700hitter]

Somehow I don't remember this. Maybe it's because I was too busy banging my head into a wall after every April/mid May David Ortiz strikeout/weak groundout.You weren't the only one banging your head.

[Youk Of The Nation]

I agree with Coco. The two biggest for me are Ortiz and Dice-K. As we saw last season, we can't win those close games with a guaranteed out in the 3-spot. He needs to at least have a 2007ish year. Hell, I'd take a year like late 2009 at this point.

But Dice-K is the biggest one for me. He has never shown consistency. We can't win on a regular basis with only a top 3 in the rotation and nothing else. Dice needs to solidify the rotation in order for them to be a real threat in the division, and that means pitching more than 5 innings and giving up less than 100 walks an inning.

[BSN07]

I think the biggest concerns are Ortiz and the 5 SP health(Which IMO is a concern every season). The Sox have a very talented group, but we all know it's rare for a team to go wire to wire with the same starting 5.

[Keeper]

Survey says... Ortiz and Dice-K.

[das11209]

You guys already got the big questions out. I think offense overall is the big question mark. Can they play somewhat to their potential, overcome horrible road woes of last year and compete with the Yankee line-up? Can they hit good pitching? Can they be injury free for most part? Can they overcome age issue? What happens to Lowell? Will there be black hole in line up like last year 6-9 ( at least before V-Mart came abroad)?

How concerned people are with:

1. Bullpen- we lost some poeple here.
2. Defensive shortcoming in both the catcher's positions.
3. A personal big Q for me - most might disagree. Day to day game management of Tito.

[TheMino007]

We didn't really lose any people out of the pen. Correct me if I'm wrong but besides Wagner who was used in a small sample size, the only other contributor we lost was Saito, and it seemed like he never pitched in an important situation or game. Guys like Delcarmen and Rameriz need to have good full years and not falter in the 2nd half after a good start like they did last year. Bard could be a question mark too, how much will he progress in his development this year?

[BoSox21]

I'd probably say the bullpen since I don't fully trust Bard yet and both MDC and Ramon dropped off a bit in the second half. The team can win with Ortiz slumping a bit and Dice-K being somewhat ineffective but if the 'pen doesn't perform, that's a much bigger blow.

[a700hitter]

How concerned people are with:

1. Bullpen- we lost some poeple here.
2. Defensive shortcoming in both the catcher's positions.
3. A personal big Q for me - most might disagree. Day to day game management of Tito.For all the focus on defense and pitching, we suck defensively at the catcher position. Neither Varitek or VMart can throw out even the slowest runners. Most singles will be the equivalent of doubles.

[Dipre]

The pitching staff if just as guilty as the catcher tandem. Specially Wakefield (Lol knuckler) and BoSox pitchers don't pay much attention to holding runners back in general.

[a700hitter]

The pitching staff if just as guilty as the catcher tandem. Specially Wakefield (Lol knuckler) and BoSox pitchers don't pay much attention to holding runners back in general.Turning singles into doubles is a problem. It doesn't matter who is more at fault.

[Dipre]

Identifying the actual location of the problem is the first step towards finding a solution. If pitchers can hold runners back, it'll be much harder for them to steal bases.

[TheMino007]

Thats what I said all last year, the coaching staff is part of the problem. I don't know why Francona and Farrel don't tell this guys to hold the runners on. You don't even need a damn slide step, just vary how long you hold the ball or at least and try to look at the runner when he is on first base.

[jacksonianmarch]

There are a few different schools of thought. Some coaches stress holding runners on first and foremost. Others are kinda middle of the road. Farrell and Francona are the exact opposite. They feel that preventing the next baserunner is more important than holding the current one. Their thought is that taking even one percent of your attention away from the hitter increases your chances of giving up the EBH that drives in the baserunner.

[ZonaSoxFan]

My biggest "concerns" or questions, whatever you wanna call them are, (in no particular order):

1. Ortiz
2. Dice-K
3. Was it a mistake spending that money on Lackey instead of hunting down a big ole' bat?

All three will be answered as soon as the season starts, which isn't fast enough. Sigh.

[a700hitter]

Identifying the actual location of the problem is the first step towards finding a solution. If pitchers can hold runners back, it'll be much harder for them to steal bases.Well. since the coaching staff has not changed, the problem will probably perpetuate.

[TheMino007]

Then perhaps its time to make a change in the coaching staff and bring some people in who know how to handle pitchers and stolen base prevention. V-Mart and Tek don't have the best arms in the league, but alot of these awful stolen base figures from last year can be accredited more to the the pitchers and the coaching staff

[jacksonianmarch]

The coaching staff isnt changing. The current staff won two world series titles and has missed the playoffs once (2006). It isnt changing

[Imperial59]

There are a few different schools of thought. Some coaches stress holding runners on first and foremost. Others are kinda middle of the road. Farrell and Francona are the exact opposite. They feel that preventing the next baserunner is more important than holding the current one. Their thought is that taking even one percent of your attention away from the hitter increases your chances of giving up the EBH that drives in the baserunner.

That's true. Hence why it's not fair to compare the CS% of Red Sox catchers to other teams, given the extreme team philosophy surrounding SB.