I'm not worried about the offense with the exception of Ortiz a little bit. I'm worried about the starting pitching but the bullpen has been outstanding, as long as Lopez is gone relatively soon.
I took Roy Halladay. The guy is several years removed from minor shoulder issues and has never had structural issues involving his arm which leads me to think he is the rare type of pitcher, like a Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson, who will continue to pitch very effectively into his late 30s
1. B.J. Upton, CF
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Carlos Pena, 1B
5. Pat Burrell, DH
6. Gabe Gross, RF
7. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
8. Michel Hernandez, C
9. Jason Bartlett, SS
-- Matt Garza, SP
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mike Lowell, 3B
8. George Kottaras, C
9. Julio Lugo, SS
-- Josh Beckett, SP
I'll give Francona this, he's the king of sugar-coating things
But I'm an optimist when it comes to this team and Penny had to be shutdown in ST and he's at the point where he's able to take the mound every fifth day. Not the same injury, I know, but let's see...