Taking a page from Gom's book (God help me) i shall make my predictions about what i think will have happened at season's end, so that i can call people out or they can call me out and they can maybe be quiet a couple of minutes with the negativity, and bitching and moaning. All in April.
1) The Red Sox will be one of the top three teams in league ERA. Beckett rights the ship, Lester keeps being Lester, Bucholz breaks though, Lackey starts being Lackey and between Dice-K/Wake, we get something decent.
2) Adrian Beltre will finish with 45+ XBH. And i will laugh out loud.
3) Mike Cameron will provide solid Defense and above average offense from CF upon his return from the DL. Self explanatory.
4) Dustin Pedroia will top 20 HR's for the first time.
5) The Red Sox brass will alter their pitcher's approach with men on base and the NASCAR track that every Red Sox game has become will be greatly neutralized.
6) Neither David Ortiz nor Mike Lowell will be members of the Red Sox come September. Just a hunch, but i think the Sox trade Lowell and cut Ortiz, the reason being in the next prediction.....
7) The Red Sox will trade for an impact bat. Ortiz looks done. My guess remains Adam Dunn.
8) Adrian Beltre will return to his defensive excellence. It's all been about boneheaded mistakes, rushed throws and incorrect decisions. Nothing physically wrong.
9) Fenway Park will yield more Home Runs to RHH's than any other park in the Majors. This one's for Doiji.
10) The bullpen will improve greatly before the All-Star Break rolls around, and stay that way. Delcarmen stays healthy and effective, Okajima and RR hit their stride along the way. Bard becomes a lights-out setup man.
11) The Red Sox will score over 830 runs. You heard it here first, folks.
12) Marco Scutaro will be a bust. I said it before many times, and i'll say it again. I don't like him. He'll be acceptable on offense, but he's nothing special on the field.
13) The bench, perceived as a strength in the early stages of the season, will become a weakness down the stretch for the Sox. Bill Hall improves somewhat, but McDonald and Hermida come back down to earth, while Varitek wears down as the season progresses. The lack of an option besides Scutaro at SS comes back to bite the Sox.
14) JD Drew will post his customary .900+ OPS with 20+ bombs thanks to an extremely hot month in which he will carry the team. Not many RBI's though.
15) Over 4,000 panic posts will be made between now and the end of the season, with at least 100 "We should've signed Teixeira" posts tagging along for the ride.
16) Victor Martinez will not cost the Red Sox team ERA half a run.
17) Last but not least, the Red Sox will make the playoffs via Wildcard with a 95-67 record, two games ahead of the Rays.