PlugInHysteriaBaby

If MLB on the whole has taught us anything it's to expect the unexpected. Who saw Ellsbury's 2011 coming? Answer: Nobody. If I had to make predictions it would be 88 wins, and a spot in the wild card play in game. 1) Will Middlebrooks - .285, 36 HR, 120 RBI. Finishes in the Top 10 in AL MVP voting. Makes the All-Star team as a STARTER. 2) David Ortiz - Less than 250 AB. 3) Jon Lester - Solid, but not back to the Cy Young candidate everyone hopes for. 15-10, 3.71 ERA. 4) Clay Buchholz - Good when he's healthy, but the status quo holds. Makes 23 starts, 9-7, 4.10 ERA. 5) Felix Doubront - 16 wins, ERA sub 3.50, 8+ K/9 6) Rubby De La Rosa - Makes 10 starts, and dazzles. 7-1, 2.56 ERA. 7) John Lackey is traded at the trading deadline for pennies on the dollar. 8) Daniel Nava fills in all around the OF, at DH, and even at 1B and gets 450 AB - .291, 15 HR, 70 RBI. 9) Daniel Bard goes the way of Rick Ankiel, spends most of '13 at AAA.

Your opinion is your opinion, I just don't see how you can say that having not seen any of them pitch and/or progress. I think De La Rosa is a very exciting arm, Webster, by all accounts isn't far off and could get a cup of coffee, and the others listed are unknowns for all intents and purposes.

I'm not entirely against the idea of seeing if we could acquire Justin Smoak. In his time in the minor leagues he hit .279/.400 across all levels, and had a 138/148 BB/K ratio. He's struggled at the MLB level, but his BABIP's have been ridiculously low, a result, in large part, of just plain old bad luck. He could be a classic buy low, change of scenery type. Let's not forget the kid has a career .995 fielding percentage at the MLB level also.

Could be. Naturally the hope is to have 5 healthy, productive starters, but all I was trying to illustrate is that there is fair, if not good, depth in the system that could conceivably contribute.

Not to mention guys that could conceivably step in, if needed, during the season - Allen Webster, De La Rosa, Stephen Wright, Chris Hernandez, Godfrey..

There are rare pitchers that can live off of a lack of stuff, like Marcum, by moving the ball in and out, up, and down, and not walking anybody, but they're few and far between. For every Greg Maddux there are 30 Jon Garlands. I'd cringe watching Marcum and his 86 MPH fastball in the AL East.

To me it's all about balance - Having the ability and gusto to go for the right free agents, the right trades, and not ignoring things like chemistry, and the quality of the player as a ballplayer, and as an individual. The Blue Jays have had some smart maneuvering, and quality drafting pay off. They were in a position where they saw some quality prospects, like d'Arnaud, Nicolino, etc. that were variables distances away from helping the team, and they decided to "go for it", but they didn't go hogwild like we've seen the Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees do. To me, what the Jays did was smart, and seems quite balanced. How the team gels remains to be seen, but they appear to be awfully good. I love what Boston is doing. You can't expect EVERY youngster to pan out and be a quality big leaguer, it just doesn't happen. With short term contracts (Napoli, Victorino, Ortiz, Dempster, so on.) they've set themselves up to be competitive while still maintaining their plan of developing quality young players to mix in to the team, all while holding a hand full of aces if the right trade presents it's self. Now, this is just completely hypothetical, off of the top of my head, but.. Let's say it's 2 years from right now and a few of the better prospects have worked out, others are on the cusp, or are viewed as "change of scenery" type players. Maybe the team can parlay some of the youngsters in to, let's say, a Troy Tulowitzki, just for the sake of argument. You'd have a lineup of cost controlled talent - Middlebrooks, Bogaerts, JBJ, and then could trade a few players that are blocked at the MLB level for someone dynamic. Having those "chips" on the table means everything when it comes to long term building.

Hi everyone. First post. I'm glad to have found this forum. If watching MLB has taught any of us anything it's that we should expect the unexpected - Oakland, Washington being THAT good, the LAD/BOS trade, Baltimore, Mike Trout, Edwin Encarnancion, so on, so forth. When it comes to bold predictions for the Sox: 1) The team will contend for the playoffs. 2) The rotation will be better than people are giving them credit for. Lester - 17 W, 3.30, 220 K Buchholz - 10-11 W, 3.75. I can see him missing time. He's never given the team 30 starts in a season. Lackey - 12 W, 4.25, eat innings. Dempster - 12-15 W, Low 4.00's, dependable. Felix Doubront is the wild card for me, and I see his season looking like this: 15-8, 3.55, 1.32, 191 IP, 62 BB, 197 K. 3) Surprisingly Good: Jonny Gomes - 20-25 HR, .260-.275, leads from the front. Beloved in the clubhouse, and by fans. Daniel Bard - Refocused on being a late innings RP, ERA in the 2.50 range, 10.0 or better K/9. Will Middlebrooks - This is my real breakout player. I can see a line of .285/.340/105/35/115. 4) Surprisingly Ineffective: David Ortiz will miss at least 50 games, will hit for some power, but will be under .250 for the year. Andrew Bailey - The struggles continue, and it's discovered that he's still injured. Just a hunch. Will be largely a non-factor, but will lead to the promotion of Alex Wilson, who will be another surprise in the pen. If I had to guess on a record/result I'd say 88-74, narrowly missing the playoffs.