2004 sounds a lot better than 1918!

It's that time of the year again when we start to become enamored with the comings and goings of all baseball teams hopes and dreams. My Boston Red Sox have great reasons to be optimistic with one of the best rotations in the majors (Tigers rotation is pretty nasty) and some new stars out in the field (J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo), but their remains some serious questions.

Will Dustin Pedroia meet up to the hype or crumble like last season .191 batting average?





Who will close the door for the Sox this year? Joel Pinero? Not since Rheal Cormier did we have a guy in the bullpen with a girl's name. Just hope he doesn't throw like Johnny Traitor Damon. I think Hansen is the answer, but he has to prove himself.

How will the starting pitching hold up? They could be the best in the majors or they could be going for broke. Beckett had a whooping season where he gave up dingers like the ghost of John "Wayback" Wasdin had taken over his body. Wakefield is getting older by the second, and could qualify for social security checks by the end of the season. He's still got a nasty whiffle ball, but he needs to be held in check and not overused. Schill is Schill. He'll always give us his best, still I don't know what it will take for him to return to dominating stature.

Still we have to build on optimism. This is our year. Tito said it best yesterday.



"I think we have reason to be optimistic," said manager Terry Francona. "Everybody is optimistic this time of year. If you're not, [something's wrong]. We have a legitimate reason to be optimistic. We have some things that should go right. And if they do, it should be exciting."

So lets build upon that optimism and the fact that we have Japanese pitcher with a Gyro pitch, a pretty good defensive team, a DH that is more clutch than Jerry West in a game of HORSE, and a manager that can bind all the lunancy together to win it all. Remember 2004!