Opening Day Roster

[MagicPunt]

Lineup:

SS Lugo
1B Youkilis
DH Ortiz
LF Manny
RF Drew/Pena
C Varitek
3B Lowell
2B Pedroia/Cora
CF Crisp

Bench:
IF/OF Hinske
IF Cora/Pedroia
OF Pena/Murphy
C Mirabelli

SP Schilling
SP Beckett
SP Matsuzaka
SP Wakefield
SP Lester

RP Donnelly
RP Timlin
RP Piniero
RP Romero
RP Tavarez
RP Lopez
RP Papelbon

My assumptions:
Drew gets signed, but his deal is modified
Pedroia starts opening day, but ends up platooning with Cora
Lester ends up being starter #5
Papelbon opens as closer, as sox realize hes their best option
Hansen and Delcarmen don't make opening day roster

[teddy ballgame]

I think there's a 0% chance Papelbon closes. I also hope to god Drew does not get signed. As for the lineup, I think Coco may win back the leadoff spot with an offseason to rest. Put Lugo in the 2 hole and Youk to the bottom. JMO.

[Another Blown Save]

This is my guess FWIW

SS: Lugo
1B: Youk
DH: Papi
LF: Manny
RF: Drew
C: Tek
3B: Lowell
2B: Pedroia
CF: Coco

BC: Mirabelli
Util: Cora
BOF: Wily Mo
BN: Hinske

SP1: Schilling
SP2: Wakefield
SP3: Matsuzaka
SP4: Beckett
SP5: Papelbon

CL: ???
SU: Timlin
SU: Delcarmen
MR: Donnelly
MR: Tavarez
MR: Romero
MR: Okajima
MR: Pineiro

That's 25-man without a closer

[bigken117]

Why is Crisp hitting 9th? Isn't that spot reserved for our 2B?

I'd also like to see Lowell hit 6 and Tek 7, just to ease some of the burden on Tek. Maybe it was the WBC, but he looked rough last year.

[soxfan364]

Yes Lester won't start the season but he'll be in the mix later on

[kcbrett5]

SS: Lugo- Doesnt take alot of BB, OBP .341
1B: Youk - Great #2
DH: Papi - Obvious
LF: Manny - Obvious
RF: Drew - I guess now that we have him for 14 mil a yr.
C: Varitek - Hope for a better yr (health)
3B: Lowell - Nice here
2B: Pedroia - Boy, i hope he is another Hanley. (hahaha)
CF: Coco - If him and lugo get on late, they can run.

BC: Mirabelli - great for wakefield
Util: Cora- good Utl IF
BOF:Pena - great 4th OF. 20+ HR with 300 AB. Bad DEF.
BN: Hinske - nice 5th OF /1B/3B

SP1: Schilling- The ace.
SP2: Matsuzaka - The ace to be.
SP3: Beckett - Great at #3
SP4: Papelbon- If he can work magic in Rot. like pen.
SP5: Wakefield - Great #5

CL: Pineiro - will have to see to believe.
SU: Timlin - setup is his spot
SU: Delcarmen - setup will be his in the future
MR: Donnelly - love him, good pick up
MR: Tavarez - was a better starter. bring in only with bases MT.
MR: Romero - needs a comeback from 2002, cut BB.
MR: Okajima - lefty Specialist
MR: Hanson ? - closer in waiting. we may not wait for long.

[homers]

SS: Lugo- By default, and I don't like it - no walks, team that doesn't run
1B: Youk - may give way to Coco at some point
DH: Papi - MVP
LF: Manny - Knee? Attitude? See Pena
RF: Drew - I'm guessing 350 ab, 12 hr, 50 rbi, .280, and Bos peddling him at the break
C: Varitek - Get Kotteras ready...not much left
3B: Lowell - a repeat of '06 is the best to expect
2B: Pedroia - I'll bet he gets more ab in Pawtucket than Boston
CF: Coco - Should be 1 or 2, but again, Boston doesn't run. Trade bait with Ellsbury close

BC: Mirabelli - Need Kotteras here, Wake needs to go to the Pen.
Util: Cora - Serviceable, no speed or power.
BOF:Pena - Will the 3rd most AB of Boston's OF'ers
BN: Hinske - trade him - need speed coming off the bench. No need for a backup at 1B-3B with Youk-Papi-Cora around

SP1: Schilling- 180 innings max - how many guys pitch like an ace in what they say is their final year? 12w, 4.25 era
SP2: Matsuzaka - "Matsuzaka" is Japanese for "Santana"
SP3: Beckett - a bounceback candidate, finally threw 200 ip's no injuries
SP4: Papelbon - should be # 5, 180 ip's max, will mirror Schillings #'s
SP5: Wakefield - belongs in the pen - will not stay healthy.

CL: Pineiro - moderate sucess, 3.80 era, 30 sv
SU: Timlin - gives setup spt away to Delcarmen/Hansen
SU: Delcarmen - setup will be his in the future
MR: Donnelly - nice pickup, but on the downside
MR: Tavarez - should be # 5
MR: Romero - if not efffective early will get released
MR: Okajima - lefty Specialist
MR: Hanson - If Piniero fails, he is option # 1. He will get it done. This year?

[APAP]

The problem I am having is getting it down to 25 guys.

Say you have

ss- Lugo
1b- Youk
dh- Papi
lf- Manny
rf- Drew
c- Tek
3b- Lowell
cf- Coco
2b- Pedroia

bn- Mirabelli
bn- Wily Mo
bn- Cora
bn- Hniske

sp- Schill
sp- Beckett
sp- Dice-K
sp- Papelbon
sp- Wake

cl- Pineiro
su- Timlin
su- Donnelly
mr- Okajima
mr- Delcarmen
mr- Hansen
mr- Tavarez
mr- Romero

That gives you 26. Who do you leave off the roster??? Do you keep Hansen in Pawtucket??? What about a long relief guy???? That could be Lester--then which two do you leave off the roster????

I guess we'll just have to see how everybody does in S.T.

[sox 06]

So far I like the Sox linup but a couple of things scare me a bit. One of them is Pedroia, he didn't do much last season and their bench still isn't that strong. Other than those two things I like their team so far. One more thing, who will be the closer??

[APAP]

So far I like the Sox linup but a couple of things scare me a bit. One of them is Pedroia, he didn't do much last season and their bench still isn't that strong. Other than those two things I like their team so far. One more thing, who will be the closer??

Give the Pedroia kid a chance. It isn't fair to judge him off the short time he had last year. He is one of their top prospects and has obviously showed them enough to be the starter and not resign Loretta.

Right now it looks like Pineiro will close, but I bet it ends up being Donnelly or Tavarez sometime after S.T.