The Future is Now
I am not being original here, but the sight of Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Jed Lowrie scoring on David Ortiz's granny Friday was nice to see. Here's my line-up and rotation prediction in 2012:
c - George Kottaras - swinging a nice back at Pawtucket thus far
1b - Kevin Youkilis
2b - Dustin Pedroia
3b - Jed Lowrie - hot start in the majors
ss - Will Middlebrooks - might be a stretch as he has yet to play a professional game
lf - Ryan Kalish
cf - Jacoby Ellsbury
rf - Josh Reddick - who you ask?
dh - Lars Anderson - Will probably be in Portland later this year in just his 2nd pro season
sp - Clay Buchholz
sp - Justin Masterson
sp - Dustin Richardson
sp - Nick Hagadone
sp - Michael Bowdon
This exercise is obviously nonsense, but there is some reason to expect 30% of this prediction to come true given what we've seen lately. I will say that having Lancaster, an extreme hitters park, as your high-A team is probably not a good idea and not going to last. I believe Boston signed a 2 year deal with them as they were lacking options. They will drop this quickly and necessarily. Lancaster, using limited data, is inflating offensive numbers and killing pitching numbers. I don't think the Red Sox want that static in their minor league system.
The Red Sox are playing surprisingly well given their tough schedule. New York is having trouble with their starting pitching and their Yankee Stadium contractors. I expect that both will continue for the Yankees. In all seriousness, the Yankees are really scuffling with Ian Kennedy and Phillip Hughes while the Red Sox are trying to get Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester on track. I would like to think that both Lester and Buchholz will settle down. If Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield can keep the ship righted, Boston will allow Lester and Buchholz keep cutting their teeth regardless of the outcome.
With all my talk of the future, it is really nice to see Manny swinging a hot bat.
Happy Patriots Day all you Massachusettsans (or Bay Staters if you prefer).
