The 2007 Boston Red Sox: A World Series Waiting to Happen?

The price of a World Series victory may end up being the exact same figure as the Boston Red Sox payroll for the 2007 season. As far as off-seasons go, Red Sox Nation has seen one of the most exciting and costly winters in Red Sox history. A majority of the spending was on two contracts in particular. Those of Japanese pitching magician Daisuke Matsuzaka and veteran outfielder J.D. Drew. There are many requirements to be met by any World Series contender and on paper the 2007 Boston Red Sox appear to have every single one.

Pitching, pitching, pitching. Baseball analysts will tell you, winning teams have ample quality pitching. There will be no shortage of that in Boston this year. GM Theo Epstein spared no expense in bolstering a once rag tag bullpen and adding a dominant starter who has already reached super star status in his home country of Japan.

Red Sox fans can expect to see "old" favorites Mike Timlin and Julian Tavarez back in the pen, as well as young guns Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen. The new faces to look forward to seeing in Beantown include ex-Anaheim Angel set up man Brendan Donnelly, Japanese lefty Hideki Okajima, lefty J.C. Romero and one time Seattle Mariners starter Joel Pineiro. There are some familiar faces that will be seen competing for a bullpen job this spring too. Expect left-handers Craig Breslow, Kason Gabbard and Javier Lopez along with righties David Pauley, Kyle Snyder and Devern Hansack to be in a mix of pitchers that is sure to make this a competitive spring training for the Red Sox.

Although the closer has yet to be named, fear not Red Sox Nation, there are several excellent candidates in the running. There WILL be a closer by the end of spring. No Red Sox fan should ever have to endure the "closer by committee" again. That debacle was an instant failure Boston's management won't soon revisit. There is a closer's job to be won and plenty of potential personnel to pitch for that prize. Veteran Mike Timlin has some closing experience and despite the fact that he puts up his best numbers as a set-up guy he will be someone to look at as a possible closer. The Red Sox have not been shy about there plans for Joel Pineiro either. They believe he has the type of stuff that could make him a dominant closer. They have also had success converting starters into closers. Should he pitch they way he did earlier in his career, Pineiro may end up with the ball at the end of the game. Julian Tavarez is a potential candidate, Hideki Okajima has closing experience in Japan and Craig Hansen has already been called "the closer of the future". Any one of the pitchers being considered for close out duties could rise to the challenge, outshine all the others and become the closer to be named later.

For the identity of the closer to be of any importance at all the Red Sox will need their starters to eat innings with an insatiable appetite. That should not be a very tall order for a starting rotation that includes three arms most teams would love to have as their number one guy in Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka, 2006 Red Sox Rookie of the Year Jonathan Papelbon, and consummate professional Tim Wakefield with his knee-buckling knuckle ball and rubber arm. Matt Clement is recovering from injury more rapidly than expected and left-hander Jon Lester beat cancer during the off-season and reported to camp only five pounds shy of his target pitching weight. The competition, it would seem, will not be relegated to the bullpen this spring.

Even with an abundance of aces on the pitching staff a baseball team needs runs to win games. At least one run. After leading nearly every offensive category in 2004 and many in 2005 the Red Sox suffered a drop in offensive production in 2006. That trend is likely to be stopped dead in it's tracks this year. The off-season acquisition of short stop Julio Lugo gives the Red Sox power and speed from the lead off spot and allows them to keep Coco Crisp lower in the order where his average was better and his ability to steal bases easier to utilize. Kevin Youkilis may have been a question mark last year but he managed to prove his worth as an every day player with an average of .279 and 72 RBIs. He was invaluable as a lead off man when Crisp was hurt last year and finished the season with an impressive on-base percentage of .381. Youkilis should flourish behind Lugo and his body should be more ready to handle the rigors of playing full time. The heart of Boston's order was given a boost when GM Theo Epstein successfully negotiated a contract with former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew. He will follow what may be the most lethal three, four punch in baseball, sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Mike Lowell exceeded everyone's offensive expectations last year batting .284 with 20 home runs and a smoldering 47 doubles and 2007 should be no different. Jason Varitek is looking to bounce back from a sub-par season in which he had knee surgery and saw a serious drop in his offensive numbers. Crisp seems slated to bat eighth with second baseman Dustin Pedroia batting ninth. Pedroia will need to prove himself if he intends to remain amongst the ranks but his defensive prowess should give him a good foundation to build on. All in all the Red Sox offense appears poised to have a record setting season.

The team as a whole is above average defensively, carrying championship caliber pitchers and if everyone stays healthy the offense stands to be one of the best in baseball. A World Series waiting to happen? Maybe, but Red Sox fans are well aware that bad luck has a way of creeping into Boston and only if the stars are aligned and miracles happen will the duck boats be transporting baseball's world champions down the Charles River in October as they did in 2004.