Wake up with....Daisuke Matsuzaka??

Sox open up tomorrow in at 6 am tomorrow in Japan so I figured I should probably get a few thoughts down on our fancy web log before the season actually begins. If you have been keeping up with the breakneck pace of posting here at The Hub, then you are aware of the fawning DannoMac has been doing recently over the Sox in his past few posts. Although I’m high on this years team, I’m not quite that high. And since my alarm is set for 530 am, in my futile attempt to wake up and catch at least the first few innings before I have to get to work 30 minutes late; this post is going to be quick, and this post is going to be dirty, this post is going to be quick and dirty.

Despite a few departures, the sox are bringing back nearly all of the team that won it all last year. One of the most notable departures is Doug Mirabelli, whichs begs the question….what is Danny going to do with his “Dougies Going Deep Tonight” t-shirt?? I’m guessing it will stay in the rotation till it dissolves like his four Bedford Farms t-shirts and his ‘No Fear’ t-shirt. As for the (few) additions, I’m on board 100% with bringing in Sean Casey, who comes to Boston in a back up roll, when I am sure he knows he could be starting for a dozen other teams. There really have not been that many changes with this team, and I can’t remember a World Series team with such little turnover. With the way Sox are able to fold young players like Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, and Buchholz into the mix without disturbing the core of the team, there is no reason the Sox shouldn’t be the favorite this year, next year, and the year after next.

Here area few of my quick (and dirty) Sox related predictions…I like the sox to win 96 games (O/U is 94.5) and take the AL pennant. Manny is going to have a monster year, (Schill said on WEEI today Manny is going to have "120 homeruns and 200 RBIs" and he didn't even half laugh when he said it) we’ve been reading non stop about his insane off season works outs which include, but are not limited to, wind sprints from left field to a near by porter potty, crawling around on his hands and knees frantically looking for a diamond earring, freak dancing to reggaeton music with a 45 ounce bat resting on his shoulder, slowly jogging to first base then suddenly starting to sprint, and rounding third base while simultaneously and inexplicably throwing off his helmet. If it wasn’t for the monster year Miguel Cabrera is going to have in Detriot, I would probably pencil in Manny as my pick for AL MVP. Think about it- take Cabrera away from South Beach, the endless Latin food buffets, and bottomless pina coladas, and stick him in Detroit and he is bound to drop 30-40 pounds just from lack of options. Back to the Sox, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I honestly believe JD Drew is going to have a very productive season (somehwere in the .290 25 and 90 range). He is going to be a little more comfortable than he was last season, when he was adjusting to a new city, a new league, a sick son, death threats from Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein, etc, etc. Also, not sure if you know this, but he jacked two homeruns off Japanese pitchers, so even if it doesn’t work out for him here in the states, he’s locked up a job over seas a-la Mr. Baseball, so he sort of has a little safety net. As for the pitching staff I fully expect Beckett to recover fully from his slight back pull and have another Cy Young worthy season, but Diasuke is going to be the real story of the first half. The birth of his son, the trip back to pitch in Japan, the same mullet haircut, its all going to equal a phenomenal first half AND his first All Star appearance. Finals numbers for the Dice: 18-9 3.54 era, 230 K. Alright, that’s all I got for now, I have to get to bed. Enjoy opening day, go Sox. (really though, some of the exhibition games we played against Japaneses teams might be more challenging than this As team we're about to play)

As always thanks for reading. Send us any and all of your thoughts, comments, date requests, hate mail, criticism and phone numbers to TheSportsHub@Gmail.com

Thanks, Greech

Part II; The Outfield, Papi, and the Bench

As promised, the 2008 Red Sox preview continues. If you missed Part I on the Infield you can either scroll down or click here.

In Part II as the headline gave away I'm dealing with the Outfield and Big Papi. Truth be told, I really do not want to talk about the entire bench. I mostly just wanted to talk about "The Mayor" so that's the new game plan. Regarding the potential minor league call-ups, I really only see two that have a shot at making an impact.

So, here we go:

Backup 1B/DH: Sean "The Mayor" Casey: Here's a pickup that I am absolutely thrilled about. He's definitely past his prime, and the expectations aren't exactly sky high. Casey was signed to keep the clubhouse loose and having fun. But more importantly, I'm 99% convinced he was signed to be the new bartender at Cask & Flagon on off nights. Casey is the 2008 version of Kevin Millar. He's there to throw down a few beers with Timlin, Wakefield, and Youk. He's there to help out Tek as a new veteran leader on and off the field that the players look to for advice. But mostly, he's there to help Papelbon become more efficient with his "Bud Light Box Hat." I don't have any stat predictions for The Mayor, but I'll say this: we signed a guy that will have a ridiculous cult-following throughout Boston before interleague play starts.

Backup OF, Bobby Kielty: Actually I don't have much for Big Red either. He was clutch last year and did a great job filling in when needed. Let's just hope for the same in 2008.

Backup CF, Coco Crisp: I think we all know it by now...Coco's tenure as our CF is over. So let's use this as a "Goodbye Coco and thanks for the memories."

Thanks for the numerous, ridiculous game-saving catches you made last year. Bottom line is you easily saved us 5 or more wins with your glove. And Boston won the division by 2 games. Without those 5+ wins you hooked us up with in the field, not only do we lose the division, but we don't even make the playoffs.

And on a personal note, thanks for the night at Game On! when you totally screwed me over and didn't sneak me into the VIP section (story in here somewhere). I'm still not completely over it but whatever; I ended my feud with Domino's so we can bury the hatchet. Good luck wherever you end up and please make sure they have a solid lefty reliever to send back our way.


Now onto the starters:

RF, JD Drew: No need to get into JD's 2007 season. Yes, he sucked. Yes, he was overpayed. Yes, WEEI was way too proud of themselves for the "Nancy Drew" nickname. And yes, he looked like he played with absolutely zero urgency (kinda like Manny on Valium).

But the grand slam in Game 6 of the ALCS has to be one of the highlights of the 2007 season for the entire team. That one swing alone turned him into a Boston hero. Suddenly, all was forgiven. And don't forget that JD's numbers from September through the end were excellent. And, I'm reading that JD now appears to be comfortable in the clubhouse. He's friendly, he's talking to everyone, AND he's tearing Pedroia apart with the ball-busting.

On pure talent alone, JD could be one of the best in the game. With no distractions and with a crowd that finally isn't calling for his head, look for big things from JD. (.295/30 HR/40 2B/95 RBI/.410 OBP)

CF, Jacoby Ellsbury: I can't remember in my baseball lifetime a kid that came up and made such a huge impact so fast. Ellsbury came up and lit a fire under everyone's asses. I'm still not completely over the night he scored from 2nd base on a wild pitch. I have never seen that at any level, even when Greech was our backstop. Just insane speed from this kid.

And if he doesn't step in for Coco in October I don't think we're having another Rolling Rally through the city. At this point, Ellsbury is expected to be the next legend of Boston sports. I almost feel bad for him with how high the bar has been set. So far, he's lived up to the hype and the pressure with no problems. Let's hope that continues. (.310/45 2B/12 3B/12 HR/.435 OBP/ 100 runs). Yes, I fully expect the legend to grow.

DH, David Ortiz: Here's a line for you: .332 avg./.445 OBP/.621 SLG/35 HR/52 2Bs/117 RBI. That was Ortiz's 2007 campaign and he played the entire season with a bad knee and a bad shoulder. Put a glove on him in the field (just to shut up the media) and he's easily the MVP runner-up (sorry, I can't give him the MVP, A-Rod was insane last year).

Now Papi is coming into spring training healthy after surgery, and has grown out the hair to have a shorter version of Pedro's hair-do from the last few years. Yea, you know, that weird Geri-curl thing? It's back and Papi is rockin' it.

We're looking at a line like this from Papi: .310/.430/.645/45-48/30-35/120+. Sadly, that is only going to be good enough for 2nd in the MVP Race because...

LF, Manny Ramirez: Look up some offseason stories on Manny. Gammons has said he's been an absolute maniac in the weight room. Suddenly Manny is ridiculously motivated. Plus, he's talking to the media again (shows he's finally happy), and in October after a walk off BOMB he said the words "When you go out hurt, and you do something like that...that's when you know you a bad man."

So he's happy, he's confident, he's been working out like a madman, he's a bad man, and just in case everyone forgot...MANNY'S IN A CONTRACT YEAR!! (sort of, there's options for 2009 and 2010, but basically Manny is playing for cash this year).

If you add all those things together you're looking at an MVP season from Manny. That's right, MANNY RAMIREZ WILL BE THE 2008 AL MVP. I'm not even predicting numbers for him because I'm too excited to think rationally. A triple crown from Manny wouldn't shock me in 2008. He's happy and he wants money...How the EFF do you pitch to Manny in 2008?


So there you go. We're through parts I and II. We're looking at great things for the Sox so far. The young legend continues to grow, JD becomes a fan favorite for a full year, the Dirt Dogs add another partner for car bombs, and the Sox have the MVP and runner-up hitting in the 3-4 slots in the order.

Up Next...the Pitching Staff. Feel free to hit up the comments section or email us at thesportshub@gmail.com.