Well, the Sox just got Julio Lugo tonight to add to recently signed J.D. Drew. Despite all the rumors, let’s assume the sox keep Manny, Mike Lowell, and Youkilis who have all been involved in trade rumors to various degrees. Here is a potential Red Sox opening day batting order for 2007.
- 1B. Kevin Youkilis
- SS. Julio Lugo
- DH. David Ortiz
- LF. Manny Ramirez
- RF. J.D. Drew
- 3B. Mike Lowell
- C. Jason Varitek
- CF. CoCo Crisp
- 2B. Dustin Pedroia
That is a pretty good 1-9, better then last year, but no where near as good as the 03 or 04 sox line ups. There are a lot of question marks. How will Drew and Lugo adjust to Boston? Will Crisp rebound from a disappointing first year. Will Varitek and Lowell show their age? Pedroia may start off slow, but I hope Sox fans learn from the development of similar players like Freddy Sanchez and David Eckstein and give Pedroia some leeway.
Now the strength of the Sox will be the starting pitching (assuming they sign Matsuzaka.)
- Schilling
- Papelbon
- Beckett
- Matsuzaka
- Wakefield
That has the potential of being the best 1-5 in Baseball. If the Sox can get a legitimate closer or one of the potential closer prospects becomes one, then they will be one of the top 3 World Series Contenders.
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