Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona announced his Opening Day lineup against left-hander C.J. Wilson and the American League defending champion Texas Rangers on Friday afternoon, April 1:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Carl Crawford LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
David Ortiz DH
Mike Cameron RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Marco Scutaro SS

J.D. Drew will be sitting against Wilson, who held left-handed hitters to a .144 batting average in 2010. Drew has been especially vulnerable against lefties, and figures to be in a platoon situation for much of the season.

Cameron will have plenty of opportunities similar to Opening Day. Starting the season as the fourth outfielder, Cameron is the only right-handed hitter in the outfield, and will get plenty of playing time due to matchup opportunities.

Cameron is a career .269 hitter against lefties, with an .866 OPS, almost 150 points higher than against right-handed pitchers. The Red Sox will need every advantage they can off Wilson, who is absolutely nasty against left-handed hitters.

While Francona certainly could have opted to sit Ortiz as well, he knows that Opening Day is special, and a day that has special meaning to many of his veterans.

However, any other day and this would have been an entirely different lineup for the Sox.

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When Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Albers was informed that he made the Opening Day roster for the Boston Red Sox, he let out a sigh of relief that could be heard across the clubhouse at City of Palms Park.

Photo credit Keith Allison via Creative Commons license

However, Albers knows that being the last man standing has its drawbacks as well, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that he stays on that roster.

Albers, signed to a minor league deal by the Sox during the offseason after spending three years in Baltimore, knew he was up against stiff competition vying for two available spots in the bullpen.

Hideki Okajima, Dennys Reyes, Alfredo Aceves and Albers were duking it out all spring for the coveted spots, and Albers and Reyes were the ones still standing at the end of the day.

It also helped that Albers was out of minor league options, and both Okajima and Aceves had options left, however Albers still impressed during spring training, posting a 2.84 ERA and striking out 13 in 12.2 innings.

“It wasn’t just about working on stuff down here, there was intensity to these games,” Albers told Ron Chimelis of The Republican.

Albers also told NESN that he wasn’t worried about what other pitchers were doing, he needed to focus on himself.

I just tried to focus on what I could do,” Albers said. “I know what they brought me over here to do, and I knew if I threw well I thought that I’d have a spot in the bullpen and I was able to do that.”

As long as Albers keeps throwing and keeps his focus, he can continue to excel and help the Sox bullpen to improve on a dismal 2010 season.

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When Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein went to work this offseason to rebuild the Red Sox for the upcoming season, he had two major goals in mind: improve the offense and add pitching depth.

Photo credit YOSEPHPESOY via Photobucket

The end result is that the 2011 Boston Red Sox will arguably have the best 25-man roster in all of baseball.

There is only one goal for the Red Sox, and it’s the same goal each season: winning the World Series. After last year’s disappointing third place finish in the American League East, and having to fight through key injuries to over half of its starting lineup, the Sox and Epstein spend considerable dollars in the offseason, signing free agent left fielder Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million contract, and trading for the services of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who will be agreeing to a long term contract sometime after Opening Day.

Epstein also added depth in the bullpen, signing Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, Tampa Bay Rays reliever Dan Wheeler, and adding Matt Albers and Dennys Reyes, giving the bullpen a much needed lift after struggling in 2010.

Add to that the defense that Crawford and Gonzalez bring to their positions, and the 2011 Red Sox certainly look like a team that improved in all areas.

While the Philadelphia Phillies are the flavor of the month right now in terms of power rankings, one could easily argue that from one through 25, the Red Sox are deeper and have the parts in place to easily contend for the world championship once again.

Then again, the game of baseball is not played on paper.

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On Tuesday afternoon, after 19 spring seasons, the Boston Red Sox played their final home game at City of Palm Park in Fort Myers, FL.

Photo credit teddyb1_2010 via Photobucket

8,015 fans who were in attendance saw the Sox tie the Tampa Bay Rays, 1-1 in a nine-inning game. It was the 15^th sellout in 16 games for the Sox this spring, and next spring they will open their state-of-the-art spring facility in Lee County.

By virtue of an eight-year sponsorship agreement, the new spring home for the Red Sox will be named JetBlue Stadium, and will seat 11,000 fans.

The stadium itself will feature the same exact dimensions as Fenway Park, will have its own “Green Monster” with fan seating both behind and on top of the wall, and the complex itself will feature six practice fields, and a brand new Player Development complex.

The logistics at City of Palms Park were a bit tough for the Sox over the years, as their minor league was situated two miles away. The new complex provides all needed amenities and services within the same complex, and JetBlue will commit annual money in order to fund improvements to the facility itself.

The facility will also its own version of “Yawkey Way,” a street designed to act as an extension of the facility’s concourse with added concessions and daily entertainment.

The lease for the land where the facility is being built ensures that the Red Sox will stay in the Lee County area for at least the next thirty years, and the opening of the new facility next spring coincides with the 100^th anniversary of Fenway Park as well.

The complex will also be used by Lee County for many different events throughout the year, including amateur baseball tournaments and soccer tournaments as well.

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When one thinks of the Boston Red Sox and their behind the scenes players, instinctively the first names that come to mind are general manager Theo Epstein and CEO Larry Lucchino. However, one man has been a major key to the success of the Sox over the past several seasons: Allard Baird.

Theo Epstein hired vice president of player personnel Allard Baird in 2006 (photo credit VMaggie14 via Photobucket)

Baird, hired by Epstein following his dismissal by the Kansas City Royals in 2006, is the vice president of player personnel, and the man largely in charge of finding players for Epstein.

Last season, Baird was tasked with the unenviable job of finding a significant number of bodies to replace a slew of injured players.

With injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Josh Beckett, Baird was literally in scramble mode. However, he was more than up to the task.

Baird was largely responsible for finding Scott Atchison, Darnell McDonald, Daniel Nava and Bill Hall, who ended up playing seven different positions over the course of the 2010 season with 18 home runs and 46 runs batted in.

While the Sox were unable to contend late in the season, they were second in the majors with 818 runs scored, all with a patchwork offense that saw manager Terry Francona trot out 143 different batting lineups over the course of the season.

Attrition is a natural course of events during any major league season for any team, however last season, the injury bug was particularly contagious in Boston, and Baird and his team of nine scouts saw to it that holes would be plugged with players who gave surprisingly significant contributions.

Epstein may be the face of the behind the scenes organization, but with Allard Baird, Epstein has the ability to turn rocks into diamonds in the rough.

The Boston Red Sox had two openings in their bullpen to fill, with four established major leaguers vying for the roles. What it boiled down to in the end was simply a case of numbers, and options.

Keith Allison via Creative Commons license

Sox manager Terry Francona informed Hideki Okajima and Alfredo Aceves that they would not be included on the Red Sox Opening Day roster, and both were optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

It literally came down to options, as both relievers had options remaining. However, for Dennys Reyes and Matt Albers, neither had minor league options remaining, and would have had to clear waivers before being demoted, an unlikely proposition given other teams’ interest in acquiring established veterans for added depth.

It’s really a win-win situation for the Sox, as they can continue to keep players as insurance while at the same time making sure both Okajima and Aceves get regular work to stay fresh.

Okajima fell out of favor after struggling through a difficult 2010 campaign during which he posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.72 WHIP, and was largely inconsistent throughout the season.

Reyes had an option in his contract that gave him an out if he was not included on the 40-man roster by March 31. After being added to the roster over the weekend, it became a foregone conclusion that Reyes would indeed be headed north on Opening Day.

“Last year was kind of a struggle,” Francona said about Okajima. “At the end of the year, he did pretty well. This spring he showed, for the most part, he was pretty good. But Reyes has more action on the ball, and we just want Oki to go try and get that consistency back so when he does come back, we can use him and not stay away from him. And he was pretty good about it.”

It’s a huge change for Okajima, who sparkled in his first three seasons with the Red Sox, posting a 2.79 ERA from 2007-09.

Albers had an outstanding spring for the Sox, posting a 2.84 ERA and striking out 13 over 12.2 innings. Francona plans to use Albers in more long relief situations.

Depth is never a bad thing, and while both Okajima and Aceves may be disappointed for now, no question the two will contribute at some point this season for the Sox.

The Bruins clinched a playoff berth tonight with a win over Philadelphia.  If the season ended today they would play the Canadians.  The Bruins have 7 games left and these wins are important since hockey playoffs are reseeded after each round which could swing home ice advantage against a certain opponent.  Great win by the Bruins tonight!

When the Boston Red Sox failed to sign free agent catcher Victor Martinez during the offseason, they weren’t terribly worried. They felt they had a diamond in the rough in Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Getty Images

Saltalamacchia, dealt to the Sox last season at the trade deadline by the Texas Rangers, saw very limited action behind Martinez, and the Sox never got a clear picture as to his overall talents. However, general manager Theo Epstein nonetheless felt confident enough to take a flyer on Martinez and give Saltalamacchia a chance to start behind the plate.

Thus far this spring, Salty has done nothing to disappoint, hitting .355 with one homer and eight runs batted in, and gaining rave reviews for his handling of the pitching staff. During Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzake clearly felt comfortable throwing to Salty, something that was missing with Martinez behind the plate.

The other members of the Sox starting rotation have been impressed with what they’ve seen from Saltalamacchia as well.

“It’s funny, because he does things like ‘Tek (Jason Varitek) now,” Josh Beckett told MLB.com. “There’s not a better guy to follow if you’re in that position. Everyone said the same thing: ‘He looks like ‘Tek.’ That’s a pretty good guy to look like.”

Ace left-hander Jon Lester agrees with Beckett. “I’ve told a couple of people I think he reminds me a lot of ‘Tek,” Lester said. “He’s got that presence about him. When he talks, you listen. I don’t know if that’s just because he’s a big son of a gun or what, but when he comes out there and says something, you listen to what he has to say.”

High praise coming from the top of the rotation. However, Saltalamacchia knows he has his work cut out for him.

“I’m going to show up every day and give it my best,” said Saltalamacchia. “That’s all I can do. I’m not worried about how many fans are in the stands or the Yankees or anything like that. I’ve got to do what I can do.”

So far, Salty is doing it, and doing it pretty well.

While the Boston Red Sox may have lost the annual Mayor’s Cup in Fort Meyers, and Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was looking for a call from President Obama, the Sox were more than content with the performance of their number five starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

courtesy Keith Allison via Creative Commons license

Dice-K gave up an early run on Saturday to the Twins, but then shut them down for his final five innings. In his last three spring starts, Matsuzaka has a 1.62 ERA, with 13 strikeouts and just four walks in 16.2 innings.

It’s a far cry from the two previous springs, when Dice-K took heat from the Sox for showing up out of shape in 2009 and hurting his shoulder two weeks into the season, and last year starting the season on the disabled list.

This spring, on the advice of new Sox pitching coach Curt Young, Dice-K altered his between-starts routine, during which he typically threw long toss and a bullpen side session on the same day. Young thought Matsuzaka was being sapped of arm strength with that routine, and now Dice-K has given up the long toss.

The results can’t be a coincidence.

While Matsuzaka won’t admit that the change in routine has helped, he does feel much better going into the 2011 season.

“My first objective was to keep healthy…and stand at the same starting line as the other pitchers,’’ Matsuzaka told ESPNBoston’s Gordon Edes. “I’m very happy with that.’’

Sox manager Terry Francona is pretty happy with it, too.

“His stuff was sharp, and his fastball had real good finish,’’ he said.

A healthy Daisuke Matsuzaka heading into the regular season is certainly a plus, however an effective Matsuzaka will be even better, adding to a Sox rotation already considered one of the best in baseball.