Derek Lowe won the clinching games in all three rounds of the postseason last year. Orlando Cabrera played flawless defense and was one of our clutch hitters in the second half of the season. Pedro Martinez won three Cy Young awards. Doug Mientkiewicz is a Gold Glove first baseman. Dave Roberts stole the biggest base in baseball history. And they’re all no longer members of the World Champion Boston Red Sox. At first glance, one would think that the defending champs got weaker in the off-season, but I totally disagree. The team is deeper than ever – they have the better pitching, and they have something that the Yankees haven’t had since 2000: World Series rings on their fingers. Here is a look at last year’s starting lineup in comparison to the projected one for 2005:
2004 2005 Batting Order Batting Order1 CF Johnny Damon 1 CF Johnny Damon2 SS Orlando Cabrera 2 SS Edgar Renteria3 LF Manny Ramirez 3 DH David Ortiz4 DH David Ortiz 4 LF Manny Ramirez5 C Jason Varitek 5 C Jason Varitek6 1B Kevin Millar 6 1B Kevin Millar7 RF Trot Nixon 7 RF Trot Nixon 8 3B Bill Mueller 8 3B Bill Mueller9 2B Mark Bellhorn 9 2B Mark BellhornPitching Rotation Pitching Rotation1 RHP Curt Schilling 1 RHP Curt Schilling2 RHP Pedro Martinez 2 LHP David Wells3 RHP Derek Lowe 3 RHP Matt Clement4 RHP Tim Wakefield 4 RHP Wade Miller5 RHP Bronson Arroyo 5 RHP Tim Wakefield
With the addition of Edgar Renteria, the Sox not only upgrade offensively, but they have another Gold Glove shortstop, a team leader, and a guy who has plenty of postseason experience. He is a clutch hitter, with a little more pop in his bat than Orlando Cabrera, and he hit the series-winning single in the 1997 World Series for Florida. For the fans that liked Nomar and Orlando Cabrera, they will love Renteria. The rest of the lineup is still intact, and they all have one thing they didn’t have before last season: experience. No longer will they have to put up with questions about The Curse. No longer will people consider them choke artists. No longer will the Red Sox be considered losers. This team is over the hump, and now all they have to do is go out and play. The pitching rotation is totally revamped in 2005. A big advantage the Sox have this year is a solid left-handed starter in David Wells. He throws a lot of strikes, hardly walks anybody, and he is a big-game pitcher. He has won countless postseason games with the Yankees in recent years. Backing him up in the rotation are two guys who not a lot of people know about, but they will be great additions to this ball club. Both Matt Clement and Wade Miller have awesome stuff in their repertoire, they just need to throw some more strikes. With the guidance of veterans Schilling and Wells, they will indeed flourish in Boston. The starters on the Red Sox in 2005 aren’t the only upgrade from last year. The bullpen has also been upgraded significantly. The Sox signed hard-thrower Matt Mantei and starter/reliever John Halama. Along with Mike Timlin, Alan Embree, Bronson Arroyo, and Keith Foulke holding down the fort, they have one of the best bullpens in baseball. If BK Kim can perform to his potential, they will have yet another solid arm to either start games or come in for relief. The bench on the Red Sox also remains solid. Dave Roberts and Gabe Kapler have not returned, but Theo Epstein recovered nicely with the additions of utility player Ramon Vazquez, who can play anywhere in the infield, and Jay Payton, who is a potential Gold Glove-caliber outfielder who can play all three outfield positions, as well as hit 20 homeruns in replacing Trot Nixon against left-handed starters. Backup catcher Doug Mirabelli can also hit the ball really well, and he is a master at catching Wakefield’s knuckleball. So for those of you who doubted the off-season moves by Theo Epstein, or thought 2005 couldn’t get any better than 2004, think again. They are still on par with the Evil Empire, and it will be an even closer race to the American League East pennant this year. The only thing separating these two ball clubs is a slap of Bronson Arroyo’s glove. I think I smell another Game Seven.