Boston Red Sox 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

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Boston Red Sox 2009 MLB Record: 95-67
Boston Red Sox 2009 MLB Home Record: 56-25
Boston Red Sox 2009 MLB Away Record: 39-42

Boston Red Sox 2010 Betting

Boston Red Sox Odds to Win the American League: 7/2
Boston Red Sox Odds to Win the World Series: 11/2

Boston Red Sox 2010 Preview & Prediction

In Boston, success is relative. The Red Sox won 95 games last year and made the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons under general manager Theo Epstein, but the end result was a feeling of disappointment. Of course, disappointment is always the end result when the Yankees win the World Series. The Red Sox look to be contenders again in 2010, though the style of the team has changed somewhat. The signing of John Lackey gives the Red Sox one of the deepest starting rotations in baseball, but the departure of Jason Bay leaves the Sox with uncharacteristic questions on offense.

Red Sox fans have become spoiled by the recent success of the franchise, taking on a World Series-or-bust mentality. Boston’s ultimate goal of winning a world championship may depend on what Epstein can do to improve the offense during the season, particularly in the middle of a lineup once built around the historic tandem of Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Once one of the toughest lineups to face in the game, the Red Sox have batted a collective .224 over the last two post seasons. The bottom of the lineup has become terribly soft. Moves like the Scutaro acquisition were made to improve that area, but time will tell if the Red Sox can improve enough to beat good teams in the playoffs. Much of the team’s success last year came against teams like Baltimore, against whom the Red Sox went 16-2 while batting .334 with a .950 OPS and averaging 7.2 runs per game. Beating the likes of Baltimore and Toronto can get you to the postseason, but you have to beat the Yankees – and out hit Aroid, Teixeira, Jeter, Posada and Co. – to win the World Series.

Boston Red Sox Manager: Terry Francona (10 Seasons) Record: 850 – 771

Boston Red Sox 2010 Projected Batting Order: LF Jacoby Ellsbury (L), 2B Dustin Pedroia (R), C Victor Martinez (S), 1B Kevin Youkilis (R), DH David Ortiz (L), RF J.D. Drew (L), CF Mike Cameron (R), 3B Adrian Beltre (R), 88 Marco 8cutaro (R),

Boston Red Sox 2010 Projected Rotation: LH Jon Lester, RH Josh Beckett, RH John Lackey, RH Clay Buchholz, RH Daisuke Matsuzaka,

Boston Red Sox 2010 Projected Closer: RH Jonathan Papelbon

2010 Boston Red Sox Rotation:

Lackey joins Josh Beckett and Jon Lester at the front of the rotation, giving the Red Sox a trio like perhaps no other in the game. Add in Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz (now trade bait?) and Tim Wakefield to go along with youngsters Junichi Tazawa and Michael Bowden, and Boston possesses the kind of pitching depth it boasted last season, too. If everyone stays healthy, there may be no better starting group in the game. A word of caution, though: Last year, the Red Sox thought they had similar depth – and they needed every bit of it. They still won 95 games, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs.

2009-2010 Boston Red Sox Bullpen:

Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito have departed via free agency, but the Red Sox still look to have one of the better late-inning groups in baseball with closer Jonathan Papelbon and setup men Daniel Bard and Hideki Okajima. Boof Bonser was acquired from the Minnesota Twins to give the Red Sox a swing man, and Manny Delcarmen joins a pair of guys named Ramon Ramirez (one good, one not) in what once again appears to be a deep group. The glut of starters also means that someone like Wakefield or Buchholz could open the year in the pen, giving Boston the kind of pitching depth, 1 through 12, that most teams dream of.

2010 Boston Red Sox Middle Infield:

The Red Sox continue their revolving door at shortstop, signing free agent Marco Scutaro in hopes of stabilizing a spot that turns over like a third-world government. No such problem exists at second, where Dustin Pedroia has established himself as one of the better all-around second basemen in baseball. If Scutaro proves to be the upgrade the Red Sox hope, the team will have one of the peskier, more sure-handed and compatible double-play tandems in baseball. And if Scutaro can improve the quality of at-bats from the position, the impact could be considerable. Last year, Scutaro averaged 4.07 pitches per plate appearance, 13th-best in the American League.

2010 Boston Red Sox Corners:

Kevin Youkilis has become one of the most valuable and versatile corner infielders in baseball over the last two years, and his ability to shuttle between first and third gives the Red Sox invaluable flexibility. Youkilis will likely play mostly first this year, however, following the signing of third baseman Adrian Beltre. The former contract-year masher (.334, 48 HRs, 121 RBI’s with the Dodgers in 2004) may have forgotten how to hit (.265, eight HRs, 44 RBI’s with the Mariners in 2009), but he brings an invaluable Gold Glove to Epstein’s pitching-oriented club. Beltre’s arrival pushes former World Series MVP Mike Lowell to the bench and precipitated the trade of Casey Kotchman to Seattle.

2010 Boston Red Sox Outfield:

The absence of Bay leaves an enormous offensive hole in left field, but the Red Sox believe that the signing of Mike Cameron (positioned to play center) will allow them to keep J.D. Drew in right and move Jacoby E11sbury to left, giving them perhaps one of the best defensive groups in all of baseball. With the defensive strength of the infield and the depth of the pitching staff, the Red Sox are hoping that pitching and defense will playa great role in their success. For all of the criticism Epstein has taken for the acquisition of Drew, he remains a solid, fundamentally sound contributor who rarely makes mistakes. He hit a respectable .279 last season with 24 home runs, and his OPS of .914 was 10th-best in the AL.

2010 Boston Red Sox Catching:

Victor Martinez has been anointed as the starter with Jason Varitek moving to the bench, which should help the Boston offense considerably over the course of a full season. After finishing 13th in the AL in OPS from their catchers in 2008, the Red Sox climbed to fourth in 2009 – and Martinez only played the final two months of the season after being acquired in a deadline deal with the Cleveland Indians. Defensively, however, the Red Sox could be a train wreck behind the plate. Boston allowed a major league-leading 151 steals last year and threw out the lowest percentage of base stealers. Varitek has deteriorated considerably in this area in recent years, but Martinez hardly qualifies as an improvement.

2010 Boston Red Sox Bench:

The Red Sox recently featured the elite designated hitter in the American League, but they slipped to the middle of the pack in that category last season and now have serious doubts about what David Ortiz is able to give them at this point in his career. Over the last two post seasons, Ortiz has batted .164 with five RBI’s and 17 strikeouts in 14 games. Long gone are the heroics of . 2003-04. Varitek, infielder Jed Lowrie, outfielder Josh Reddick and Lowell will round out the rest of the bench group. The Red Sox should once again have depth – such is the luxury of a $150 million payroll- which will also give them flexibility to deal.

Boston Red Sox 2010 Season Predictions

We predict that the Boston Red Sox will finish 2nd in the AL East Division .

Boston Red Sox 5-Year Win Trend

2009: 2nd AL East 95
2008: 2nd AL East 95
2007: 1st AL East 96
2006: 3rd AL East 86
2005: 2nd AL East 95

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