A Series Snapshot
Boston Red Sox (0-0) at Texas Rangers (0-0)
April 1 – 3
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Yes it is finally here. After four plus months of speculations and predictions, we are finally ready for Opening Day. And what an Opening Day it is going to be. After a hectic off season that saw the Red Sox re vamp their bullpen and bring in two of the biggest stars in the game (Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez), everyone in Red Sox Nation will finally get a chance to see this new Red Sox line up for the first time.
Up first for the Sox are the defending American League Champions, the Texas Rangers. This is a team that won their division, beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, dethroned the New York Yankees to win the franchise’s first American League pennant and gave the San Francisco Giants all they could handle in the World Series only to come up a little short. Whenever the Rangers were mentioned this off season it probably had something to do with Cliff Lee and the fact that he’s no longer a part of their rotation. Will they miss him? Absolutely they will. But don’t count out this Ranger team from not only competing this season, but having an excellent chance to repeat as West Division champions.
This is the third straight year that the Red Sox will open the season against the defending AL champions, previously doing so in 2008 against the Tampa Bay Rays and 2009 against the New York Yankees.
Overall, this is the 111th time the Red Sox open up a season, with a record of 54-55-1 all time.
Who’s in, who’s out:
Red Sox – there are not a lot of people who don’t know who the Red Sox brought in this year. They only went out and acquired the big slugging first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez and signed the speedy, all-star outfielder, Carl Crawford. The other new faces in the Red Sox lineup will be sitting in the bullpen. Dan Wheeler, Bobby Jenks, Dennys Reyes and Matt Albers all signed with Boston in the off season as free agents. Gone from last year’s squad that managed to win 89 games is most noticeably third baseman Adrian Beltre and catcher Victor Martinez who signed on with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent.
Rangers – as mentioned above, Adrian Beltre is new to the Texas line up and will no doubt bring some pop to the Rangers offense. Although he only spent one year in Boston, he had made it clear that he would have liked to have re-signed in Boston. When the Gonzalez deal was made, it became crystal clear that Beltre was out. Perhaps a little redemption will be on his mind as he doesn’t have to wait long to face his former club. With Cliff Lee leaving Texas, the Rangers signed proven starter Brandon Webb and reliever Arthur Rhodes. The Rangers then went on and acquired catcher Mike Napoli from the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Frank Francisco.
Tale of the Starters:
Game #1 – April 1
Jon Lester (19-9) 3.25 ERA v.s C.J. Wilson (15-8) 3.35 ERA – 2010 stats
On paper this looks to be a low scoring affair with two lefties making their first Opening Day starts. Lester who had another excellent year with the Red Sox last year has now cemented his legacy as a legitimate number one starter. C.J. Wilson is quickly becoming one the league’s premier pitchers and he will be the catalyst of this Ranger staff this season.
Game #2 – April 2
John Lackey (14-11) 4.41 ERA v.s Colby Lewis (12-13) 3.72 ERA
Big John, who came into camp 10 pounds lighter this spring is one of two key pivotal pieces to the Red Sox success this year, the other being Josh Beckett. But for Lackey he needs to regain his once dominating style that he would put on display during the Angels playoff runs. He did manage 14 wins last year but an ERA north of 4.00 is alarming. The Red Sox will see Colby Lewis as their opposing pitcher, and he is a little harder to predict. An average 2010 campaign, the Rangers have pegged him as their number two starter who they’ll rely on for many quality starts throughout the year.
Game #3 – April 3
Clay Buchholz (17-7) 2.33 ERA v.s Matt Harrison (3-2) 4.71 ERA
Based on the starters, this one should be a walk in the park for the Red Sox. Matt Harrisonspent most of his time in the bullpen in 2010 and Clay Buchholz, well everyone expects him to be typical Clay Buchholz, simply dominant. Pitch to contact or over powering, either way, Buchholz is ready for another tremendous year, where he should make a run at the Cy Young.
The Walking Wounded:
Red Sox:
What a sight this is going to be to have a full and healthy line up dressed for the Red Sox. They enter the season with only a pair of reliever’s on the DL, Felix Doubront (day to day) and Junichi Tazawa (60 day DL). As of Opening Day, the Red Sox have a full and healthy 25 man roster which is something they didn’t have for last year to say the least.
Rangers:
The pitching staff for Texas is exactly what the title is; the walking wounded. Omar Beltre, Scott Feldman, Tommy Hunter, Arthur Rhodes and Brandon Webb are all on the DL. Aside from Rhodes all the others are on the 15 day DL for now and other than Rhodes all are out until at least June.
Keys to a Sox Lock:
If history repeats itself then technically Jon Lestershould struggle during his starts in April. This is exactly what the Sox don’t need if they want to open with a win. While the Red Sox starters will obviously have to out pitch the Rangers starters, the real key is the Sox ability to bring in runners from scoring position early in the game, especially against Wilson. If they can get to Wilson early and spot Lester an early lead, perhaps his new role as the ace of the staff will aid in him over coming his early seasons struggles. Keeping the likes of Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and Adrian Beltre off base sounds easy, but in reality between the three of them, there will be base hits and most likely a couple extra bases. The other key is going to be how aggressive they are going to be at the plate. With a offensive line up that has David Ortizbatting sixth, offense should not be a problem. That being said the Rangers are featuring three talented starters in Wilson, Lewis and Harrison and the Red Sox taking aggressive at bats will be a must. Should all three games be tight heading into the late innings, then I have to give the edge to the Red Sox based on their stacked up bullpen. Don’t forget about the Rangers electric closer Neftali Feliz, but when stacked up against the likes of Jenks, Bard and Papelbon, I give the nod to the Red Sox late in a tight game.
We Can Be Heroes:
This series for the Red Sox will provide an opportunity for some of the newly acquired stars to gain some early season acceptance from many at Red Sox Nation. For me, it comes down to one pitcher and an outfielder. Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury, both will be vital pieces to the Sox winning this series. Lester for the obvious reasons, to out duel Wilson and be as dominant as all those in the Majors are expecting him to be. Ellsbury has the ability to change the game with his lightning quick speed on the base paths. If Ellsbury can get on base, steal a few bags and get the starters out of their rhythm then I expect the Red Sox to sweep the opening series with Texas.
Freakishly Odd Statistics:
– The Red Sox will face lefty C.J. Wilson, which marks only the 3rd time in franchise history that the club opens up the season facing a southpaw.
– Despite not being in the Opening Day lineup, right fielder J.D. Drew has safely reached base in 8 of his 9 career openers.
– Dustin Pedroia has at least one hit in all 4 of his season openers, while batting .500 and 2 homers.
– Carl Yastrzemski has the Red Sox record for most home runs on Opening Day with 6.
– Jon Lester, in his 7 career starts, has never allowed more than 3 earned runs.
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