By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
Three games is nothing in baseball. Especially the first three. But, after a close opening series against the Yankees in which the Red Sox gave up 1-2, there are some things we can take away.
Five things we can take away from the first series:
1. Even if our offense doesn’t come out all the time, it is there. In the third game, we scored one lone run. This was a showing of the reality we knew was coming. Sometimes, we’re just not going to score. We’ve built a defensive team and we know it. But, in game one we scored nine runs, and in the second, four. Four runs shows what we might expect on average, and nine shows that we definitely do have it in us when everything falls into place. We had it in us enough to out-power the Yankees on Sunday, so I’d guess there are a majority of other MLB teams that we can out-hit on a regular basis. Kansas City this weekend will give us more insight, of course. With that, and the fact that our pitching rotation looks to about only have to compete with the Yankees, I’d say we’re looking [...]

By: Ian Tasso, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
We’ve waded through JD Drew, Jose Iglesias and Marco Scutaro. But what about Papi? What about Lowell? Ellsbury? Wakefield and Buchholz?
Patience, young ones.
Without further ado, I present to you the real top questions facing the Sox this season. Starting with mumbers 6-10. The questions that will make or break Boston’s Boys of Summer. Feel free to comment, question or be angry below.

10. How will the move to left field effect Jacoby Ellsbury? Should he be offended? (Greg; Townsend, Mass.)
It really shouldn’t offend or affect him at all. What it will do, however, is make left field at Fenway a very difficult place to get hits.
Jason Bay was a very solid fielder – not much range, but if he got to the ball, he was going to catch it. Jacoby on the other hand, has all the range in the world, and should look like Carl Crawford flying around out there. He’s going to turn a lot of bloop-singles into outs, and the fact that left fielders already play in close in Fenway because of the Monster makes it that much more exciting of a prospect.
Cameron’s a proven glove-man in center field. And the move to [...]

By: Jordan Liebhaber, with contributions from Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writers
Spring Training is under way, so you know what that means…  It’s time to get your Fantasy Baseball Leagues set up!  The 2010 Boston Red Sox have a number of players who you should consider for your team, and maybe some who you shouldn’t.
Note: Last year I (Jess) stacked my team with many Red Sox players (Pedroia, Dice-K, Papi, Becket,  and Ellsbury to name a few. My team placed second–so building your team around your fan base is okay.
Bats:
Kevin Youkilis is proving to be a reliable power hitter in the post-steroid era, and with the Sox going for defense this year, one of the best bats, if not the best, on the Sox roster. Last season he hit for a .305 average, drove in 94 runs, and hit 27 home runs. Youk is a valuable commodity since he can play first or third base for your team, so look for him to be scooped up by the 3rd round. Rank: 38
Dustin Pedroia disappointed fantasy owners last year, not living up to his 2008 MVP season.  He ended the season with a  .296 average, 72 RBI’s, 115 runs, and 20 [...]

By: Jordan Liebhaber, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

Nine days into Spring Training, the Red Sox have much to look forward to as they get closer to opening day.  Theo Epstein appears to have assembled a roster filled with veteran leadership, young talent, and very few question marks.
The Sox Big Three, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey, are all pitching in mid-season form.  Beckett and Lackey have combined for ten innings with only one earned run allowed.  Lester struggled in his first appearance, but he settled down on Wednesday against the Rays allowing two hits in 2 2/3 innings with four strikeouts in his first five innings pitched.
On the rookie front, former first round draft pick Casey Kelly is showing what all the hype is about in the early going.  He mowed down six Orioles in two hit-less innings.
Twenty-three year old outfielder Josh Reddick is destined for AAA Pawtucket, but he is making quite the impression on the big league club.  In 17 at bats, he has eight hits including four doubles, one triple, and four RBI’s.  Two other young outfielders; Ryan Kalish and Che-Hsuan Lin have also turned some heads in the early going.
Phenom shortstop Jose Iglesias has exceeded all expectations [...]

By Ben Barker, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
When the Boston Red Sox take the field in 2010, New England will see a local nine unlike any other this decade. The days of back-to-back homeruns from Manny and Ortiz are gone. Even the replacement for Manny is gone. In a winter that was supposed to be centered on bringing back Jason Bay, Theo Epstein quietly put together one of the more balanced teams in the league – with defense as the foundation.
Opting to go with pitching and defense over high-powered offense has caused the term “run prevention” to be tossed around quite a bit.
And while the Sox were taking the road less traveled, the all too predictable Yankees once again flexed their financial muscle. Instead of bringing back Matsui or Damon, the Evil Empire added Curtis Granderson to a lineup that already boasts sluggers like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Those three bats alone should produce close to 110 homeruns for the Yankees this season.
Beating out the Yankees for the AL East title could be a daunting task for Tito and the boys in 2010. But should we expect to see the Red Sox in the playoffs at all? The answer is yes, and this [...]

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Defense wins championships.  You mostly hear that statement uttered by football experts and fans alike.  Alabama just won a national title with a powerful defense.
This philosophy can also apply many sports.  The Celtics won the title in 2008 with the best defense in basketball.
And now, the Red Sox are going to try to win it all with defense.  In baseball it’s more specifically defense and pitching and the Sox have loaded up on both this offseason.
The surprising signing of Angels ace John Lackey added another great arm to its starting rotation.  Lackey joins Josh Becket and Jon Lester, and all of them could be aces on many teams around the majors.  Add a continuing to improve Clay Buchholz, a hopefully healthy Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Tim Wakefield as the wildcard and you’ve got a tremendous starting rotation.
Defensively the Sox added Mike Cameron to the outfield.  He will take over center and Jacoby Ellsbury will shift to left.  While the signing of a 37-year-old outfielder was a bit troubling, Cameron is still a top outfielder defensively.
And finally, the recent signing of Adrian Beltre to play third base gives the Sox perhaps the premier defensive third baseman in [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Red Sox have signed the best free agent pitcher in the market.
Former Angels starter John Lackey agreed to a five-year $82.5 million contract. In 234 career games, Lackey has a record of 102-71 with a 3.81 ERA.
Last season Boston had issues with the consistency of their starting rotation. Brad Penny, John Smoltz, and Paul Byrd were not the answers to filling out the back end of the rotation. Tim Wakefield started off hot but broke down in the second half of the season and wound up on the DL, as did Daisuke Matsuzaka who was injured the majority of the year and struggled when he returned.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Lackey went 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA, had 139 strikeouts in 176.1 innings pitched, and was the ace on the AL-West winning Angels’ staff.
Adding the best pitcher available gives the Sox considerable depth in their rotation. Whether or not Lackey is the ace is questionable, but having opponents face a top three of Lackey, Josh Beckett, and Jon Lester is quite an arduous task.
If the Red Sox do make it back to the playoffs, having the ability to rely on those three is a huge advantage, [...]