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: 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: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
After decades of sleepy Sox fans, Boston finally woke up. The last decade for the Red Sox was more exciting then the 86 years before combined. They took away to Championships and have proved themselves once again to be at the top of the MLB. Here are their 10 best moments of the decade.
10. Sox sweep Yankees 3 in a row: The beginning of the 2009 season looked very good. The Red Sox swept the Yankees three straight times, beating them 8-0. Boston was squeaky clean. Sox fans were basking in the glory, however in the second half of the season the Yankees came back to sweep us twice, and beat us 9 out of 10 games. Then they went on to win the World Series.
9. Sox trade Manny for Bay: In 2008, a very controversial decision at the time, the Sox traded their trouble-making slugger Manny Ramirez, for outfielder Jason Bay. In Bay’s debut, nervous fans were reassured when Bay scored both runs, the second one to win the game in the 12th inning. In 2009, Bay hit 36 home runs. In Manny’s last season with the Sox, he only hit 20, clearly not wanting [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor.
You all overwhelmingly voted Paul Byrd out of the Sox playoff rotation in our poll.
And he was not included in Francona’s announcement of the rotation for the first three games in the ALDS, so rest assured, (not like you were that worried anyway).
The rotation is: John Lester for game one, Josh Beckett for game two, and Clay Buccholz game three.
The three names are not surprising, for these three have been our most consistent pitchers, despite their own inconsistencies throughout the season. Beckett leads for most wins,17-6 with a 3.86  ERA. Lester, is 15-8 with a 3.41 ERA. Buccholz is 7-4 with a 4.21 ERA.
But what might be a little unexpected, is the roation order. Note: Beckett and Lester are pretty close in stats.
Since when does Beckett not pitch game one of playoffs?
Since Lester has dominated the end of the season while Beckett was shaky. Lester has won 5 of his last 6 games, and 9 of his last 12. Beckett, on the other hand, has  just come out on top in 3 of the last 6, 7 of the last 12. However, I don’t think anyone, including Francona is doubting Beckett’s reliability in play-offs to absolutely take care of business. [...]