2008 Season Preview

On the eve of the Sox season opener on American soil, here are five burning questions RSN will be looking to answer this year:

5.) Will the pitching staff be healthy--and ready--enough to guide the team to the postseason

Josh Beckett's already on the DL. Curt Schilling will be out until mid-season at the earliest, and then who knows how long it will take him to provide any meaningful contributions this season, if any. Tim Wakefield is approaching retirement age, has a history of back problems and lost his designated catcher this spring. Dice-K is starting to resemble the type of pitcher that makes you cross your fingers every time he comes to the mound, just praying that this isn't the inning or game he implodes. Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are like SNL's "also featuring" cast members-young & talented but maybe not quite ready for prime time just yet.

This is the biggest question mark the team faces this season, and obviously everything hinges on Beckett's health; if he can make this trip to the DL a distant memory by mid-May and come back to dominate the league like last year, then we can all hope everyone else falls into place. But if the ace encounters a year's worth of arm and/or blister problems, then the failure to trade for Johan Santana is going to hang over this team's head like an April raincloud.

4.) Will Manny be Most Valuable Manny?

Everything is in place for ManRam to have a monster year: he had a disappointing season last year, failing to reach 100 RBIs for the first time in a decade, hit his fewest homers (20) since 1997 as well, and slugged at less than a .900 clip for the first time in his career (in a full season.) So why does that make Manny my choice for the AL MVP? All together now: "Because he's in a contract year!"

If anything can motivate the mercurial ManRam it's the thought that if he has another down year the Boston brass might not pick up his option for 2009, forcing Ramirez to actually leave the team he's threatened, promised and hinted at leaving for the better half of the last decade.

Notice the early arrival at spring training, the lack of any MBM issues like grills and wheels for sale, the mashing of 5 ribbies in the Japan series? Not a coincidence folks. Sure he'll still Cadillac it on balls that stay in the park and intercept a stray cutoff throw now and then, but all signs point to Manny having a major offensive season, and those signs look like this: $$$$$$$$$$$

3.) Will the Coco/Ellsbury situation be a distraction?

Only if Crisp makes it one. If he's smart he'll keep his mouth shut, play a few times a week, come in for the occasional pinch-running and late-replacement duties and try to get another ring on his finger. If he really wants to be the superstar starting center fielder he thinks he is, he can go to a bad team, play every day, hit .255 with 15 highlight-reel catches a year and watch the playoffs on television.

Your choice Coco. Well, until Theo dumps you in a deal for another arm. Then it's the team's choice. Until then, in the words of native new Englander John Tortorella, shut your yap.

2.) How long before brittle JD Drew is replaced by Brandon Moss as the starting right fielder?

May 17th.

1.) Can the Sox repeat?

It may be an unpopular thought in the Hub and throughout the Nation, but all signs point to "no". Between the crazy opening to the season, with trips to Japan, California and Toronto, followed by 13 of 17 contests against playoff-caliber clubs and the rash of injuries and questions with the rotation, it would be a near miracle if this team could pull off the repeat.

Do I think they have the talent to get it done? Absolutely. But a lot of things will have to fall into place, not the least of which is Beckett's health, as well as that of Drew, Papi and Wakefield. Let's face it, the decision not to alter the makeup of the championship club was a noble one and certainly placated the now-zillions of Sox fans Nationwide, but with the brutal schedule and injury bug already playing a factor this early in the season, a repeat seems like a lot to ask for from a club that has already accomplished what no diehard ever thought they'd see in their lifetime: another championship flag flying over Fenway.

But here's to hoping they can beat the odds and put a third banner up before the next generation of misery begins.

For more on the 2008 baseball season, visit my other blog.