Still Decisions To Be Made About Bullpen

Despite everything the Red Sox have done this offseason, including stuff about the bullpen, they are still going to need to make some choices about the bullpen going into 2011. This year is probably the Red Sox' first open Spring Training battle in a while. While Hideki Okajima and Scott Atchison hold their spots of lefty reliever and 5th reliever, respectfully, there are other options. People like Rich Hill, Felix Doubront, and Andrew Miller (right) could battle for both spots, where people like Matt Albers, Lenny DiNardo, Randy Williams, and Michael Bowden, could make an unlikely contribution. These battles could be interesting, and some of the Red Sox' spring training games could be fun to watch.

The News About No News

Yesterday, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein announced formally what any Red Sox fan already knew, that the Sox were done this offseason. After making such great acquisitions as Carl Crawford (near right) and Adrian Gonzalez (far right), along with Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler, and many other minor acquisitions. The Red Sox are trying hard to recover from the injuries that killed them last year, as Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis have announced that they are feeling much better. Terry Francona and Theo Epstein have said that the Red Sox are now looking full time towards Spring Training. It's just so excited, I can't believe it's only a few weeks until pitchers and catchers report!

Iglesias The Only Red Sox In Top 50 Prospects

Last night, the Top 50 Prospects in MLB were announced, and to my surprise, there was only one Red Sox player on the list. That player was shortstop Jose Iglesias, who despite an injury-riddled 2010, is definitely the shortstop of the future. Iglesias played the majority of his games at AA Portland last year, going .285/0/13 in 57 games, as the lack of power was striking. He prides himself as a great defensive shortstop which is definitely important as the Red Sox have a great hitting team. I expect Iglesias to get his major league debut under the belt in 2011, and probably be a starting shortstop by 2013.

Red Sox Interested In Joe Beimel

The Red Sox have, according to many sources, been reported to be looking at lefty reliever Joe Beimel. Beimel had a pretty good season in 2010 with the Colorado Rockies, going 1-2/3.40/21 in 71 games. Although Hideki Okajima would probably be the primary left-handed reliever for the Red Sox, Beimel could provide some depth and a good pitcher. He probably wouldn't help the Red Sox a whole lot, but he would definitely help, as you can never have too much pitching. I also like the look of his .221 average against left-handed batters. The move wouldn't really matter much for the Red Sox in all likelihood.

Jon Lester Already Talking World Series

Jon Lester recently has been talking about preparing extra hard for this year's World Series. Right now, three weeks before Spring Training... and why shouldn't he be? The Red Sox have made fantastic acquisitions along with the great old players they have. If the Sox make it to the World Series, Jon Lester will, without a doubt, be a big part of it, as he finished 6th in Cy Young Voting in 2010, with a 19-9/3.25/225. They also have Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, and John Lackey; plus they have new acquisitions Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, who players like Lester don't have to worry about anymore. I do hope Lester is right about the World Series!

Red Sox Stuffed With Minor League Catching

Despite many people worrying about Jarrod Saltalamacchia starting at catcher in 2011, there are better days to come. One of the most notable of these is Ryan Lavarnway, who went .288/22/102 in 126 games between A and AA. Luis Exposito (right) is another good one who is closer to the major leagues than Lavarnway, last year he went .260/11/94 largely in AA Portland. Those are the main ones, but there are also Tim Federowicz, who went .253/4/61, along with throwing out 33% of base-runners. There is also Mark Wagner, who was injured much of last season, but when he was there went .192/3/16 in 40 games between Rookie League, A, and AAA Pawtucket. Basically, the moral of this story is the Red Sox still have talent after the Adrian Gonzalez trade.

Scutaro Is Shortstop After All

After saying last week that he would give Jed Lowrie a chance at starting shortstop, Theo Epstein has confirmed that Marco Scutaro (right) will after all be the Opening Day shortstop. I enjoyed watching Scutaro play in 2010, and he was probably the most consistent player on the Sox going .275/11/56 in 150 games. Despite battling an injury for the second straight year, he was good enough with the Sox to be better than Derek Jeter in both batting average and home runs. Theo Epstein did not say that Jed Lowrie wouldn't take over the job after a little while. In fact, if Lowrie had played twice as many games in the same way he would have been better than Scutaro by a lot. I think Scutaro has earned the starting job, but Lowrie could win after a few months.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration Once Again

Today the Red Sox found common ground on contracts for Jonathan Papelbon (right) and Jacoby Ellsbury. They will be paying Papelbon $12 million next year, which I think is overpaying him a lot after his unusual 5-7/3.90/76 2010 season. They are paying Ellsbury $2.4 million, which I think is about what he deserves after his injury-riddled 2010 season when he went .192/0/5 in just 18 games. I'm surprised they made these moves so fast, as today was just the deadline to exchange settlements, they had a good two weeks before arbitration. I'm glad these deals were made, and frankly, I think the Red Sox are done this offseason, so that makes a pretty boring next month.

Salty Working Hard To Fit In

Theo Epstein has said that catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been working very hard on his catching, especially. In a lineup that features Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, and J.D. Drew, the Sox aren't going to need much extra offense. Salty has been down in Florida working with Red Sox catching coach, Gary Tuck. In 10 games with the Red Sox last year he went .158/0/1, before he had to get surgery on his thumb. He has not been working on offense very much, but more on catching, as over the past few years catching has been a weak spot with Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek being able to throw out around 9% of baserunners last year. I hope Salty does a good job, because we aren't trading for a new catcher, if some of you are thinking that.

Lowrie To Give Scutaro Run For His Money?

Throughout this offseason, Theo Epstein and other Red Sox officials have said that Marco Scutaro will be the starting shortstop in 2011, opposed to all the fans saying it should be Jed Lowrie (right). However, last night, Theo Epstein said that the starting shortstop role depends on Jed Lowrie's Spring Training. Jed Lowrie had a monster 55 games last year, due to injuries, going .287/9/24, while Marco Scutaro went .275/11/56 in 150 games. If Lowrie had played half as many games as Scutaro, he would probably have a higher batting average and at least as many home runs. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Scutaro as much as anyone, I think he performed admirably in 2010, but Lowrie did well too. I think Epstein is doing the right thing in at least giving Lowrie a shot, because he is a very good shortstop and he may just win.