Spring Training

Spring Training is in gear, and it's time to warm up the blog again. It seems that things come to a crashing halt around here when there are no games going on. As a result, I haven't even managed to write a decent recap of last season for the Red Sox, and now opening day is just a few weeks away. I plan to do some performance predictions for this year's team, and I probably ought to recap how well my forecasts turned out last season.

Before I start doing some serious mound work, however, I thought I'd do a little jogging and light tossing. So here it is - an article on redsox.com about Boston's top prospects who are expected to start the season in Pawtucket. Last season Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen, David Murphy and Brandon Moss all helped the Sea Dogs jump out to a 10-0 start, while 2005 draft pick Craig Hansen joined them down the stretch and into the playoffs. This year, all are expected to start the season in Pawtucket, and most are likely to see some (if not significant) time in Fenway before the year is out. Another 2005 alum, Jonathan Papelbon, of course established himself on the big club over the last two months of the season and is currently vying for a spot in the Boston rotation.

Portland was an exciting place to watch baseball last season, as Pawtucket will be this year. Anybody who read this blog last year knows how highly I regard Papelbon, Lester, Hansen and especially Pedroia. I hope all of them become fixtures with the Boston Red Sox in the future. For now, most will have to continue to grow in AAA. Portland won't have the star power of 2005 this season, but the Sox have established a strong developmental season, and it will be fun to see who has a AA breakout in 2006.