State of 2007 Red Sox

Here's my perspective on the Sox as presently constituted. Please read it in its entirety:

With Nixon, Gonzo in the lineup this team won 86 games last year and everyone agrees that Lugo and JD is an upgrade in the offense. Everyone thinks the 2B is a problem, but I would give him a chance to blossom until May --50 more games before passing any judgment. I think he makes solid contact and has a decent plate discipline, although he should cut down on his swing with 2 strikes. That alone is + 3 in wins from last year.

The real concern for me right now is Coco as I feel he looks in between and kind of lost at the plate. I was told that he is one of the best fast ball hitters in the game by Theo and he seems to foul off most of the fastballs in the 88 to 92 mph range and chases breaking balls to strike out or pops them up. When facing righties, he has the propensity to chase breaking balls inside instead of laying off.

He would be traded for middle relief come June/July..The one guy I like in minor leagues is Brandon Moss..I saw him at Paw Sox debut vs. Charlotte knights and he is absolutely scorching the ball.. I think he would be a gr8 mid season upgrade over Coco. which was a mistake by Theo trading Marte for him since we had 3 OF prospects in the system which we could have started with in 06 and also we don't have any corner infielders with Power in the system so its imperative to go after Mark of Texas next year to play 1B for the Sox and move Youk to 3B and keep him away from the Yankees -- Remember Teixeira's idol growing up was Don Mattingly -who would be the Manager of the Yanks in 08 and he was upset with Sox scouts who disrespected his dad after drafting him from Ga Tech and did not sign with them so it would be tough to keep him away from the evil empire as they need 1B as well.

I definitely like our starting rotation. Scill has too much ego and pride to be awful and he would be OK for 12-14 wins. Beckett is going to win 15-17 wins with an ERA of under 4.00 and Dice-K is too savvy and poised along with his gr8 stuff not to win 17-18 games.. That leaves Wakefield who I think would win 10-12 games and then the 5th starter which is right now my pet peeve with Sox management:

Hansack who has the best stuff and had a great spring training is relegated to the minors while Julian whose talent is not nearly as good as Hansack is taking the ball every 5th day since we are paying him 2.5 Million and had to get some use out of him. Hansack should be the 5th starter and Julian should be the long relief in the bull pen and possible trade chip for teams that need pitching and willing to gamble on him --maybe the cards !!

Lack of Power is also a concern -only 1 HR in 5 games but David and Manny would heat up but drop off fro last years monster 54 HR season is enevitable. The weather is cold , so I would give them a pass but certainly looking at other AL East teams makes me jealous of their power.

75 HR for Papi(40) and Manny(35), 20 for JD, 30 from Lowell + Varitak, 15-for Youk 10 for coco and Lugo and 5 for 2B and Mirabelli and 20 HR from bench (Pena and Hinski) = Total of 190 HR's decent but not great. Need 220 + HR's and we would be there in 08 if we get Tiexiera.

Elijia Dukes of Devil Rays has 2 HR's and Sox as a team has just 1 ;))

Any intelligent comments and responses are more than welcome.