But there’s another very good reason to be excited for the changing of seasons, and it’s not just the hope that we may finally see grass again.
Baseball season is right around the corner.
That being said, it’s also Oscar season. So, after Sunday evening’s look at Hollywood’s finest and best dressed, let’s take an Oscar-themed look at the 2011 Boston Red Sox, helped by this year’s nominees for Best Picture.
WINTER’S BONE
Noted by Oscar co-host James Franco as one of this year’s dirtiest movie titles — one of several unfunny moments of the marathon awards show — it’s actually a relevant title for a few prominent Red Sox starters heading into the season.
Going around the infield, newly acquired and soon to be extraordinarily well-paid first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is still recovering from October’s right shoulder surgery. Meanwhile, longtime first baseman Kevin Youkilis, now back at the hot corner across the diamond, is healthy and active again after his 2010 season was cut short due to surgery in August to repair a torn muscle in his right thumb. Finally, second baseman Dustin Pedroia spent the offseason recovering from foot surgery and firing off zingers at anyone who made a joke about crutches.
The health of this club, and particularly its key players, will be a focal point this year after injuries were such a remarkable concern in 2010. Youk was limited to 102 games last season — a high number compared to Pedey’s 75, Jed Lowrie’s 55, Mike Cameron’s 48 and Jason Varitek’s 39.
Forget about Jacoby Ellsbury’s 18-game limited schedule due to an order of boneless ribs, or slated starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s 10 outings — 12 if you include his short time in Texas. Plus, Josh Beckett‘s time on the DL hindered his turns in the rotation to a modest 21.
Many factors make the Red Sox the favorite to win the AL East. For that premonition to come true, health will be as important as anything.
INCEPTION
Speaking of health, if the possibility of avoiding serious injury exists, the 2011 Red Sox are a dream, right? Just a concoction of our imaginations, cruelly placed deep in our subconsciousness by Hank and Hal Steinbrenner?
How tragic that would be, since this club has the potential to win 100 games, something no Red Sox team has done since Joe Cronin’s squad in 1946. Yes, today’s Red Sox will downplay the queries surrounding how good they could be, as they should, but let’s be serious for a moment.
John Henry’s crew paid more than it would cost to perfect time travel to bring in Gonzalez (well, almost) and Carl Crawford. The new additions join Pedroia, Youkilis and David Ortiz in the lineup. On the mound, the rotation consists of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka. The bullpen boasts closer Jonathan Papelbon, future closer Daniel Bard, former closer Bobby Jenks and Rhode Island native Dan Wheeler.
Typing or reading that last paragraph is impossible to do without smiling. If this is a dream, a united front of Boston fans have no interest in waking up.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
If Saltalamacchia hasn’t added the entire 2011 Red Sox pitching staff as friends on Facebook yet, he’d better get to it before the season rolls around as Jason Varitek has accepted his backup role.
Red Sox pitchers of the past 13 years regard ‘Tek as one of the best in the game in terms of preparation and calling pitches. Those skills, along with his leadership and respect in the clubhouse, compelled Boston to re-sign him in December. Now Saltalamacchia must learn from the captain. After all, Varitek’s a three-time All-Star, has a Gold Glove and two titles under his belt, and has caught four no-hitters.
As for Saltamacchia, Theo Epstein got the youngster after years of hearing rumors. Though injuries — and the presence of Victor Martinez –- limited Saltalamacchia’s playing time in Boston after his July 31 acquisition, he’s in line for regular responsibility at the backstop position. Watching how that transition goes should be interesting.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Unlike the movie, this section won’t involve talk of lesbians, so it’s understandable if you’d like to skip ahead.
Beyond Saltalamacchia, the Red Sox “kids” include prospects Ryan Kalish, Josh Reddick, Yamaico Navarro and Lars Anderson if we use age 25 as a cutoff. The first two provide depth in the outfield, while the latter show promise in the infield. Either way, if the big club is healthy, all of them will see considerable time in Pawtucket to hone their skills and be ready in the case of disaster, a la 2010. Let’s be honest, Kalish can hit and run, but nobody wanted to see him play in 53 games last season. No one wants to see that this year either.
Naturally, the farm also has lots of young arms, but with arguably the best five-man starting rotation in baseball and a deep bullpen aided by a few new veteran arms, youth beyond Bard and perhaps Michael Bowden really shouldn’t be spotted at Fenway this summer — unless the Spinners are playing.
TOY STORY 3
On the subject of kids, in Toy Story 3, Andy had to leave Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang behind because it was time to grow up.
For the Red Sox, Clay Buchholz experienced his own transition to adulthood in 2010. After three years shuttling up and down I-95, Buchholz proved what some people were too impatient to wait around for: he’s the real deal.
Boston’s 2005 first-round pick was perhaps the Red Sox’ most reliable starter after finishing second to Jon Lester in wins with 17 and first on the club with a pristine 2.33 ERA. For his efforts, Buchholz was named an All-Star and finished sixth in the Cy Young voting.
Now after one full year in the majors, Buchholz, 26, has to show that his freshman season was no fluke. With the lineup that will be supporting him in 2011, a 20-win campaign could be on the horizon.
If the people at Pixar were writing the script, a Cy Young Award also could be waiting for Buchholz at season’s end. Strap on your 3-D glasses, and get out of the way of steaming fastballs.
TRUE GRIT
Jeff Bridges was nominated for his performance as Marshall Rooster Cogburn, a righteous man of the law who wore an eye patch and was often seen drunk.
In 2010, Josh Beckett had disastrous year.
Beckett may still be his team’s ace, but he’s coming off an injury-plagued 6-6 campaign with a 5.78 ERA and 1.535 WHIP. Over his 10-year career, only his first season in Boston in 2006 — when he struggled adjusting to American League hitters and went 16-11 with a 5.01 ERA and 1.295 WHIP in 33 starts over more than 200 innings — came close to being as bad.
Beckett rebounded well in 2007. He finished second in the Cy Young voting, was named an All-Star and went a career-best 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.141 WHIP. He also was lights-out in the postseason and won his second career World Series championship. The excitement now lies in seeing if he’s got the true grit to bounce back again.
THE FIGHTER
While “Irish” Micky Ward was a perennial underdog before taking the WBU intercontinental lightweight title and light welterweight titles, Boston’s J.D. Drew perpetually has been considered a top dog. At least, that was true until a couple of disappointing seasons at the Fens.
Granted, the term “disappointing” is relative. If Darnell McDonald hit 22 home runs, drove in 68 and walked 60 times a year ago, his jersey would be seen all over Lansdowne Street. But those numbers aren’t good enough for Drew. Ever since inking a five-year, $70 million contract with the Red Sox in 2007, he’s come under harsh criticism. But in a contract year, he has an opportunity to silence those critics.
Whether players do better with money on the line, you can bet Scott Boras’ piggy bank that Drew won’t hit .255 again with free agency right around the corner. Call it a prediction, but expect that average to be a lot closer to and maybe even surpass his career .281 mark — that is, unless he starts hanging out with Dicky Eklund.
127 HOURS
You could easily put together 127 hours worth of questions surrounding this year’s Red Sox season, but here are a few fun ones.
Is spring training over yet? Why does it have to last so long? Has Adrian Gonzalez signed his contract extension yet (it’s inevitable, right)? Will David Ortiz be worth Boston’s investment to bring him back? Will Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury combine to steal 575 bases? Will Tim Wakefield pitch until he’s 50 (he’s not 50 yet, right)?
Have the Red Sox gotten over the fact that they paid $50 million just for the opportunity to acquire Daisuke Matsuzaka? Is Jon Lester the best left-hander in baseball? Will Dan Wheeler do what Rocco Baldelli could not for his hometown team? Have we discovered why Hideki Okajima is back? Will Dustin Pedroia beat Terry Francona in a game of cribbage this year?
Oh, and are the Oscars over yet? This year’s show was painful, and James Franco looked like he was going to cut his arm off.
BLACK SWAN
The White Swan or the Black Swan? Natalie Portman or Mila Kunis?
Some choices are easier to make than others, and that will again be the case in the AL East. As usual, most pundits probably won’t put much stock in Baltimore or Toronto, despite very good offseasons for both organizations. That fact will be true for Tampa Bay as well after the Rays lost more key pieces (Carl Crawford, anyone?) than they brought in. Seriously, they signed Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. Those two were Idiots in 2004, but who are the idiots this year?
So, the AL East returns to the good old days of Red Sox versus Yankees. Game after game, fans across the country will have to regularly endure four-plus hours of nine-inning action. Good and evil. Thing is, the Evil Empire had a lousy offseason.
The Yanks re-signed ageless closer Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter, but suffered through publicly ugly negotiations with the guy who is basically the face of New York. Then, they lost out on prized free agent pitcher Cliff Lee to Philadelphia. They did bring in setup man Rafael Soriano from Tampa, but at a very steep $35 million price tag. New York also added Andruw Jones. Yes, that Andruw Jones. The last time he had an impact was in a video game.
No doubt, the Red Sox won the offseason, but will they win the regular season?
THE KING’S SPEECH
On Sunday night, the big winner at the Oscars was The King’s Speech — taking home Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture honors.
When it comes to the 2011 Red Sox, hitting and pitching obviously are important, but the best acting, directing and framing of the complete picture largely falls upon manager Terry Francona’s shoulders.
For the last seven years, Francona, who’s never been named Manager of the Year, has found a way to control a very chaotic clubhouse with a number of very strong and highly paid personalities. How he ever dealt with Manny Ramirez is beyond the comprehension of most.
His camp counselor-like approach has helped lead the Red Sox to a pair of World Series championships, providing young Red Sox fans with an unbelievable gift: They have no idea what suffering means.
What Francona does in 2011 remains to be seen. His room will include another group of many new faces, though a surplus of returnees and a stable group of veterans should keep any potentially challenging egos in check.
So now armed with new players and coaches on his staff, the Red Sox have one goal, the same one Francona has had since he took over the dugout before the 2004 season: win.
