Sports Illustrated Projects Red Sox to Finish in Third Place

It wouldn't be the beginning of the baseball season without predictions. Sports Illustrated has come out with theirs, and Red Sox fans won't be happy.

SI's experts have Boston missing the playoffs entirely, finishing third with a 93-69 record, two games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for second place. The New York Yankees are projected to earn 100 victories.

The predictions conflict with those of two other sources: Baseball Prospectus says the Red Sox will be the AL East champions with 95 wins, while Buster Olney of ESPN.com has the BoSox taking the wild card.

The focus of the Red Sox for the coming season, as has been discussed ad nauseam, is run prevention. John Lackey gives the Sox yet another horse at the front of the rotation while their defense has been shored up with Adrian Beltre at third base and Mike Cameron manning center field.

But those additions won't be enough to get Boston into the playoffs, if SI turns out to be right.

Sports Illustrated's baseball preview issue hits the shelves March 31, and it predicts a rematch of the 2008 World Series taking place this fall, with the Philadelphia Phillies once again besting the Tampa Bay Rays.