The Red Sox regular season begins April 3, 2017. In the first place, this is the first season the Red Sox will open at home in six years.
Red Sox Regular Season Begins
Although the team finished in first place last year with 93 wins, I’m looking forward to the start of the 2017 baseball season. Since the end of the season, Dave Dombrowski has been very active in acquiring several players. In addition, Dombrowski traded four out of Boston’s seven prospects for Chris Sale and Tyler Thornburg.
While the season will open with many new faces, the team will miss David Ortiz. David Ortiz has been a favorite of mine since his introduction to the team back in 2003. Also, Clay Buckholz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the off-season for minor league infielder, Josh Tobias. Although Clay showed signs of greatness with his no-hitter back in September 2007 against the Baltimore Orioles, he wrestled with injuries throughout his time with Boston.
Red Sox Regular Season Opening Day
Of course, after last seasons 93 wins, I’ve been looking forward to opening day. Also, this marks the second time for the Pittsburgh Pirates visit to Fenway Park since 2005. Because there are several interleague games at Fenway this year, it will be nice to see a team we haven’t seen much of.
Because the Red Sox usually opens on the road, it will be nice to see the crowd’s reaction to some of the teams new players. Rick Porcello, the reigning American League East Cy Young Winner will start. In preparation, he threw 98 pitches over 6 innings in a recent Spring Training game. He allowed one run and two hits while striking out nine in the game on March 23rd.
Red Sox Regular Season Anticipation
With Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, the team is looking good as a regular lineup. Also, Dustin Pedroia’s leadership and Hanley Ramirez’s experience should be able to handle the retirement of David Ortiz.
Red Sox Questions
Given, Ortiz’s retirement, how will the Red Sox offense perform? Andrew Benintendi showed a lot of promise last year. His bat could be a replacement in the number three spot in the line-up. With Pablo Sandoval back from shoulder surgery, will he be the player the team thought they were getting when they acquired him? How will Mitch Moreland perform as the team’s everyday first baseman?
Will Rick Porcello be the pitcher he was for the team in 2017? Will David Price become more comfortable in his second year with the Red Sox? How will Chris Sale do with the Red Sox? Will he be the pitcher we saw in his years with the Chicago White Sox? How will the bullpen perform? Will Craig Kimbrel regain his form to be a better closer in his second season with the team?
Conclusion
Baseball is a long season. Today is game 1 of 162 games. In conclusion, the Red Sox are an early favorite to win the AL East.
As always, share any thoughts with me that you have on this year’s team.
Let’s go Red Sox!
