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The 2007 lineup for the Boston Red Sox looks pretty questionable thus far. Most of Boston’s outfield was down for a good deal of the season, including their newest outfielder, J. D. Drew, who is notorious for his health issues. Due to these things and more, this season will probably be pretty rough for the Red Sox.

Jason Varitek is 35 and fading fast toward retirement. His defense is dropping, and his OPS+ plummeted an entire 40 points. The injury to his knee didn’t help him over the summer either. However, Varitek should still show some resilience, even though his reign as the best offensive catcher is over.

Many people were impressed with the 91 walks that first baseman Kevin Youkilis drew last year and fans are waiting for more of the same. Though not playing at home, Fenway Park, he should still play a good game. Dustin Pedroia finally has a chance to shine this season. Though he hasn’t performed well when given his chance, some serious improvements should come from him this year. Lowell is commonly regarded as a wizard with a glove—as long as the ball is within range. Lowell catches a good amount of balls that come into his zone, but lacks in range. He also has a tendency to fall off towards the last half of the season.

Julio Lugo, Bostons’ starting shortstop for 2007, is in a really good position for this year. This is argued greatly, but here is why is perfect for the position: during his career at Fenway Park, he had a career OPS of .880; and, he can steal about 25 bases, play solid defense, and score an OPS of over .800. Hence his perfect placement as shortstop. There isn’t too much to say about the Red Sox’s designated hitter. David Ortiz is one of the best hitters in all of baseball and the Red Sox should be able to depend on him for many runs.
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The Baltimore Orioles were just a horrible mess last year, finishing in the bottom half of the AL in runs per game, and only one team finished worse in runs allowed per game. Though they will keep the same offensive team, they will make a very significant addition to it, Aubrey Huff. The outfield, amazingly enough, still has Jay Payton as one of the starting lineup. How did this happen? It’s absurd to think that the Orioles are a desperate enough team to keep Jay Payton as a player at all.

Last year, Corey Patterson showed a surprising performance. For his first five years, he played horribly for the Chicago Cubs. He was signed to the Orioles last year, and fought for his career as a pro baseball player, which definitely showed. He struck out 24 less times over 9 games, and stole a career high of 45 bases. He should be able to add as much to his 2007 game as he did to last years, which will play a part in bringing the Orioles back up to plate as a worthy adversary. On many levels, when considering the 2007 season, this really is one of the players to keep eyes on. His performance is expected to strong during the coming season, according to most of the game’s analysts.

Hernandez is a good offensive catcher, though we can’t really determine how he handles pitchers from his performance last season. Other than that, there isn’t much to say about him, except that we hope to see a little more consistency from him. It is the issue of consistency that is causing the greatest concern from people who’ve watched his career through the years. Thus, it really is difficult to pin down with any degree of specificity what kind of season we can anticipate when it comes to Hernandez.
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