In a year where the news-media will be completely transfixed by the happenings in the Bronx...it's entirely possible that the Boston Red Sox will have more to prove.
To be honest, the Red Sox have had the quieter postseason, but may still have an incredibly well-rounded team. The rotation wasn't altered a great deal, the infield, while without Dustin Pedroia, is still strong, and the bats, now with J.D. Martinez, seem equally powerful. With less fanfare, the Red Sox also have less chance to disappoint. Besides, if everybody thinks you're going to end up in 2nd place, that still means that there's 20% of improvement than can happen.
Right now, Christian Vazquez and Xander Bogaerts seem to be the sole early offensive standouts, but that isn't counting out a return to form for Hanley Ramirez, or another surprisingly potent year from Eduardo Nunez or Rafael Devers. This team does have a lot going for it, even if it's not especially heralded right now. Plus, David Price seems to be back to his old self, and Chris Sale is still operating by his old 'heavy strikeouts' logic, so a great deal could be accomplished here.
Again, the injury problem could strike, and the packing of home-run hitters onto the lineup may spell a team that goes more for distance than for average, so a lot could go wrong, but the Sox could potentially do some dangerous things down the stretch, especially from what I've seen over the first few games of the year.
Coming Tomorrow- The guy who used to be the only ace in Philly.
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