Sox seem to be lacking.. talent. Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli are going to protect Papi? I dunno. Like every other observer, I like the way the bullpen is shaping up. Ellsbury and the Flyin' Hawaiin are gonna catch everything over 3/4 of the tiny OF. Which is really why good defensive OFers are more a luxury than a priority in Fens b/c it is small.
That said Boston can compete this year if alot of things go their way. Lester and Clay need to been frontline guys again. Dempster needs to pitch like NL Dempster and not Texas Dumpster. The bullpen needs to perform, especially rebounds from Bailey and Bard. Napoli needs to play like 11 Napoli and not 12 Napoli. Gomes needs to play like 12 Gomes instead of career Gomes. Drew needs to be the servicable guy in AZ a couple years ago, Bogaerts too far away. Unless they want to bring up Rey Ordonez Iglesias.
Sure, too many IFs. Gotta be an optimist