Boston Red Sox

I wrote the article below a few months back as part of my application to Bleacher Report. I predicted that Troy Tulowitzki and Adrian Gonzalez would win their league's respective MVP awards. The Boston Red Sox have gotten off to a horrid start, but it's still April.

Are my points still valid? What new factors support or contest my AL MVP prediction? You be the judge.

-------------------

The trials and tribulations of Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Matsuzaka and the Red Sox should have seen it coming.  The answer was right there in front of them.  It was obvious to me. 

How did I know something that all of them didn’t?

Well, I saw the movie Mr. Baseball.

Am I joking? 

Maybe a little bit, but not entirely.

Eleven games into 2011, the Boston Red Sox are 2-9.

They've dug themselves a nice little hole to work out of, huh?

Amid the many things that are going wrong for the Red Sox, there are some things that are going right. 

David Ortiz is having his best spring in years. Adrian Gonzalez has settled in nicely. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are both coming off superb eight-inning efforts.

The plate has been brushed off, the hot dogs have been made and the 2011 MLB season is underway.

While there's a bunch of joy and hoopla that surrounds the opening week, there are some disappointed fan bases out there after their teams and/or favorite players got off to a rocky start.

There's no question we are all glad to see baseball back in action, but what are the 10 biggest storylines that have made us cringe so far?

Daisuke Matsuzaka’s outing last night against the Tampa Bay Rays, as well as his tenure with the Boston Red Sox, can be summed up in one word: baffling.

Theo Epstein is the general manager of the Boston Red Sox.  He is also a practitioner of sabermetrics. 

At least that’s what we’re lead to believe.

After all, Bill James has been a senior advisor for the Red Sox since 2002.

You see, in the Church of Sabermetrics, Bill James is the deity. Many of his followers believe that he was begotten, not made, and that he will reign eternal in the halls of Strat-O-Matic Valhalla.

I have made a decision: The 2011 major league baseball season began on April 8th.

I don't need to hear you tell me that I'm crazy, or stupid, or ugly, or a pervert; the voices in my head tell me that all the time (especially Paul; he's such a jerk!) This is not about logic, this is about survival. And we all know that the most important thing any organism can do, after eating deep-dish pizza, of course, is to survive. Don't argue with me, I didn't make the rules.

Is anyone really surprised? Really? It almost feels as if this is how it's supposed to be.

After parts of 19 seasons in which he accumulated 555 home runs and over 1,800 RBI, the former Yankee-killer we know as Manny Ramirez has called it quits. We've seen the last of his cell phone conversations in left field between innings, and no longer will his critics be able to accuse the 12-time All-Star of not playing hard.

Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox seems to be pulling a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" act this spring.

Last night, he pitched fantastically, giving up just two hits and striking out 10 batters in eight scoreless innings as he led the Sox to a much-needed 4-0 win against the New York Yankees.

The Boston Red Sox needed a big performance from their pitching staff, and got one before a nationally televised audience Sunday night as they won their first series of the season, 2-1 over the New York Yankees.

Pitcher Josh Beckett was masterful, going eight innings, allowing two hits and striking out 10 batters. The win was the finest performance this season by any Red Sox pitcher.