Boston Red Sox

Now that spring training has begun, it’s time to look back at this offseason. And what an offseason it was. Spending was up and it was like 1999 all over again.

However, some teams spent wisely and made some good acquisitions, while other teams didn’t spend their money so wisely. As the knight said in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, “They chose poorly.”

We’ll look at the teams that chose poorly later, but for now, we will look at the five winners from this offseason.

In the long and cherished history of the Boston Red Sox, the team has managed to flourish with, and despite of, some of the most oddly reclusive players in the game of baseball. These stars of the diamond have often been compared to Greta Garbo, the famous actress and movie star. She made the mold for the term “Drama Queen” and lived in opulent seclusion.

Albert Pujols to the Boston Red Sox?

You remember being a kid? 

Dreams and wishes came to you without the meddlesome burden of reality or practicality.  You could dream of being a cowboy or pirate or pretty much anything else you had seen on television that looked cool and while you were at it you could wish for the stars.

For some kids the mother of all wishes was simple yet grand, getting a brand new Pony.

After hearing the Red Sox pitchers talk about it, you wouldn't know the catcher position remains one of the biggest question marks on a retooled squad heading into the 2011 season.

As Spring Training gets underway and people in Boston are left to daydream of warmth and baseball, the Sox hurlers have spent their time heaping praise on expected starter Jarrod Saltalamacchia, rewarding him with the highest possible compliment to give a Beantown backstop.

They're comparing him to Jason Varitek.

As the title suggests, there's rampant optimism among Red Sox fans after this winter's acquisitions. The club traded for Adrian Gonzalez, a highly-prized first baseman whom the Boston brain trust has coveted for years. That grab was followed by the signing of Carl Crawford, the former Tampa left fielder who was the top free agent available this offseason.

For major league pitchers, 20 wins has always been the benchmark of an exceptional MLB season and to some extent, a career. 

In fact, almost every one of the 51 pitchers in the Hall of Fame won 20 games in a season at least once in their career—relief pitchers excluded.

After a 2009 season in which no pitcher won more than 19 games, three pitchers were able to reach 20 wins in the 2010 MLB Season - Roy Halladay (21), CC Sabathia (21) and Adam Wainwright (20). 

J.D. Drew's five-year $70 million contract will, finally, mercifully, end after the 2011 season.  He arrived in 2007 with many wondering why the Boston Red Sox wanted to pay him so much and he'll leave with many more people doing so.

I cannot think of another Boston player whose performance has so been so out-of-whack with his salary for five years.  Drew has performed, essentially, like an average player who is paid like a big star. 

Dream with me for a moment, folks.

With the additions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, the Boston Red Sox need another right-handed bat in their lineup.

At the ripe old age of 32 (in 2012) the most deserving, soon to be highest paid player ever in the game of professional baseball, Albert Pujols will fill that hole nicely.

There isn't much content online about auction drafts. I think that's mostly because its more challenging and therefore less popular.

You can auto-draft (a.k.a. skip the draft) and end up with a very good team. Going into an auction, the best laid plans win.

While the auction never goes exactly as planned, the guy who does the best job at executing the plan will end up with the best team, at least out of the gate. There are many different strategies for auctions, and I cannot adequately explain them all, but here are a few simple rules to follow.

I am in the midst of a series examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis. The players at each position are being ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, the series continues with a look at the shortstops.

The best player will earn 10 points for his team, with the remaining players being assigned points as follows: 7-5-3-1.