Boston Red Sox

As the Patriots and Celtics roll, the snow piles on and the Gonzalez/Crawford acquisitions finally begin to set in as reality, baseball seems a long way away.

But, in just 49 more days, pitchers and catchers report to spring training!

The Sox seemed to have slowed down their offseason moves. While they might be in the mix for some more relief help and/or another right-handed bat, the Sox should be pretty content in the fact that they've addressed their offseason needs while the New York Yankees have not.

Jonathan Papelbon is gearing up for his sixth season as closer for the Boston Red Sox. The upcoming year will be the third straight that Papelbon has pitched on a one-year contract. Next fall, Papelbon will become a free agent for the first time in his career, and will presumably seek a long-term deal with a per annum rate of at least $10 million.

I won't lie—it's a nice problem to have.

At a time of year when finding an outfielder, starting pitcher and rounding out the bullpen is at the fore of most teams' minds, Boston is chiefly concerned with the dilemma of what order to bat our All-Stars.

Oh, the bullpen isn't a given, and there's the matter of Marco Scutaro and Jed Lowrie at short. But recent additions Dan Wheeler and Bobby Jenks would seem to have stocked and solidified a middle relief that was plainly awful last year.

It was a tremendous 2010 campaign for Clay Buchholz, who emerged as a great fantasy option despite pitching in the ultra-competitive AL East.  Now, owners have to decide if they think he can replicate these impressive numbers, or if a regression is in his future:

17 Wins
173.2 Innings
2.33 ERA
1.20 WHIP
120 Strikeouts (6.22 K/9)
67 Walks (3.47 BB/9)
.265 BABIP

When 2008 AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies to boost an already stacked starting rotation, many people started handing them the 2011 World Series championship.

Not so fast though. Another very good team has also made some huge moves this offseason. Of course, I am speaking of the Boston Red Sox, who traded for All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and signed All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford.

2011 predictions are on every sports fan’s mind as the holidays near. Here are predictions for 2011 in the sports world:

MLB:

Adrian Gonzalez wins the American League MVP award after taking advantage of friendly confines of Friendly Fenway Park.

The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the World Series behind a masterful four-hit shutout by…Pedro Martinez.

Last year, the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers missed the playoffs entirely.  The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees made the playoffs, but sat the World Series out while the San Francisco Giants met up with the Texas Rangers for baseball’s biggest series.

At the end of the 2010 season, ranking the top teams based on their finish would have looked something like this:

The Boston Red Sox really aren’t messing around this offseason. They are crossing all of their T’s and dotting all of their I’s in preparation for 2011 season.

If Boston felt they needed something this offseason, they have gone out and got it. One of the main areas that Boston needed help in this offseason was their bullpen.

The Boston Red Sox have had the best offseason of any team. They acquired and signed hitting to bolster an already sturdy lineup. They have a balanced rotation, with four pitchers that could win more than 15 games. But their bullpen needed work.

If this was done by ever-aggressive General Manager Theo Epstein, the team would be set as the best the American League—and perhaps baseball—has to offer.

The Red Sox have reportedly agreed to terms with free agent righty reliever Dan Wheeler on a one-year deal with an option for 2012.

The move appears to be the final one in Theo Epstein's reconstruction of the Boston bullpen that finished 12th in the AL with a 4.24 ERA. They also blew 22 saves, the second-highest number in the league.