Well, the Red Sox set all kinds of historic records last season, as all fans surely know. They are now getting set to start 2019, but the prospects perhaps are not as good. As we all know, it is almost impossible to repeat two world series championships in a row, but it has been done. Do the Sox stand a chance of doing it again? Perhaps they do.
Looking over the roster there are some familiar names and it seems the core of the batting order has returned for this season. It seems that the pitching rotation may be as strong as ever, at least at the start of the season. Four of last years starters are back, but one noticeable difference is the absence of Drew Pomeranz, who was apparently traded to the Giants. This may not be much of a loss as he has struggled to live up to performances he has had prior to his injuries during the 2017 season. He had one good year with the Sox, but has failed to impress me since. As I have mentioned he was a big factor in the 2017 Red Sox loss in post season AL Division series.
The bullpen is back pretty much intact also, so all in all prospects my not be too bad, at least as relievers go. There are some missing names there as well, but the bullpen should shape up to be good again this season. I look forward to seeing Brandon Workman develop this year, as well as Brian Johnson. It will be good to see Barnes and Hembree back anchoring the bullpen and Steven Wright, who can also fill in for the starters, will hopefully be around for the full season this year.
As I said, the batting order looks as good as ever, with Pedroia hopefully making a comeback and most of the starters back. There are some names missing, but things are shaping up for the Sox to make another good run this year. Mookie should be as good as ever and Martinez and Benintendi I expect to have good seasons. So, look out Major league Baseball, here come the 2019 Red Sox coming at you again.
I confess that I have not followed the Red Sox as closely this Spring Training as I have only seen a couple of games this year when last I saw almost every game. Life has a way of crowding out baseball sometimes, but I am looking forward to watching almost every night once the regular season begins. With almost everybody back from 2018 and some new additions to boot all should go well for us in the coming season. Anyway, Go Sox!
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