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The Boston Red Sox have built themselves quite a team. They won the World Series in 2007 in convincing fashion. Not only did they sweep the Colorado Rockies, but they won each game with relative ease. Their team has a nice mix of veterans and youth and is essentially the same team this year as last. Expect another 90 plus wins from the Red Sox in 2008 as a strong favorite to repeat as world champions.

The Red Sox are all about killer duos. At the top of the pitching rotation they will have the duo of Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka returning. Beckett, for my money, is the best pitcher in the game. The 6 foot 5 inch righty is in his prime as he will turn 28 just before the season starts. He is old enough to have matured mentally and control his game, but young enough to still have all the physical gifts that make him so tough to hit. Expect him to be at least as good as last year and contend for the Cy Young again.

Matsuzaka was a bit of a puzzling pitcher last year. He looked great at times, but also got really hard at times. He won 15 games last season, but several of those wins were more due to the explosive Red Sox offense than to his pitching prowess. If I had to guess, I would expect Matsuzaka to improve this season. Last year he was still adjusting to the American lifestyle and that can be a big adjustment. He should be more comfortable this season.

If the opposition is lucky enough to score some runs off of those two pitchers, they then will have to hold down the other dynamic duo of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Easily the best lefty/ righty combo in all the major league batting orders, Ramirez and Ortiz strike fear in opposing pitchers hearts.

Ramirez and Ortiz can both hit the big home runs, both hit for high average and both are patient enough at the plate that opposing pitchers have to eventually throw them strikes. If I were to start my own baseball team, having these two as a foundation would be a great place to start.

Ramirez and Ortiz are so good, that they completely overshadow the rest of what is a very good lineup. Kevin Youkilis with his better than 20/20 vision is one of the toughest outs in baseball. Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew are all very talented players that can carry a team to victory on any given day throughout the season. All in all, the Red Sox are deep and will put a lot of pressure on opposing pitchers from the top of the lineup to the bottom.

To close this article, I must make mention of the Red Sox closer, Jonathan Papelbon. As good as Beckett is as a starter, Papelbon is equally good as the closer. With a blazing fastball and great off-speed pitches to counter with, a blown save will be rare thing for this young pitcher.

If the Red Sox have the lead heading into the final couple of innings, they will be nearly impossible to beat. And with Beckett and Matsuzaka starting games, Ortiz and Ramirez hitting in games, they are going to have the lead quite often, heading into those final two innings.

Learn more about this author, Jeremy Peters.
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