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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Ever since the 2004 season, spring training has had a different feel and the Boston Red Sox have gone into it with a different approach and outlook.
It used to be – after being peppered with questions about whether the Sox had the team to finally win it all – players and fans would break camp hoping this might be the year. When it didn’t happen, many weren’t surprised.
Four years and two World Series titles later, they’ll break camp expecting to win it all. And when they don’t, many will surprised.
Such is the case this spring, even with injuries, roster shakeups, question marks, and an inconvenient overseas trip that is cutting Boston’s preseason short.
“I can’t wait to go to Japan and spend all those days out there and come back here and be tired,” J.D. Drew dead-panned before breaking into a hearty chuckle.
Drew jokes about it, but he’s not the only one who’s less than enthused about an abbreviated spring and an 18-hour, jet lag-inducing trip.
“I think the difference this spring training is it’s a little bit of a race against time because we’re going to Japan and cutting off spring training seven or eight days early,” said third baseman Mike Lowell.
Still, Boston’s quiet confidence emphatically comes through.
“Part of the excitement of this next season is we feel we have a legit chance to defend,” said Lowell, who also won a World Series with Florida in 2003. “With the Marlins, we lost Pudge Rodriguez and Derek Lee and those were two major pieces of our team.
“This season, not only our infield, but basically our whole team is just the same, and we want to win it again.”
Boston plays two exhibition games in Tokyo on Friday and Sunday and then opens its regular season there with games against Oakland on March 25-26, both at 6:05 a.m. (EDT).
First baseman Kevin Youkilis is more than ready to defend the championship after an enjoyable offseason.
“It’s more relaxing because you’re not as mentally taxed,” Youkilis said. “The year before, we didn’t make the playoffs and it’s so draining. You’re upset and a little angry you didn’t make it and have more time to reflect on the bad, whereas winning a World Series, you have a lot shorter offseason and you can’t wait to get back.”
Most publications are picking the Red Sox to win it all again, but their basepath back to the World Series already has a few hurdles on it:
. Ace starting pitcher Josh Beckett pulled or strained a muscle in his back after stumbling on the pitcher’s mound in his first spring outing and will not even travel with the team to Japan.
. Starting shortstop Julio Lugo missed 13 straight games due to lower back tightness and was day-to-day, severely curtailing his preparation for the season. He returned to action Saturday and went 2-for-3 and played again Sunday, but as the designated hitter.
. Center fielder Coco Crisp has had just four at-bats over the first 17 days of spring training due to groin muscle tightness.
. Knuckleball starter Tim Wakefield will have to adjust to new personal catcher Kevin Cash after seven seasons of pitching to Doug Mirabelli.
. The absence of Beckett, combined with the likelihood that a shoulder injury will keep Curt Schilling out until the All-Star break, severely tests Boston’s rotation and weakens its vaunted pitching depth.
That’s the potential bad news, but there are still plenty of reasons to smile about the Sox this spring.
. Starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka will be making the Japan trip and could start Boston’s opener. There was some doubt as to whether he would be able to make the trip because of his wife’s pregnancy, but she gave birth Saturday to their second child, their first son.
. Reliever Manny Delcarmen has reported to camp in the best shape of his life and has wowed Sox coaches and team personnel with his velocity, command and presence. He may take on a key role as setup man and make the league’s best bullpen in 2007 even better.
. Young starting pitchers Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have had solid springs and could help Boston withstand the absence of Beckett, at least for a short time.
. Right fielder J.D. Drew finished last season with a flourish and should be much more comfortable at the plate in his second go-around against American League pitching.
. Even if Lugo isn’t ready for the regular season opener, utility player Alex Cora is more than an able-bodied replacement. He’s a respected veteran presence and a guy who can contribute both offensively and defensively.
. Former American League Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon has progressed more quickly than expected after signing a minor league free- agent contract two weeks into spring training and has already topped the radar gun at 94 miles per hour. If his progress continues, he could be a major shot in the arm for Boston’s injury-plagued pitching staff.
. Left fielder Manny Ramirez appears to have his batting eye focused, is in great shape, and is poised to have a monster season since he’s in a contract season and is playing for a new, multi-year deal.
If Crisp cannot get healthy and ready in time for the regular season, Jacoby Ellsbury has shown he can more than fill in for him after batting .438 in four World Series games and .353 in 33 regular season games for Boston last season. When Crisp does get back to 100 percent, he could net the Sox a pitcher or solid prospect in a trade.
Boston’s depth and bench strength may be even better this year with Cora, Ellsbury, the addition of Colon and first baseman/designated hitter and career .301 batter Sean Casey, and the continued maturation of Lester and Buchholz.
And then there are other, less quantifiable advantages the Red Sox can count on.
“There are a lot of intangibles that a lot of our guys have, but what makes them even better is they’re good players,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “I think last year, when we got a little younger with Ellsbury and Pedy [Dustin Pedroia] played with a youthful spirit, it was a youthful reminder and I think it had a good effect on our veterans.”
Boston was a major player in hot stove trade rumors, but didn’t make any huge deals beyond the re-signing of Lowell to a three-year contract. The Sox did seem poised to land Minnesota ace starter Johan Santana and even dangled Ellsbury, Lester and Buchholz as trade bait, but when the Twins wanted two of those three and more, the Sox deemed the price to high and backed out. Will they regret their decision or would they have regretted parting with their young talent even more?
“There are players talented and impactful enough that you should be aggressively trading prospects to acquire and Santana is one of those players,” Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. “We were aggressive and we left them with two pretty aggressive proposals.
“They did make us an offer that, had we accepted, would have made the trade, but that particular offer’s asking price, for my mind, would have meant sacrificing a whole generation of talent who I think would make an impact here for a long time and would have left us worse off as an organization had we made the deal.”
Given the nagging questions still surrounding the offseason, it should be no surprise that the 2008 preseason has generated plenty more, but this isn’t your father’s Red Sox Nation anymore. Optimism has replaced pessimism, the glass is always half full, and expectations are high, for good reason.
aneff@bangordailynews.net
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