The Boston Red Sox began its 2007 season on a tear, posting a 16-8 record in April, while finishing strongly with a 96-66 record – good enough for a first-place tie with the Cleveland Indians. In the playoffs, the Red Sox destroyed the AL West Champion LA Angels, survived a seven-game battle with Cleveland, and capped an exceptional season with a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies to win its second World Series title in four years. Coming off such a remarkable year, the question the Red Sox face is: Can Boston be champions again in 2008?

Boston’s ownership is committed to winning, rolling out a $143million payroll in 2007, and no franchise besides the NY Yankees has both the immediate resources and talent in the farm system as the Red Sox. Boston’s core players – Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka – are locked up for the next few years, and manager Terry Francona earned an extension during the off-season, ensuring stability. The Sox also have two young position players who are likely to blossom into All Stars within the next few years in Jacoby Ellsbury and 2007 Rookie of the Year Dustin Pedroia. The team has 23-year old Clay Buchholz, who threw a no-hitter in just his second start.

On the other hand, David Ortiz is coming off knee surgery, pitcher Curt Schilling is 41 and is showing his age, catcher Jason Varitek is aging as well. His production has slowed, and some scouts believe that highly touted pitcher Jon Lester won’t become anything more than a middle of the rotation kind of guy. Last year, the Red Sox had an early Christmas with the Yankees stumbling out of the gate, posting a 9-14 record in April, and 22-29 mark by May 30, giving Boston a 13.5 game lead before the Evil Empire found its stroke. Last season’s American League was fiercely competitive and this season, the competition will be even be tougher.

‘Boston’s ownership is committed to winning, rolling out a $143m payroll in 2007, and no franchise besides the NY Yankees has both the immediate resources and talent in the farm system as the Red Sox’


Teams that have a chance to dethrone the Red Sox and win the AL pennant are the following: The Yankees, the Blue Jays, the Indians, the Tigers, the Angels and the Mariners.

The New York Yankees fought through drama surrounding key players Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez, as well as injuries to its pitching staff, to win 94 games – good enough to win the wild card and good enough to creep within two wins of the Red Sox. The Yankees begin this season with All-Star talent in reigning MVP Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, amongst others, and will give the Red Sox a good fight for the division title.

Toronto is a dark horse candidate to win the AL East this year, but that is only if the team can stay healthy. The Blue Jays lost ace pitcher Roy Halladay during the beginning of last season and pitcher A.J. Burnett was also injured, which contributed to a third-place finish. Toronto has been moving in the right direction; the team won 87 games in 2006, good for a second-place finish ahead of Boston, and it won 83 games last year.

The Cleveland Indians gave the Red Sox all it could handle in last year’s playoffs, taking a 3-1 series lead before losing the AL Championship Series in seven games. Cleveland retains all of its core players from last season, and 2007 AL CY Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia is in his prime, so one shouldn’t be surprised to see him win another 19 games this season. The Indians won 96 games last year even though slugger Travis Hafner didn’t put up big numbers.

The Detroit Tigers reached the World Series in 2006 and then dominated baseball until last year’s All-Star break, when the team began to struggle. GM Dave Dombrowski made headlines by acquiring superstar third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who is only 24, and former CY Young winner Dontrelle Willis. Additionally, the team acquired All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria in a trade with Atlanta, giving Detroit its best line-up ever. There is no question the Tigers will score a lot of runs, but they have a shaky pitching staff, so wins are not guaranteed. If the Tigers can stay healthy and the pitchers can give the team a chance to win, watch out.

The LA Angels won 94 games last season, limping into the playoffs. Star player Vladimir Guerrero was hurting during the division series against Boston, which contributed to the Red Sox sweeping the series in three games. The Angels have quality pitching, but their season will come down to whether or not John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar can stay healthy down the stretch. The Angels picked up free agent All-Star Torii Hunter, who should cover a lot of ground in centerfield as well as provide protection for Guerrero, the team’s best hitter.

Seattle contended in the West as late as August 25, when the Mariners trailed the Angels by only a single game, before a nine-game losing streak tarnished any hope of the team playing in October. Richie Sexson figures to bounce back from a terrible ’07, when he batted a career low .205 with 100 strikeouts. The Mariners have one of the most intimidating closers in the game in J.J. Putz, who had a 1.38 ERA and 40 saves. The Mariners traded for pitcher Erik Bedard, who had 221 strikeouts in only 182 innings last year, with the hope that he could take pressure off the bullpen and go deep in games. Bedard and 21-year old Felix Hernandez, who threw a one-hitter against the Red Sox, form a powerful one-two punch that could prove troublesome for Boston’s hitters.

The Red Sox have the best pitching staff in the AL, the best defense and the best farm system in baseball. The Sox are fresh off a World Series title and have confidence in themselves. However, the season is 162 games long and anything can happen (the New York Mets blew a seven-game lead with 17 games to play last year, costing them a playoff berth), and the American League is as tough as it gets. Plus, baseball hasn’t seen a team win back-to-back titles in eight years.

The Red Sox have a legitimate chance to repeat as champs, but everything needs to go right. There are very few certainties in baseball, and Boston winning back-to-back championships is not one of them.