ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Boston Red Sox preview


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Monday, April 2
Boston Red Sox preview

ESPN.com

POWER RANKINGS


	Left field, right field, wherever. The Red Sox got Manny Ramirez for his bat.

Strength of schedule
.500, 10th in AL

Lineup ranking
5th in AL

Pitching ranking
2nd in AL

Prediction
1st in AL East

The lowdown
2000 record: 85-77 (2nd in AL East)
Runs scored: 792, 12th in AL
Runs allowed: 745, 1st in AL

Three key issues for 2001
1. Will Nomar Garciaparra be able to play through his wrist injury? If he needs surgery, how long will he be out and who fills in at shortstop?

2. Can Jimy Williams and Joe Kerrigan mix and match an effective starting rotation after Pedro Martinez?

3. Can the bullpen tandem of Rich Garces and Rod Beck put together another gutty season setting up closer Derek Lowe?

Three key facts
1. Pedro Martinez became the first pitcher in AL history to win the Cy Young unanimously in back-to-back seasons, and the gap between his league-leading 1.74 ERA and the 3.70 ERA of runner-up Roger Clemens was the largest in major-league history.

2. With his .372 batting average, Nomar Garciaparra became the first right-handed hitter to win back-to-back AL batting titles since Joe DiMaggio in 1939-40.

RETURNING 2000 STATISTICAL LEADERS

AVG	N. Garciaparra	.372
HR	C. Everett	34
RBI	C. Everett	108
RUN	N. Garciaparra	104
SB	C. Everett	11
WIN	P. Martinez	18
SV	D. Lowe	42
ERA	P. Martinez	1.74
Complete 2000 Statistics: Batting \| Pitching

3. Reliever Derek Lowe converted 42 of 47 save opportunities, finishing second in the league in relief innings (91.1) and third in relief ERA (2.56).

Tim Kurkjian's scenarios
Best case: Nomar Garciaparra's wrist heals, he has an MVP-type season, Hideo Nomo becomes a solid No. 2 behind Pedro and the Red Sox win the wild card.

Worst case: Nomar Garciaparra's wrist bothers him all year, Carl Everett fights with Jimy Williams and no No. 2 starter is found, dumping the Sox to a distant third in the division.

ESPN.com's lineup analysis
Player	Comment	Pos. rank*
C. Stynes, 3B	Won't come close to .334 again	9
J. Offerman, 2B	Had .391 OBP in '99; .354 in '00	5
N. Garciaparra, SS	Highest average by right-hander since DiMaggio in '39	2
M. Ramirez, RF	432 RBI in 415 games over last three years	1
C. Everett, CF	Yeah, but he's a good hitter, isn't he?	3
D. Bichette, DH	Not as good as Red Sox fans think	11
B. Daubach, 1B	He'll be more productive than Mo Vaughn	12
T. Nixon, LF	At 27, is primed for career season	7
J. Varitek, C	Lost 100 points in slugging pct. from '99	6
ESPN.com's pitching staff analysis
P. Martinez, RHP	Compared to league, his ERA was best ever	1
H. Nomo, RHP	Served up 31 HRs -- in Comerica	29
F. Castillo, RHP	Coming off good year, but will he stay healthy?	40
T. Ohka, RHP	Should prove to be solid six-inning guy	19
Middle relief	Rich Garces: underrated, but not underfed	1
Derek Lowe, CL	Durable, consistent, productive	2

	Position average (AL rank):	6.22 (5th)
	Pitching index (AL rank):	3.25 (2nd)

* Position rank, compiled by ESPN.com's baseball staff, compares each AL team's strength at that position, including platoons, based on players' total projected value (offense, defense, durability) for the 2001 season.

AL position players and bullpens ranked on a 1-14 basis, with 1 being best.
AL starting pitchers ranked on 1-56 basis, with 1 being best. Cumulative rankings of starting pitchers are combined with bullpen and closer for overall pitching index, with more weight given to starters.
In both rankings, 1.00 is the best possible score, 14.00 the worst.

Click here for AL position-by-position rankings.

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