It’s hard not to like the Red Sox this season based on the starting rotation alone. Lining up Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield to start the year is pretty impressive. Daisuke Matsuzaka will start the year late as he is recovering from a minor injury. The bullpen will get a boost in 2010 with Daniel Bard for a full year setting up Jonathan Papelbon. Having catcher Victor Martinez from day #1 in 2010 will give the offense a shot in the arm. Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre and Mike Cameron are the new guys in the starting lineup for the Red Sox in 2010. Pitching & Defense will be why the Red Sox win the American League East in 2010 and with that in mind I would make a small play on them winning more than 94.5 games.

Terry Francona came to Boston trying to revive his career as a major league manager and he has really done that and a whole lot more. The Red Sox were 95-67 (58.6%) last season but Francona has gotten fans’ expectations so high that this was viewed as a disappointment. Francona has a 565-407 (58.1%) record in his 6 years with the Red Sox winning two A.L. pennants and 1 World Series. With Francona on board to call the shots the Curse of the Babe seems like a long time ago to Red Sox’ fans.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MANAGER IN 2010: A

The Red Sox have acquired 27-year old righty swinging 2B/SS/3B Kevin Frandsen from the Giants for a player to be named later or cash. Frandsen played in 23 games for the Giants last season in which he was 7 of 50 (.140 avg, .384 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. Frandsen has now played in 174 games in his major league career and he is 98 of 408 (.240 avg, .645 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 7 homers, 39 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Frandsen will try to prove in the next 10 days that he deserves to be the Red Sox’ top backup infielder in 2010. I like this trade for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox have signed 36-year old lefty reliever Scott Schoeneweis to a minor league deal. Schoeneweis pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs last season in which he was 1-2 with a 7.12 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. I would write off last years’ numbers for Schoeneweis as he was dealing with the sudden death of his wife over the summer. He has now pitched in 562 games (93 starts) in his 11 years in the majors and he is 46-57 with 9 saves, a 4.97 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Red Sox have also released lefty Brian Shouse. Shouse pitched in 10 games out of the pen this spring for the Red Sox and he was 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has to feel discouraged as he deserved to make the Red Sox’ pen at the start of the 2010 season.

The Boston Red Sox’ bullpen will do a solid job of protecting leads in 2010. 29-year old righty Jonathan Papelbon will be the closer again in 2010 for the Red Sox. He pitched in 66 games (0 starts) last season for the Red Sox and he was 1-1 with 38 saves, a 1.85 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. In his five years with the Red Sox, Papelbon has pitched in 268 games (3 starts) in which he is 14-11 with 151 saves, a 1.84 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Papelbon has only given up 215 hits in his 298 career innings for the Red Sox and he has whiffed 346 batters showing just how downright nasty his stuff is. While Mariano Rivera gets more ink, Papelbon is a much better pitcher than him right now.

24-year old righty Daniel Bard might get the chance to be the top set-up man for the Red Sox in 2010. Bard pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in his first taste of the majors last season and he was 2-2 with 1 save, a 3.65 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He whiffed 63 batters while only allowing 41 hits in 49 1/3 innings last season for the Red Sox. The Red Sox were smart to resist trading Bard over the winter despite teams calling about him all the time.

34-year old lefty Hideki Okajima will be looking to rebound from his worst season in the majors in 2009. He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last year and he was 6-0 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Okajima has pitched in 198 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox in his three years there and he is 12-4 with 6 saves, a 2.72 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Okajima gives the Red Sox a very solid reliever late in games.

28-year old righty Ramon S. Ramirez will likely be getting most of his work before the 8th inning in 2010. He pitched in 70 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last season and he was 7-4 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Ramirez would be a top set-up man for a lot of teams in the majors which shows the quality depth the Red Sox have in the pen in 2010.

28-year old righty Manny Delcarmen is back for 2010. He pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last season and he was 5-2 with a 4.53 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Delcarmen gave up 64 hits in 59 2/3 innings for the BoSox last season and he walked 34 batters which is way too many. He is a overrated pitcher and the Red Sox don’t trust him much using him early in games.

40-year old lefty Brian Shouse is a true lefty specialist. He pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Rays last season in which he was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Shouse won’t be used against many, if any, righty swingers in 2010.

40-year old lefty Alan Embree was just signed lately so he has some catching up to do. He pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last season and he was 2-2 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Embree is a much better pitcher than he showed last season as he can still bring the gas despite his age.

33-year old righty Scott Atchison pitched the last couple of years in Japan. He last appeared in the majors in 2007 with the Giants. He has pitched in 53 games (0 starts) in the majors and he is 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Atchison has whiffed 70 batters in 68 career major league innings so he might succeed if given the chance in 2010.

35-year old righty Joe Nelson might also get a chance to help the Red Sox at some point in 2010. Nelson pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the Rays last year and he was 3-0 with 3 saves, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He has now pitched in 149 games (0 starts) in his five years in the majors and he is 7-2 with 13 saves, a 4.07 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLPEN IN 2010: A