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 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

The Boston Red Sox are absolutely loaded in the starting rotation for the 2010 season. It all starts with 29-year old righty Josh Beckett. Beckett started 32 games for the Red Sox last season in which he was 17-6 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has started 122 games in 4 years with the Red Sox in which he is 65-34 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. You can book 15-20 wins for Beckett if he stays healthy all year for the Red Sox in 2010.

26-year old lefty Jon Lester was really sharp last season for the Red Sox. He started 32 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 15-8 with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Lester only gave up 186 hits in 203 1/3 innings last season while whiffing 225 batters showing just how nasty he can be. Lester has now pitched in 92 games (91 starts) in his four years with the Red Sox and he is 42-16 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. If Lester just tightens up his control a little bit this season he will be in the Cy Young Award race in 2010.

31-year old righty John Lackey was the big signing for the Red Sox over the winter. Lackey started 27 games for the Angels last season and he was 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He now has won 10+ games 7 years in a row and the only thing that could stop him from extended that streak this year is injury. Lackey essentially gives the Red Sox’ three #1 type starters in the rotation.

25-year old righty Clay Buchholz will probably slot as the Red Sox’ #4 starter in 2010. Buchholz started 16 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 7-4 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Buchholz also pitched in 17 games (16 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He only gave up 67 hits in 99 innings pitched in the minors last season. The Red Sox are banking on Buchholz giving them a solid, complete season in 2010 and I think they will be happy with the results.

The Red Sox are hoping that Daisuke Matsuzaka will step up in 2010. He started 12 games for the Red Sox last season in which he was 4-6 with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP. Matsuzaka gave up 81 hits (10 homers) in only 59 1/3 innings last season for the Red Sox. To me it seemed as if Japan worked Matsuzaka too hard, too early in the WBC and I think it bothered Dice-K all year long in 2009. The Red Sox are hoping to get the Matsuzaka of 2007+2008 when he started 61 games for them and was 33-15 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

43-year old righty knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is back for another season with the Red Sox. He started 21 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 11-5 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. In 11 of Wakefield’s 15 years with the Red Sox Wakefield has won 10+ games. Wakefield is a very dependable pitcher for the Red Sox as he will be in the rotation if Matsuzaka isn’t ready to start the year.

23-year old righty Michael Bowden is the Red Sox’ #13 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Bowden pitched in 8 games (1 start) for the Red Sox last season and he was 1-1 with a 9.56 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. He also started 24 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 4-6 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. I see him starting the year in AAA for the Red Sox and getting a call if they need him during the season. He also could be a good trade chip for the Red Sox at the trade deadline.

23-year old righty Junichi Tazawa is the Red Sox’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America. Tazawa pitched in 6 games (4 starts) for the Red Sox last season and he was 2-3 with a 7.46 ERA and a 2.05 WHIP. He also started 20 games in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 9-7 with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Tazawa will likely start the season in AAA and be one of the first pitchers the Red Sox call up if the need arises.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROTATION IN 2010: A

34-year old lefty swinging J.D. Drew is a solid player but he is very injury prone. The Red Sox would be ecstatic if he could play in more than 140 games in 2010 but they know that isn’t too realistic. Drew played in 137 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 126 of 452 (.279 avg, .914 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 24 homers and 68 RBIs. Drew made 2 errors in 131 games in RF last season while showing average range. Drew had 5 assists from RF last season showing a decent throwing arm. Drew is good when he plays but the Red Sox made sure that they had a backup plan ready to go for 2010.

26-year old lefty swinging Jeremy Hermida was brought in during the winter in a trade with the Marlins. Hermida played in 129 games for the Marlins last season and he was 111 of 429 (.259 avg, .740 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers, 47 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hermida didn’t make any errors in 81 games in RF for the Marlins last season while showing average range. He also had 3 assists last season for the Marlins as he really improved his defense in 2009. Hermida was once one of the brightest prospects in all of baseball and maybe a change of scenery will jumpstart his career.

30-year old righty swinging Bill Hall will also likely get some P.T. in RF for the Red Sox in 2010. Hall played in 15 error-free games in RF last season while showing out of this world range. He also had 2 assists in RF last season showing that he has the arm to handle the position.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR RF IN 2010: B

The Red Sox signed 37-year old righty swinging Mike Cameron to take over for Jacoby Ellsbury in 2010 in CF with Ellsbury moving to LF. Cameron played in 149 games for the Brewers last season and he was 136 of 544 (.250 avg, .795 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 24 homers, 70 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Cameron had 4 errors in 147 games in CF last season while showing good range. He also had 4 assists from CF last season as he showed a decent throwing arm. What you see is what you get with Cameron as he will likley hit around .250 with 20+ homers while playing solid defense.

26-year old Jacoby Ellsbury will be the backup in CF in case something happens to Cameron. Ellsbury played in 153 games in CF for the Red Sox last season and he made 2 errors while showing below average range. But, he did have 5 assists from CF showing he has a nice throwing arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B