5 Ridiculous but very likely predictions for the Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season opener is just 12 days away and with the game against the New York Yankees quickly approaching I thought it could be fun to come up with 5 predictions about the season that are absolutely ridiculous, but in all reality have solid logic behind the thoughts. Now remember these are supposed to be absolutely ridiculous and are just predictions, if they come true later in the season then we can all reminisce on this post but for right now try not to throw me to the lions.
5: The Red Sox will have 2 gold glovers on their team.
Lets start with the gold glove part of this prediction. Will Middlebrooks will remain healthy and will win a gold glove for his play at third base. Over the last 6 seasons the Gold Glove at third base has gone to either Adrian Beltre or Evan Longoria, it is time for this to change. Middlebrooks showed promise at the position while in the minors and in his stint in the majors last season. Middlebrooks will be golden at the hot corner this year. The other winner of a Gold Glove for the Sox will be newly acquired Shane Victorino. Victorino has won 3 gold glove awards as a center fielder and should make the transition to right in Fenway pretty easily.
4: The Red Sox will not win the AL East but will still make the playoffs
The AL East is the weakest it has been in a very long time, the power has shifted from the best 2 teams being Boston and New York to everyone being on an equal playing field. Winning the AL East should take 90+ games but it would be surprising to have a team go many wins above that this year. I expect the Sox to be in the 85 win range which will be enough for them to secure the second wild card spot and a place in a 1 game playoff play in game.
3: Jon Lester will not win the most games out of the core 5 starters
The Red Sox rotation has been excellent this season with Lester leading the charge, but he will not get the most wins out of everyone on staff. The expected rotation is Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Ryan Dempster, Felix Doubront, John Lackey and rumor has it possibly Rick Porcello who has been rumored to have been linked to trade talks between the Sox and Tigers. I expect Lester to win 15 games this season but expect Clay Buchholz to lead the pitchers with a record of 18-8 this season.
2:David Ortiz will spend more time on the DL this season than on the field
Every day that David Ortiz is not playing while at spring training the more worried I become about how much he will play this year. Ortiz will most likely not be ready for opening day and will start the season on the 15-Day DL. After being activated from the DL he will spend a good amount of time playing while healthy, or what we thing is healthy. He will then go back on the DL the 60-Day this time because of a new injury. After rushing his return he will play for a short amount of time before being sidelined for the remainder of the season after re-injuring his previous injury. Ortiz has been an important part of this organization for a long time and is the fan favorite by all of Red Sox Nation. It is my fear that the injury keeping him out of spring training will be one of many before his career ends.
1:Jacoby Ellsbury will be traded
This will be one of the biggest years of Jacoby Ellsbury's career and it will also be the year that he is traded away from the Red Sox. This deal will be the kind of deal that was made in 2004 that traded away Nomar from the team. As the trade deadline approaches management will want to get rid of Ellsbury before he leaves the team in free agency. I feel that management has already thought of this scenario when signing Shane Victorino to the team this offseason. Victorino is a natural center fielder and wants to play the position badly. If Ellsbury is traded Victorino would move to center and then Jackie Bradley Jr. would be called up to play right field. It is scary to think that by the trade deadline Ellsbury could no longer be a member of the Boston Red Sox, but thats baseball.
Remember these are predictions, just thoughts that could be spot on or extremely far off. If you agree or disagree with any of my predictions let me know in the comments below or @Ryanthahawaiian on twitter.
5: The Red Sox will have 2 gold glovers on their team.
Lets start with the gold glove part of this prediction. Will Middlebrooks will remain healthy and will win a gold glove for his play at third base. Over the last 6 seasons the Gold Glove at third base has gone to either Adrian Beltre or Evan Longoria, it is time for this to change. Middlebrooks showed promise at the position while in the minors and in his stint in the majors last season. Middlebrooks will be golden at the hot corner this year. The other winner of a Gold Glove for the Sox will be newly acquired Shane Victorino. Victorino has won 3 gold glove awards as a center fielder and should make the transition to right in Fenway pretty easily.
4: The Red Sox will not win the AL East but will still make the playoffs
The AL East is the weakest it has been in a very long time, the power has shifted from the best 2 teams being Boston and New York to everyone being on an equal playing field. Winning the AL East should take 90+ games but it would be surprising to have a team go many wins above that this year. I expect the Sox to be in the 85 win range which will be enough for them to secure the second wild card spot and a place in a 1 game playoff play in game.
3: Jon Lester will not win the most games out of the core 5 starters
The Red Sox rotation has been excellent this season with Lester leading the charge, but he will not get the most wins out of everyone on staff. The expected rotation is Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Ryan Dempster, Felix Doubront, John Lackey and rumor has it possibly Rick Porcello who has been rumored to have been linked to trade talks between the Sox and Tigers. I expect Lester to win 15 games this season but expect Clay Buchholz to lead the pitchers with a record of 18-8 this season.
2:David Ortiz will spend more time on the DL this season than on the field
Every day that David Ortiz is not playing while at spring training the more worried I become about how much he will play this year. Ortiz will most likely not be ready for opening day and will start the season on the 15-Day DL. After being activated from the DL he will spend a good amount of time playing while healthy, or what we thing is healthy. He will then go back on the DL the 60-Day this time because of a new injury. After rushing his return he will play for a short amount of time before being sidelined for the remainder of the season after re-injuring his previous injury. Ortiz has been an important part of this organization for a long time and is the fan favorite by all of Red Sox Nation. It is my fear that the injury keeping him out of spring training will be one of many before his career ends.
1:Jacoby Ellsbury will be traded
This will be one of the biggest years of Jacoby Ellsbury's career and it will also be the year that he is traded away from the Red Sox. This deal will be the kind of deal that was made in 2004 that traded away Nomar from the team. As the trade deadline approaches management will want to get rid of Ellsbury before he leaves the team in free agency. I feel that management has already thought of this scenario when signing Shane Victorino to the team this offseason. Victorino is a natural center fielder and wants to play the position badly. If Ellsbury is traded Victorino would move to center and then Jackie Bradley Jr. would be called up to play right field. It is scary to think that by the trade deadline Ellsbury could no longer be a member of the Boston Red Sox, but thats baseball.
Remember these are predictions, just thoughts that could be spot on or extremely far off. If you agree or disagree with any of my predictions let me know in the comments below or @Ryanthahawaiian on twitter.
