Red Sox not messing around against Yankees today

The Red Sox play their first game of 2013 against the Yankees this afternoon at 1:35 in JetBlue Park. The game will be televised on NESN and broadcasted on WEEI, meaning this time it counts! Well, maybe not...but John Farrell seems to think so. The Red Sox will start the game with this near-capacity lineup:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Stephen Drew, SS
4. Mike Napoli, 1B
5. Daniel Nava, LF
6. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, DH
8. David Ross, C
9. Jackie Bradley, RF
    Ryan Dempster, SP

Stephen Drew is unlikely to see the top half of the lineup (unless he has a great first half of the season), and we can safely say Jackie Bradley won't be starting in right field for some time. Other than that, this lineup is close to what we will be seeing come April. It will be interesting to see how Middlebrooks responds to his sore wrist, and how Ryan Dempster handles an AL East lineup -- albeit for only a few innings.


Like my opinion? Read more here. Don't like it? Let me know on Twitter @therealjtrunfio