Ken Rosenthal has Sox ranked at #9

9. Red Sox. Too many pitching questions, from the fourth and fifth starters to a bullpen that likely will be without its two best parts from 2011 — closer Jonathan Papelbon, who signed with Philadelphia as a free agent, and setup man Daniel Bard, who is likely to join the rotation. The Sox will need their top three starters — lefty Jon Lester and righties Josh Beckettand Clay Buchholz — to be not just good, but near-great. The new culture under Bobby Valentine will mean nothing if the pitching is sub-par.

There are a lot of pitching questions so while I'd like to see the Sox a little higher I still get why they are here at #9. Rosenthal has the Rays at #6 and the Yanks at #3 making the AL East the only team with division with 3 teams in the top 10. It's going to be an exciting year.