Lowrie’s season potentially over

Well, this stinks if true. Jed Lowrie may or may not have been the future at the SS position. Now, the organization and its fans may or may not have to wait and find out. Not good news.

At long last, Opening Day is here

Finally. Opening Day is here.

On this day, every team has cause to feel optimistic -- even those that know they have no chance of making the playoffs. This is where the silver lining of every team comes into play. It's the cleanest day of baseball games across the entire season: no problems, no issues, just finally getting out in front of a crowd, playing meaningful baseball in the march for October.

Know Thyself 2009: Boston Red Sox

The 2009 Boston Red Sox are in the final stages of preparing for what is certain to be an entertaining and exciting season. The spring is finally behind us, the roster is set and the team is moving northward to christen Citi Field with some Major League talent.

Now all the roster moves are behind us and the questions move from the "who" of the offseason as they shift to the analysis of performance and the "what" of baseball. This past week has been spent looking at the competition in the American League East, and stiff competition it is. In most cases, the Red Sox had the position by position edge over each team from the Yankees to the Orioles and it should come as no surprise, in that light, that the staff here at Fire Brand gives the Red Sox the edge to win the AL East in 2009.

Today we summarize much of what we've talked about in our "For Better or Worse" series this offseason as we go player by player through the Red Sox roster and prepare for live baseball next week.

Lugo to have surgery, Pedroia hurt

Dustin Pedroia strained a muscle near his ribcage during Team USA workouts on Friday. It's not anything to be concerned about, but this next piece of news is.

Julio Lugo may have torn his meniscus in his knee and word is he will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday. He'd be sidelined a month, leaving the starting shortstop job to Jed Lowrie. That's probably the outcome we all hoped for, but losing Lugo as a backup is tough.

Nick Green, Gil Velazquez, Ivan Ochoa and Angel Chavez will all compete for the backup job. So far, Green has to be winning the job -- he's hitting .387/.472/.645 and has a reputation as a solid gloveman.

Chat Transcript: Ortiz, Yankees, Buchholz and more

David Ortiz - Samara Pearlstein

Sit down with a big cup of coffee, because have I a treat for you. I participated in a chat on Tuesday night and they have made the transcript available for Fire Brand to peruse.

I talk about which minor leaguers to keep an eye on... what the Sox need to do to win this year... how important David Ortiz is to us.

Oh, I also throw out predictions such as who will finish at first... scoff at the Yankees... and talk about who the heck can be our future catcher.

“The young, talented one” vs. “The aging, struggling one”

There is always the possiblity that the Red Sox have taken into account Jacoby Ellsbury's "struggles" last season. Ellsbury wasn't a terrible player, but the expectations that the Boston fans sometimes put on these young Red Sox players can be unrealistic.

Ellsbury was almost a "Batting title or bust" type player after what he did in the 2007 season. I used a little exaggeration there, but seriously, Ellsbury was expected to accomplish big things in his first full season, it seemed. Anyway, if we were talking about spending money on a veteran SS out on the free agent market, that would be no better than average, then Lowrie would easily be the best candidate.

But we are speaking about a player in Lugo that is already under contract A player that will cost the Red Sox money regardless, so he must be in the equation.

Examining the Red Sox’s defense via Defensive Runs

A couple years ago, The Fielding Bible took baseball by storm with John Dewan's Plus/Minus system to evaluate fielders. This year, he's back at it with The Fielding Bible--Volume II in which he takes all the metrics created in the original volume and distills them into Defensive Runs, a statistic that can show how good a player is at preventing runs.

Lucchino and Henry want civilized spending

See, in a perfect world, every team would have a General Manager/Front Office that could make good moves, while spending as little money as possible. In this world, the top-tier payrolls would have a distinct advantage. If every GM was skilled at their job, and there wasn't much difference between the minds that are within each organization, then the extra money that a club would have, would play an even more significant role.

Can Julio Lugo win the SS job?

Julio Lugo has been the whipping boy for Red Sox failures these last two years. Can we expect him to contribute in 2009? Everyone has pretty much put Lugo into the utility infielder's position, but could he surprise and retain his starting shortstop position?

He was worth $4 million in 2008 and $3.3 million in 2007. This is a far cry from what he's actually pulling in, which is $9 million.

It will be a tough battle for Lugo to overcome Lowrie, but if he can show increased power in spring training, it may pay off.

JUNKYARD DOGS, A Season of Redemption . . . and Hope.

17 of the starting 25 Red Sox for 2009 have much to prove this season. Of this number, 15 are rebounding from injuries which plagued 2008.