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The Red Sox have always been dramatic. Whether it be waiting four thousand years between World Series Wins, or the latest argument with Yankee fans, it has always been dramatic. Still, the last season in Boston was largely and oddly quiet. Not much can be said for the Red Sox other than the emergence of Dustin Pedroia, and the departure of Manny Ramirez. (Okay so that was a bit dramatic) Whatever the case, the Red Sox followed that up with a relatively quiet off season as well.

The 2009 Boston Red Sox are going to resemble very closely the 08 version. What the Red Sox hope is that they will have very different endings. They made some upgrades here and there, with the signing of Rocco Baldelli, and John Smoltz, but no major changes. Varitek will still be catching the pitches, though he will be spelled by newbie Josh Bard perhaps a few games more than usual. Big Papi, Pedroia, Youkilis, and Jason Bay will still be smacking the ball around the park. The real difference you might see is a bit of urgency on the part of the team. They won nothing much at all last year, and they want that to change.

The evil empire that is the New York Yankees went out and signed everyone, and spent about a billion dollars doing it. The Rays upgraded an already awesome team with the signing of Pat Burrell from the World Champion Phillies. Boston liked their chances as is for the most part. That decision will play a large role in the results of this season. Will they move up by standing pat?

The Red Sox are blessed with plenty of talent across the board. They have solid players at pretty much every single fielding position and their starting pitching and bullpen is sure to be near the top of the line as well. Jacoby Ellsbury and his development may end up being the biggest key in the whole season for the Red Sox. They need him to step up and be a powerful force on the bases. Youkilis will need to duplicate the great season of a year ago, as will Pedroia.

The starters are counting on a bounce back season from Josh Beckett. Last year was a bit of a nightmare for him mostly, and they can ill afford for him to struggle this year. A great year from Beckett will virtually guarantee that Boston will be in the mix for the playoffs. You have to figure that you will get solid work from the rest of the starters.

Here is a look at the expected lineup for the Boston Red Sox and starting rotation:

Catcher – Jason Varitek
First Base – Kevin Youkilis
Second Base – Dustin Pedroia
Third Base – Mike Lowell
Shortstop – Julio Lugo
Left Field – Jason Bay
Center Field – Jacoby Ellsbury
Right Field – J.D. Drew
DH – David Ortiz
Starting Pitchers – Josh Beckett (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (R) Jon Lester (L) Tim Wakefield (R) Brad Penny (R)
Closer – Jonathan Papelbon (R)