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)

Red Sox owner John Henry issued a simple statement to the media.

“We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him,” Henry said. “After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

So, if we believe this statement, the frontrunners are out of the bidding altogether.

Word is the Red Sox have an offer of eight years and about $180 million on the table. Some writers have speculated that the Los Angeles Angels have a similar offer while the Washington Nationals may be offering 10 years and more than $200 million.

Granted, the Red Sox do not need Mark Teixeira; he’d be a luxury. Moreover, they have an excellent firstbase prospect, Lars Anderson, on the way. But you have to wonder if this is a negotiating ploy by Henry and general manager Theo Epstein. Teixeira would fit into the Boston lineup beautifully and provide insurance in case David Ortiz or J.D. Drew hit the D.L.

Meanwhile, Torii Hunter, the Angels centerfielder, told reporters that Big Tex told him the Angels had blown everyone away in their bid to keep Tex. Being that it’s no secret how much Hunter is lobbying to keep Teixeira, it’s hard to take the statement at face value.

Despite, the media buying the Red Sox’ statement, the belief here is the Red Sox remain the frontrunners. The statement is nothing more than a negotiating ploy. Boston knows it has a solid offer that’s better than or as good as most of the others. They knew making a statement in time for the Friday newpapers would mean maximum coverage of their “bowing out” of the bidding. Their hope is that people keep talking about it all weekend and that the exposure puts pressure on Teixeira to look at what Boston can offer him.

It’s hard to argue that playing with the Red Sox would give Big Tex his best shot at a world championship. Winners of two of the last five World Series, Boston has a great big league team and a tremendous farm system. They are stocked with quality young starting pitchers and have one of the game’s premier closers in Jonathan Papelbon. What gives the Red Sox the advantage in the negotiations is the fact that they don’t need Teixeira. They refuse to portray themselves as a desperate team, because they aren’t. The Angels need Tex far more than Boston does. Essentially, the Red Sox are banking on the fact that their organization can sell itself and that Teixeira will chose the most successful team in baseball as his new home.

Boston is out of the bidding for Big Tex? Don’t bet on it.

Lowe is the model of consistency. A groundball-pitcher with an excellent sinker, Lowe has averaged well over 200 innings a year and has remained remarkably healthy. He’s won a championship and performed very well during his postseason appearances. Lowe strikes out just over six batters per nine and, at age 36, has improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio in each of the last three years. His 2008 season was a little above his norm, as his ERA of 3.24 was a bit lower than his expected ERA of 3.55. Still, Lowe is a very good pitcher. He’s not an ace, but he’s a great option as a number 2 starter. In an age where durability is almost as important as performance, Lowe is blessed to excel at both.

Lowe will certainly have several teams biding for his services. The New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies are all interested. The Mets admitted on Monday that Lowe is their number one priority right now.

Lowe has said the average annual salary is more important to him than the number of years he is offered. With the market for Sabathia and Johan Santana, baseball’s most elite pitchers, at about $23 million a year, Lowe can expect somewhere between $15 and $17 million annually. A.J. Burnett, an inferior pitcher to Lowe, just received over 16 million a year for the next five seasons. Lowe’s agents are asking for five years, but look for a team to offer a four year deal worth between $65 and $70 million.

Oliver Perez is in many ways, Lowe’s counterpoint. He’s a powerful lefthanded starter who can dominate one game and not make it through the second inning the next. Last year, Perez walked 105 batters and struck out 180. Perez is reasonably durable, but he doesn’t pitch as deeply into games as Lowe does. At 27, Perez has age on his side. While he may improve, Lowe’s performance is as good as it’s going to get.

His agent, Scott Boras, has compared Perez to a young Johan Santana. While that is laughable, Perez does posses front-end-of-the-rotation talent. In addition to a robust strikeout rate, Perez enjoys a track record of performing very well in big games. His playoff performance in 2006 was outstanding as he nearly led the Mets to the National League pennant.

In the end, Perez is probably looking at somewhere between $13 and $15 million annually over four or five years.

The bet here is that the Mets will land one of these starters with both receiving hefty paydays. Both Lowe and Perez will continue to pitch at the front of someone’s rotation.