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)

Raul Ibanez has toiled away in the shadows of other great players and quietly put together some fantastic numbers. Ibanez put up some serious numbers in Seattle last season batting .293 with 23 bombs and 110 RBI. Those power numbers are not quite on the level of Burrell’s 33 bombs, but Ibanez will see an increase in his homers in this ballpark. Figure also that you are getting a better on base percentage, and better average with Ibanez, and you start to see the value. Burrell also would strike out at a rate that is nearly double that of Ibanez. That certainly translates into runs for the Phillies.

While the offensive side is likely to come to a push, the defensive side is another story. The defensive liabilities of Burrell were widely reported, and Ibanez is a talented fielder as well as hitter. The Phillies should be much more secure defensively with Ibanez patrolling the corner. That said, Ibanez over Burrell is certainly not far fetched.

Ibanez has spent a career being mostly unknown, and does not seem to mind. This might be the year that everybody learns who he is. The Phillies are sure to give him the stage with the talent and strength of this team. They seem highly likely to reach the playoffs again this season, and Ibanez could get the opportunity to be appreciated outside of his own team circle and fans. Baseball is like that. You can star for a team that is out of the spotlight for years and barely get a nod, and then move to a powerhouse and explode onto the scene.

Either way, the Phillies are likely to be smiling all the way to the National League playoffs. The Phillies are loaded from top to bottom, and they have the pitching to back up all this offense that everybody is talking about. Also, the Phillies are finally going into a season healthy. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Howard are all healthy and ready, as well as the pitching staff. That will be a new experience for the Phillies in comparison to recent years.

Sort of like Raul Ibanez.

The 2006 NL MVP agreed to a deal of 3 years for 54 million bucks plus incentives. Not a bad day at the ballpark for the slugger that many think is the best power hitter in baseball. The slugger has always contended that he wanted to remain a Phillie, and the leadership did not seem to be listening. The fact was, they disagreed over the amount of money that Howard was worth. They may have had a point.

Take last year for example. Howard led the majors in both home runs and RBIs with 48 and 146 and was a key part of the Phillies run to the world championship. Fantastic right? Not so fast. He also struck out just short of 200 times and batted a pitiful .251. He also was not very good on defense with 19 errors at first. Those are not the kinds of numbers that call for the elite contracts if I was a GM either. The home runs and RBIs are impressive to be sure, but the RBIs can be traced back to the excellent job his teammates did getting into scoring position. The defensive and batting average statistics are a concern with a man I am paying 54 million to.

Still, the uproar to sign Howard in Philly was huge, and rightfully so. He has been a huge source of power for the Phills, and will continue to do so for at least three more years. Regardless, the Phillies will have a good home run source in Howard, and the fan base should be happy with the signing. That is always an important part of signing your superstars. If you do not keep the players people will pay to see, then you are risking your team becoming stale and boring. The Phillies are far from that and Howard is a big reason why.

Howard was the last real problem signing that the Phillies had left. They are now ready to defend their crown when the season begins anew.

The signing is expected to be announced on Sunday pending the results of a physical.

The contract is also layered in such a way that the Phillies will pay higher as the years go by, as well as how Hamels progresses. The contract is layered and increases in value each year. Additionally, if Hamels wins the Cy Young award, he gets a half million dollar salary increase the following year. He gets a quarter of a million if he finishes in the top three.

Is Hamels worth 20.5 million dollars? Well, he won the World Series MVP award in 2008 leading the Phillies. He was 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA in the regular season. When it counted the most, however, he was 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA…in the playoffs. The Phillies certainly think that Hamels is worth it, and so do I. Any pitcher can perform in the regular season, but it takes a special pitcher to do what Hamels did in the playoffs. The best years for the lefty are ahead of him, and the Phillies are banking on just that.

The Phillies did avoid arbitration with Hamels, but they still face the same with slugger Ryan Howard. They hope to avoid that as well, but the chances are getting slimmer. The powerful Howard finished second only to Albert Pujols for the coveted MVP award in the National League and he is widely considered to be one of the top five players in all of baseball. The Phillies need to sign him right now, and avoid arbitration if possible.

1. Albert Pujols – Pujols has quite simply been the best in the game since his entry into the world of baseball a few years ago. This guy is the most efficient, productive, and consistent source of fantasy baseball points this side of Alex Rodriguez. This season he is coming off one of his best years and appears to be somewhat healthy for the first time in a couple of years. That can not be good news for pitchers throughout the National League, but it is great news for your fantasy baseball team if you get him.

2. Ryan Howard – Big Howard is all about driving in runs and home runs. The big guy does enough of these two things to make up for the fact that he gives you slim to nothing with speed. This guy has averaged 50 home runs over the last three years, and he should reach even higher with the lineup that Philly has assembled. The World Champion has to feel good going into to 2009.

3. Prince Fielder – Fielder got a bit of a bad rap last season due to a decrease in his power numbers. The bottom line for fantasty owners, however, is that Fielder was a gem if you had him in your lineup regularly. The temporary power shortage will work itself out, and Fielder should be back to his normal self this season. The bottom line is this guy hits and hits regularly.

4. Adrian Gonzalez – Gonzalez quickly established himself in 2008 as the guy everybody wished they had drafted when they had the chance. The guy goes on tears through National League pitching that makes it seem as though he is playing tee ball. The scary thing is, is that he has not yet reached his full potential. Expect another solid year from Gonzo.

5. Lance Berkman – Berkman is another one of those guys that seem to sneak up on you. Do you realize that in addition to the power and RBIs that Berkman steadily provides that he also sneaks in 10-15 steals per season? Impressive for a guy that seems to run like he is standing in mud. Either way, the guy is a fantasy baseball points machine. Draft him if you get the chance.

Each of these five players are very capable and likely to be your number one draft pick in your fantasy league. Go grab them now while you have the chance, and reap the benefits all season long.