2007 MLB season breakdown by Brad Hartzog

With the 2007 MLB season underway, we have seen some surprises and some disappointments. I will breakdown each team one by one in my 30 part series “Better Know a Major League Baseball Team.” Today’s team is the team with the best record in the AL to this point, the Boston Red Sox.

To better know a team, you have to first understand where they are coming from. The Bo Sox play in the oldest stadium, Fenway Park, which was built in 1912. In 1920, the Sox sold Babe Ruth to rival team, the New York Yankees. In 1953, the Sox scored 17 runs in one inning against the Detroit Tigers. Then, as we all know, in 2004 the Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.

The 2007 season looks to be a great one for the Sox. They have started out the season with an impressive 20-10 start. They are 9-4 at home and 11-6 on the road and are already 5.5 games ahead of second place New York Yankees. Their offense is lead by Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Ortiz is leading the team in almost every offensive category. They also have great players in J.D. Drew, Coco Crisp, Wily Mo Pena, Mike Lowell and Julio Lugo. Their pitching rotation is also great. Their starting rotation includes Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Julian Tavarez, Tim Wakefield (who has the craziest pitch because the ball doesn’t rotate) and much talked about, Diasuke Matsuzaka. They also have a great pitcher in Matt Clement who is on the DL right now. They have decent pitcher in the bullpen and maybe the best closer in the MLB right now, Jonathan Papelbon.

I can’t see the Sox not winning their division. Even thought the Yankees are always good, their bullpen will kill them, even with the addition of Roger Clemens. I predict that the Sox will win their division by 10 games or more. They will finish the regular season with an impressive 110 wins. They will win the AL championship game against the Minnesota Twins and go on to lose to the New York Mets in the World Series..