Game 3: Good, Not Great, Debut for Dempter

So the Red Sox finally lose a game. It took six months and a day, but the mighty Red Sox finally went down. I thought it might keep going, but then again, nothing lasts forever. Even the offseason.

What we saw was an OK Ryan Dempster with a stagnant offense. We won the previous game when letting up four runs, but the offense couldn't come through this time. I'll give props to the Yankees' pitchers last night, whose average age was 41.5 years old. I didn't know it was "Turn Back The Clock Night" at Yankee Stadium, but I guess Pettitte and Rivera had their own ideas. Lets just hope that this is a blip in the road, and the offense can keep producing at a high level for the rest of the season.

Dempster didn't really give us a clear idea of who he is going to be in Boston. Last year, with the Cubs, he was a great, bordering on elite, pitcher. When he switched over to the American League with the Rangers, he became a terrible, borderline Minor League, pitcher. Last night, he was kind of half way through. He gave up the lead early, but there was not too much bleeding after that.

Game 2: Jose Iglesias Quietly Shines Again

While it is obviously not a large sample size for the year, it looks like former "Shortstop of the Future" might be back to the current "Shortstop of the Future." After two impressive days in the field (as expected) and at the plate (very not expected), Jose Iglesias is looking like the player we thought he could possibly become.

Many thought (me included) that these first couple of days without Stephen Drew would feature stellar defense and a batting average between .050 and .100. But while it's not powerful, the contact is all there. He is 5 for 9 through two games, with four singles and a double. While it's unlikely he'll maintain a .556 batting average for the year, it looks like we may have underestimated Iglesias. As long as there is some offensive production, he is well worth it for the glove at short, and I would keep him in over a healthy Stephen Drew.

Game 1: Starting the Season off Right

The Boston Red Sox may not win the AL East this year, may not even make the playoffs, but you better start breaking out the sunglasses. "Why's that?" you may ask. Because the future looks bright. Very bright. Iglesias came through with a surprising three singles on his first opening day game. JBJ also came up big by getting on base twice, scoring once and driving in another. For an 8-9 combo with an average age of 22.5, I'd say that's alright. All in all, the Red Sox executed to perfection, and we came away with the first win on the season.