Things are already looking good for the defending champion Boston Red Sox as star slugger shows up on time. If any other player shows up on time it is no big deal ,but this the aura of Manny and after a sub par year Manny clearly is motivated to have a much better individual performance and is going to be needed because I highly doubt Mike Lowell will a repeat of last year. Although I expect a good year from Lowell in my opinion Manny remains the offensive key for the 2008 Red Sox. He is getting older and this is his final year in his contract. A big year out of Manny will help everyone involved as he is either going to receive big offers from other teams or convince the Red Sox that he still has it.
As the season grows closer so does the anticipation of watching the Red Sox attempt to defend their championship. Spring training is now under way with all the big questions swirling around such as; who will play Center field? Will the young pitchers live up to potential? Or will Ortiz be healthy the entire season? To me those are all important issues, but the AL has gotten much better over the off-season and the Red Sox lineup is full of questions. One of the questions is a new one and that is Will Manny start to show his age? Last year was a down year for his standards and like most players his age that trend will continue. If he were to continue to decline I think the Red Sox offense could take a huge hit and be forced to rely on guys like Dustin Pedroia who looked great last year, but is still young, Ellsbury who has yet to prove he can play everyday and J.D. Drew who has serious issues last year. I don't think the offense will become a problem, but with age Manny's health also remains an issue and that is why Manny is the most crucial part of the 2008 Red Sox. Many of the Red Sox followers will say that Beckett is the key, but I believe he will come out strong again this year and prove he is one of the elite pitchers in the game.
Despite all the issues surrounding Manny I think he has started off spring training in the right manner, which is, "Business as usual". In a year where his focus has to be completely on baseball and not on other issues he has shown already that this will be a big year for Manny.
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2 comments:
I think it is good for the Sox that he has showed up on time and is ready to work but we make way to big of a deal when an athlete actually does what he is supposed to and that is show up ready to play.
I think Manny showing up on time is NOT Manny being Manny.
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