ORT MYERS, Fla. - So it begins, the annual spring rite in which Red Sox fans invest a mighty reservoir of hope in the sons of Yawkey Way. And start looking over their shoulders toward the Bronx.
The Sox are rich with promise, stocked with the best pitcher on the planet, Pedro Martinez, a new super weapon, Manny Ramirez, and the American League's top hitter, Nomar Garciaparra - once he recovers from his wrist injury.
The Sox are poised to field one of the most potent lineups in franchise history. Following Garciaparra and Ramirez with Carl Everett and Dante Bichette will create a foursome certain to make almost any opposing pitcher's visit to Fenway Park as pleasant as an ice storm on the Central Artery.
Sox loyalists can take heart, too, in a bullpen, anchored by All-Star closer Derek Lowe, that last year emerged as a model of durability and reliability. There is manager Jimy Williams, renowned for wringing the most out of what he's given. And there are front-office execs, with an eye to making history as they try to sell the team in its centennial season, who have committed to giving Williams the best they can.
Yet the Sox are bedeviled by questions: Can they field a sturdy crew behind Martinez in the starting rotation? Can they absorb Garciaparra's absence? Can Jose Offerman, Troy O'Leary, and Jason Varitek rebound from disappointing seasons?
And, as always: Are the Sox any match for the Yankees?
As much as ever, Sox diehards will spend the summer tracking the Bronx Bombers, who won the offseason war for Mike Mussina, the top prize in the free agent pitching market. He joins a team that has won four of the last five Series and last year edged the Sox by 21/2 games in the AL East.
Here, then, a comparative peek at the blood rivals in 2001.
Starting pitching
Advantage: Yankees
The Sox have the best in Pedro Martinez. But the Yankees appear to have the best of the rest. With Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens, Orlando ``El Duque'' Hernandez, and Andy Pettitte, the Bombers arguably possess four of the AL's top 10 starters. And they have Dwight Gooden and several bright prospects, most notably Christian Parker and Randy Keisler, competing for the fifth spot.
The Sox? After two straight seasons in which no starter other than Martinez won more than 10 games, they were unable to lure anyone who won even 11 games last year.
Newcomers Frank Castillo (10-5 with the Blue Jays) and Hideo Nomo (8-12 with the Tigers) will follow Martinez. The other two spots in the rotation had been reserved for David Cone and Rolando Arrojo until Cone suffered shoulder soreness and Arrojo performed so poorly in spring training that he was exiled to the bullpen.
Two promising youngsters - Tomo Ohka (4-8 lifetime) and Paxton Crawford (a career 2-1) - will fill the void while Cone and the rehabbing Bret Saberhagen try to join the mix.
But barring a rash of injuries to the Four Gunmen of Gotham (Hernandez already has been sidelined with stiffness in his elbow and forearm), the Sox are the underdogs in this duel.
Middle relief
Advantage: Red Sox
From his offseason conditioning to his preseason performance, Tim Wakefield did everything the Sox expected of him to win a spot in the rotation. Still, the knuckleballer landed in the bullpen, a stinging disappointment to him but a potential boon for the Sox. He should bolster a middle relief crew that already ranks among the league's best with Rich Garces, Rod Beck, and Hipolito Pichardo, though Pichardo is hampered with soreness in his pitching arm. The comebacking Pete Schourek should ably replace Rheal Cormier as the club's lefthanded specialist, while Rolando Arrojo is the X factor after being banished from the rotation. Arrojo ranks among the players most likely to be traded. If he stays, it remains to be seen how effective he can be in a new role.
The Yankees lost the heart of their middle-relief crew, Jeff Nelson, to free agency. They hope Todd Williams fills Nelson's void, Ramiro Mendoza rebounds from surgery, Mike Stanton continues to thrive as the setup man, and Dwight Gooden taps into some of his past glory if he fails to make the rotation. That's a lot to hope for.
Closer
Advantage: Yankees
Not long after David Cone defected to Boston after five-plus seasons with the Yankees, he touted Sox closer Derek Lowe as one of the game's emerging superstars. Lowe, in his first full season as a closer, came within a fraction of topping Detroit's Todd Jones as AL Fireman of the Year (they tied for the league lead with 42 saves). Lowe's future appears so bright that the Sox happily showed the door to Tom ``Flash'' Gordon, who was trying to come back from elbow surgery after establishing himself as one of baseball's top closers.
But ask almost anyone, even Lowe, to name the league's top closer and the answer invariably will be the Yankees' Mariano Rivera. He has had at least 36 saves each of the past four years and has posted an ERA under 2 each year except 2000 (2.85). And he has been indomitable in the postseason.
Infield
Advantage: Yankees
For the Sox, the infield diamond looks more like a question mark. Pick a position, and there is a query: Can Chris Stynes step up at third base pending John Valentin's possible return? How many games will Nomar Garciaparra miss at shortstop, leaving the job to Lou Merloni, Mike Lansing, and/or Craig Grebeck? Can Jose Offerman rebound at second base from last year's calamity? Can first baseman Brian Daubach, coming off his second straight 21-homer season, improve against lefthanders (.216 against them last year) to put together a breakthrough season?
The Yankees have questions of their own. Their production is declining at the corners, with third baseman Scott Brosius (34 years old) and first baseman Tino Martinez (33) coming off supbar seasons in the twilight of their careers. Longtime second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, haunted by his inability to throw accurately to first, has been dispatched to left field. That opens the door for Alfonso Soriano, one of the league's top prospects, to launch his campaign for Rookie of the Year. Or for Soriano, who turned 23 in January, to be scorched in the New York pressure cooker as he switches from short to second.
The difference could be whether shortstop Derek Jeter, last year's World Series MVP, can overcome a preseason quadriceps strain to provide more production for the Yankees than Garciaparra can for the Sox. At this point, Garciaparra's injury is far more serious.
Catcher
Advantage: Red Sox
A year ago, they were twinned in the preseason as the emerging stars among baseball's crop of young catchers. But while New York's Jorge Posada lived up to the hype in an All-Star campaign, Jason Varitek slumped through his third season behind the plate in Boston.
Posada exceeded Varitek in every major offensive category. But Varitek, who is considered Posada's superior at handling a pitching staff, underwent surgery after the season to repair his right wrist and has shown signs this spring that he has regained his power and confidence in the batter's box. He could very well regain his stature among the position's young stars.
With Scott Hatteberg backing up Varitek - and providing a big lefthanded punch on offense - the Sox should be better stocked behind the plate than the Yankees, who signed veteran Joe Oliver as their backup for 2001.
Bench
Advantage: Yankees
Both teams are in flux with their outfield reserves. The Sox have been interested in moving Troy O'Leary to make room for Trot Nixon in left while keeping their defensive standout, Darren Lewis, as a backup at all three outfield positions. The Yankees, who recently acquired former Sox minor league outfielder Michael Coleman, moved the aging Glenallen Hill (36) and kept Henry Rodriguez (20 HRs and 61 RBIs in 112 games last year for the Cubs and Marlins).
If the Yankees keep Coleman, they could start the season with only one utility infielder, the versatile Luis Sojo. The Sox appear certain to keep Mike Lansing rather than eat his $6 million salary. They have enlisted the versatile Shea Hillenbrand, who killed spring training pitching. And, depending on Nomar Garciaparra's status, they may also carry both Lou Merloni and Craig Grebeck.
The Yankees acquired a solid defensive catcher in Joe Oliver. But the Sox are expected to reap much more production from Scott Hatteberg, one of the team's preseason batting stars.
Considering the uncertainty on both benches, neither can claim a compelling advantage. Yet history has shown that in the battle to upgrade after Opening Day, Boss Steinbrenner typically prevails.
Designated hitter
Advantage: Red Sox
The Yankees saved themselves last year by acquiring David Justice from the Indians in midseason. Justice hit 20 homers and drove in 60 runs in 78 games for the Bombers, carrying them much of the stretch drive. He finished with a combined 41 homers and 118 RBIs, then played a pivotal role in helping clinch the World Series.
The Sox countered in late August by picking up Dante Bichette from the Reds. Bichette had seven homers and 14 RBIs in 30 games with the Sox to finish with 23 HRs and 90 RBIs.
Both players are aging - Bichette is 37, Justice turns 35 April 14 - but both have long records of accomplishment and should continue to consistently produce. If either has an edge, it may be that the righthanded Bichette will play his first full season with Fenway's inviting left-field wall at which to take aim.
Speed
Advantage: Yankees
First base coach Tommy Harper, who stole a club-record 54 bases for the Sox in 1973, says it's one thing to have speed, but it's another thing to use it - and use it wisely. And the Sox rarely use their speed.
Unless Jose Offerman regains the speed he lost last year - far from a certainty - the only base-stealing threats among Sox starters are Carl Everett, Nomar Garciaparra, and Chris Stynes. They accounted for 21 of the 29 bases the projected Opening Day lineup stole all last year.
All told, the Sox stole only 43 bases last year, second lowest in the league to Oakland's 40. By contrast, the aging Yankees used their speed wisely enough to steal 99 bases (led by Derek Jeter's 22), sixth best among the 14 AL teams.
Manager
Advantage: Yankees
Jimy Williams has his hands full trying to cushion the Nomar Garciaparra blow, comfort the fragile Manny Ramirez, and keep peace with the unpredictable Carl Everett. He does not appear to enjoy the kind of support from the Sox front office that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has granted Joe Torre. And though the Yawkey Trust has bankrolled a payroll of about $110 million with as much gusto as Steinbrenner to try to field a winning team, Williams has not been given the treasures, particularly in top-quality starters, that Torre has received. Still, Williams has the stuff to produce a contender, if not a champion. Yet Torre has proven time and again that he can do it.
