This may come as a shock, but not all New Englanders are diehard Sox fans (quelle horreur!). Some people break out in a cold sweat just thinking about how many water cooler conversations and cocktail party chats about Sox scores, stats and Manny they'll have to navigate in the coming months.

Casual baseball fans, Boston.com hears you! Consider this Sox survival guide your personal cheat sheet to the upcoming season. We'll update it with pertinent facts and figures as the season goes on. The guide will help you to play ball (or at least talk ball).

(Text by Courtney Hollands, Boston.com producer)