Here's an open thread -- on time!
Today is Clay Buchholz's 2008 debut. Although he struggled in spring training, we all know the regular season is always different. We can't expect a no-hitter (let's keep it realistic) but there's no reason we can't expect a well-pitched game out of him. It'll be interesting to see how he responds to Bartolo Colon's strong outing in Pawtucket. He must feel Colon on his heels by now, but he could lose him with a good game today.
For the Jays it's another youngster, Jesse Litsch. Litsch started 20 games for the Jays last year and racked up a nifty (It's Don Orsillo season! Nifty is the word!) 3.81 earned run average. Litsch went 2-1 last season in 3 starts against the Red Sox.
Interesting lineup for the Sox today. Julio Lugo leads off, while Sean Casey spells Kevin Youkilis, and Coco Crisp is today's center fielder. Who knows what Francona is thinking:
RED SOX:
SS Lugo
2B Pedroia
DH Ortiz
LF Ramirez
3B Lowell
RF Drew
C Varitek
1B Casey
CF CrispBLUE JAYS:
SS Eckstein
LF Stairs
RF Rios
CF Wells
DH Thomas
1B Overbay
2B Hill
3B Scutaro
C Zaun