It's not even the hot stove yet, but damn it, don't tell that to Bill James!
After the jump is a sneak peak at what the Bill James Handbook has to offer for the 2010 Boston Red Sox. If you like projections that don't necessarily mean anything at all, then this is for you!
If you want to get your hands on Bill James' book, you can visit the ACTA Sports website to buy your own copy (which, of course, includes a whole lot more than what's here after the jump).
Things to remember: Mr. James and his staff makes no prediction of where free agents will go or anything like that. So if you question why Jason Bay is on this roster, it's because they use the current roster for each team. That means, obviously, it's the 2009 team ... as bad as that may be to your eyes.
First, the hitters. Nothing too shocking here, really. As a side note, Jacoby Ellsbury is predicted to steal 64 bases and be caught 14 times. Here's your list (I left Chris Duncan off -- felt like that really didn't matter too much):
NAME | AGE | AB | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
Brian Anderson | 28 | 161 | 39 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 14 | 40 | .242 | .311 | .410 |
Rocco Baldelli | 28 | 178 | 47 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 11 | 42 | .264 | .321 | .444 |
Jason Bay | 31 | 576 | 150 | 32 | 32 | 103 | 88 | 159 | .268 | .374 | .504 |
J.D. Drew | 34 | 498 | 134 | 30 | 22 | 76 | 91 | 119 | .269 | .385 | .474 |
Jacoby Ellsbury | 26 | 635 | 192 | 32 | 9 | 62 | 52 | 73 | .302 | .360 | .420 |
Alex Gonzalez | 33 | 230 | 57 | 14 | 6 | 28 | 14 | 42 | .248 | .305 | .387 |
Nick Green | 31 | 158 | 39 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 11 | 38 | .247 | .312 | .373 |
Casey Kotchman | 27 | 372 | 101 | 25 | 9 | 53 | 36 | 37 | .272 | .341 | .417 |
Mike Lowell | 36 | 529 | 147 | 35 | 19 | 84 | 46 | 74 | .278 | .339 | .456 |
Jed Lowrie | 26 | 384 | 100 | 35 | 9 | 59 | 53 | 80 | .260 | .350 | .438 |
Victor Martinez | 31 | 560 | 167 | 36 | 18 | 78 | 67 | 74 | .298 | .377 | .464 |
David Ortiz | 34 | 484 | 128 | 34 | 29 | 99 | 77 | 112 | .264 | .369 | .519 |
Dustin Pedroia | 26 | 623 | 191 | 50 | 15 | 75 | 66 | 43 | .307 | .378 | .465 |
Jason Varitek | 38 | 253 | 58 | 13 | 9 | 34 | 34 | 69 | .229 | .332 | .387 |
Kevin Youkilis | 31 | 557 | 161 | 42 | 23 | 95 | 85 | 128 | .289 | .394 | .492 |
Now the pitchers. Once again, nothing too shocking here. The relievers will all once again be pretty good, while the starting pitching doesn't look too spectacular. Jonathan Papelbon is projected to have 41 saves. But that's why you play baseball on the field, not on a computer screen (I left Billy Wagner off -- who had really good projected stats -- because as we all know, he won't be a Red Sox in 2010):
NAME | AGE | IP | H | HR | BB | SO | W | L | ERA |
Daniel Bard | 25 | 53 | 40 | 5 | 25 | 70 | 4 | 2 | 3.06 |
Josh Beckett | 30 | 221 | 208 | 24 | 64 | 206 | 15 | 9 | 3.62 |
Michael Bowden | 23 | 130 | 137 | 14 | 46 | 100 | 7 | 8 | 4.71 |
Clay Buchholz | 25 | 161 | 150 | 17 | 63 | 155 | 10 | 8 | 3.91 |
Paul Byrd | 39 | 68 | 80 | 10 | 12 | 33 | 4 | 4 | 4.63 |
Manny Delcarmen | 28 | 58 | 54 | 4 | 27 | 54 | 4 | 3 | 3.72 |
Jon Lester | 26 | 206 | 200 | 19 | 80 | 184 | 13 | 10 | 3.84 |
Daisuke Matsuzaka | 29 | 195 | 184 | 21 | 83 | 184 | 12 | 10 | 4.02 |
Hideki Okajima | 34 | 58 | 51 | 6 | 19 | 53 | 4 | 2 | 3.26 |
Jonathan Papelbon | 29 | 68 | 53 | 5 | 18 | 75 | 5 | 3 | 2.38 |
Ramon Ramirez | 28 | 73 | 68 | 7 | 31 | 63 | 5 | 3 | 3.82 |
Takashi Saito | 40 | 60 | 52 | 5 | 18 | 62 | 5 | 2 | 3.00 |
Tim Wakefield | 43 | 96 | 93 | 12 | 33 | 62 | 6 | 5 | 4.03 |