It may have been April Fool's Day, but the Red Sox weren't fooling around this afternoon in the Bronx. After beginning and ending the last two seasons in truly abysmal fashion, they opened the 2013 season as if they were a tall glass of lemonade on a 100 degree summer's day. They pitched, they got on base, they drove in runs, they played defense, and they hustled their way to an 8-2 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Yes, it's only one game out of 162, but it was crucial for the 2013 Red Sox to start off on the right foot and an Opening Day victory is a step in the right direction, to avoid the 0-6 and 0-4 holes that marked the beginning of 2011 and 2012.
A completely revamped coaching staff, headed by former pitching coach-turned-manager John Farrell prepared the Red Sox for this day. Not a single coach remains from 2012. On the bench, as Farrell's right-hand man is Torey Lovullo, who was his bench coach in Toronto and a former PawSox manager. At first base, last year's PawSox skipper Arnie Beyeler. Brian Butterfield occupies the windmill position in the third base coach's box. Juan Nieves, former White Sox bullpen coach, is the new pitching coach. Greg Colbrunn and Victor Rodriguez are the hitting coaches. Dana Levangie is the bullpen coach. These are John Farrell's people and, as was not the case with Bobby Valentine, friction among the coaching staff is unlikely.
With Big Papi still cooling his heels on the DL, the Red Sox lineup will have to rely more on speed and smart baserunning to score runs. That, and getting on base to begin with. The approach against C.C. today was a good sign. Jackie Bradley, Jr., making his major league debut having skipped AAA entirely, showed impressive plate discipline, working three walks (as well as making a kick-ass catch in left to snatch an extra base hit away from Cano). Salty also showed improved patience at the plate by matching Bradley walk-for-walk.
Jon Lester didn't have a dominant outing in his first Opening Day win, tossing only five innings and laboring through a 34-pitch fourth, but he limited the damage in that rough inning and kept his team in the game. He outpitched C.C. Sabathia, who also threw five innings, but allowed twice as many runs. The 'pen preserved the lead, throwing 4 scoreless innings, including a five-pitch sixth by Koji Uehara.
The AL East race is wide open this season, with the Yankees facing injuries and an increasingly geriatric (for baseball) roster, the Rays always managing to be in the thick of things, the Blue Jays making some big off-season moves, and the Orioles looking to prove last season wasn't a fluke. The Red Sox, in contrast to the O's, are looking to prove that last season WAS a fluke. As long as they play with the passion and hunger they played with today, they will be an enjoyable team to watch again.
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