Boston's Saving Grace has Returned

Fuck Punxsutawney Phil. The sight of pitchers stretching means Spring--and more importantly--Spring Training is on the way. And not a moment sooner, either. Year in and year out the Red Sox have proved to be the light at the end of the winter's dark tunnel. Maybe not so much in years past, with the recent success of the Celtics and Patriots bridging the gap from October to April, but definitely during the 1990's-early 2000's.

And I might say the Red Sox are needed to do well this year than more than ever. With the Celtics and Patriots both floundering below their expected levels of greatness, Boston fans--like myself--are depending on the Red Sox to pull through and deliver a world championship.

I admit, being a Boston fan who grew up through the 2000's, I am a little jaded and have grown quite accustomed to winning at least one championship in the calendar year. And perhaps I am over-reacting that the city of Boston hasn't won in the past three years. But the fact still remains that the tension is building amongst Boston fans for our beloved baseball team to bring back a title to the Bean.

And as you've heard me say before, winning a World Series is all about starting pitching. The 2010 Boston Red Sox have that great starting pitching to end the drought and let it reign once again. Top to bottom the Sox' staff is flat-out filthy: RHP Josh Beckett, LHP Jon Lester, RHP John Lackey, RHP Tim Wakefield, RHP Clay Buchholz. AND that's not to mention Daisuke Matzusaka, who should have more than enough time to get ready the Japanese way. Listen, I know all of you don't want me to start on a rant as to why I think they're going to be so good. However, I think it might be a good read to check out NESN.com's piece on the topic.

But I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I don't expect the Celtics' to make any loud noise come playoff time, much like the Patriots failed to make even the faintest of squeals in Raven's thrashing of them. And the great thing about pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training is the returned feeling of hope. Every team has a chance to be great, like the re-budding of the flowers in the ground. And, with a little bit of luck, the Red Sox' season will bloom into another championship for the City of Champions.