Your 2006 Boston Red Sox

It looks like the Opening Day roster is essentially set. The article I linked to lists everyone who is leaving, so let me list the final 25 who will make the team.

CF - Coco Crisp
2B - Mark Loretta
DH - David Ortiz
LF - Manny Ramirez
RF - Trot Nixon
C - Jason Varitek
3B - Mike Lowell
1B - Kevin Youkilis
SS - Alex Gonzalez

Nice group, and as I have written before, while I think the Sox will take a step back from the 900 or so runs they're used to scoring, they will still be a top-5 offense.

Bench - J.T. Snow
Bench - Wily Mo Pena
Bench - Adam Stern
Bench - Josh Bard
Bench - Alex Cora

Not bad. I'm not in love with any of these guys, but Stern has looked spectacular, and Pena can be valuable if he's limited to a platoon against lefties. Bard seems to have Wakefield's confidence, which is really all that matters, and Cora can be a defensive star anywhere in the infield. Snow is likely to be gone whenever the Sox feel like recalling Hee-Seop Choi., and I hope that happens sooner than later

SP - Curt Schilling
SP - Josh Beckett
SP - Tim Wakefield
SP - Matt Clement

That's it for now, with David Wells slated to come offthe DL to be the fifth starter a couple of weeks into the season. Again, a really solid group if Schilling is healthy and approaches his old self. If this group (including Wells) is healthy, this may be the best, deepest rotation the Red Sox have ever had.

CL - Keith Foulke
RP - Mike Timlin
RP - Rudy Seanez
RP - David Riske
RP - Julain Tavarez
RP - Jonathan Papelbon
RP - Lenny DiNardo

I'm much more comfortable with this group than I was with last year's bullpen, but I'm still pretty nervous. Foulke's knees are a complete question mark, Timlin is 40, Riske and Seanez have been terrible this spring, Papelbon is actually a starter, DiNardo is temporary help once Wells returns, and Tavarez is utterly, completely insane. My guess is that Foulke will be fine, and so will Timlin. Same with Papelbon, who is a stud. But I can see Riske, Seanez and Tavarez being long gone before the All-Star break, their spots taken by Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen and a permanent role for DiNardo. That group would actually make me feel pretty good.

All in all, I'm happy with the club. My only concerns are Mike Lowell's bat, the health of the rotation, and the volatility of the bullpen. Two of the three, Lowell and the pen, have solutions ready to deploy (moving Youkilis back to third, bringing up the young relievers), leaving only the rotation's health as something we'll have to watch for. To me, that's the key to the entire season.