It never fails. Anytime I decide that I need or have to take a day away from the site, something big happens. Nine out of 10 times this big thing that happens is usually related to the Boston Red Sox.
The BIG thing this time. Red Sox skipper Terry Francona named Jon Lester the opening day starter.
He actually let Lester know during the winter but told him not to say anything until it was made official. Of course the keen Boston media had caught on early when they were playing out the order of the pitchers going during spring training and figured it out that Lester was on track to start opening day in Texas.
I think the best part though was where Lester was when he found out:
“It was short and sweet,” Lester said of the original notification. “I think I was in a deer stand.”
And this morning, Francona announced the rotation for at least the first two times through the regular season. John Lackey will be the No. 2 starter, Clay Buchholz the No. 3 starter, Josh Beckett the No. 4 starter and Daisuke Matsuzaka will be the No. 5 starter.
Not a bad rotation there especially when you have Beckett as your fourth starter.
After falling to the Braves 4-3 yesterday, the Red Sox are back in Ft. Myers this afternoon where they’ll host the New York Mets.
Here are today’s lineups for the game:
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| 1. Luis Hernandez |
SS | 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF |
| 2. Dan Murphy | 2B | 2. Carl Crawford | LF |
| 3. Scott Hairston |
CF | 3. Mike Cameron | DH |
| 4. Ike Davis |
1B | 4. Jed Lowrie | SS |
| 5. Nick Evans | LF | 5. J.D. Drew | RF |
| 6. Lucas Duda | RF | 6. Paul Hoover | C |
| 7. Brad Emaus | DH | 7. Lars Anderson | 1B |
| 8. Josh Thole | C | 8. Drew Sutton | 3B |
| 9. Chin-lung Hu | 3B | 9. Nate Spears | 2B |
| Jonathon Niese | SP | John Lackey | SP |
Also scheduled to pitch for the Red Sox: RHP Jonathan Papelbon, RHP Daniel Bard, LHP Rich Hill.
Also scheduled to pitch for the Mets: LHP Mike O’Connor, LHP Taylor Tankersley, RHP Bobby Parnell, RHP Pedro Beato, RHP Taylor Buchholz.
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.
Photo credit: AP Photo
