Theo Esptein is very happy about how the 2007 Red Sox have come together so far. He’s not totally pleased with the makeup of the bullpen and has some concerns about the bench not having enough hitters or a defensive specialist.

“I think the thing I liked best about the club is there were no real egos on display.”

“As much as any camp I’ve been around, this had a real team feel from Day 1 and put winning as the real top priority,” continued Epstein. “Everyone got their work in and it seems like it was as cohesive a unit as you can have when there’s 55 guys around. That should bode really well for the chances of us coming together as a 25-man unit quickly in April.”

When he was asked about the starting rotation, Theo responded with this answer:

“I don’t like assessing teams on paper,” Epstein said. “On paper, it’s got as high a ceiling as any team we’ve had. We got it going pretty good towards the end of 2004. Those guys made all their starts. That’s an important thing.

Often times, you look at the end of the year, the team that won the pennant is the team that had a rotation that made the most starts and stayed the healthiest, the top five guys. They can take the ball and not miss starts, that’s a good sign. That’s a pretty important factor for us and for all of our competitors as well.”

When asked about the bullpen, this was his response:

“It’s always wait-and-see [approach] for every team,” Epstein said. “I think we have some veteran talent in the big leagues right now. I think we have the best depth we’ve had in Triple-A in a long time. That’s a pretty good Triple-A bullpen that we have right now, and starting rotation. Considering that we usually use at least 20 pitchers to get through the season, I think we’re built better for the long haul.”

Theo isn’t concerned with Jason Varitek’s struggles at the plate during spring training:

“If you look back at his history, ’03, ’04, ’05, he hit over .250 maybe once in those springs” Epstein said. “In 2003, he hit [.190] or something like that and had a pretty feeble spring from an offensive standpoint. First game of the year in Tampa Bay, it might have been his first at-bat, he took a great swing on a pitch from Joe Kennedy and lined it off the wall and get locked in right after that. His history is as a guy who doesn’t hit much in Spring Training.”

He gives his thoughts on rookie 2B Dustin Pedroia:

“I think, for him, the light is going to go on one day where he can just relax and be himself,” Epstein said. “I think what you saw last year was a guy pressing and trying to do too much. That’s pretty typical of young players and can sometimes carry over into the second year a little bit. Usually there’s a moment, whether it’s a big hit or a good defensive play or just a deep breath, that helps a guy relax and be himself.

“I think we’ve seen some signs of that this spring. As Tito [manager Terry Francona] said, it hasn’t been a great spring for him. I think that moment will come and where he kind of clicks in and is able to be himself at the big-league level. He could become a real asset for us.”

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Boston had it’s top pitching prospect on display today as the Red Sox finished up the Florida portion of their spring training schedule Clay Buchholz took the hill for the Sox against the Devil Rays on Thursday. For the most part, he looked really good. He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in 4 2/3 innings pitched. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out 3. Pitching coach John Farrell was also pleased with Buchholz:

“You can see why people are so excited about his potential, largely in part because he was able to get quite a few swings and misses with his fastball,” pitching coach John Farrell said. “To me, if you’re looking at one thing in one game, when a pitcher can get that, they not only have life in the zone, but with a deceptive delivery, hitters aren’t tracking the ball regularly.

“You also look at his four defined pitches to go along with his athleticism. He’s got a very bright future.”

It’s nice to see the Red Sox giving a young guy to make a good first impression. I really hope that they don’t rush him to the major leagues and just allow him to develop on his own. He’s never been above Double-A, where he is projected to start. I can honestly tell you from my experiences of working in the Eastern League, home of the Red Sox’s AA team, Portland Sea Dogs, that pitching in the Eastern League will be a great barometer of how he will fare in the future. A lot of scouts will tell you if you can make it in the Eastern League, you will probably get to the big leagues at some point in your career.

Jonathan Papelbon gave all of the Red Sox staff and higher ups a heart attack on Thursday when he rolled his ankle covering first base in the game against the Devil Rays.

“Basically, I just went over to cover first, and I just got ahead of myself too much and had to kind of just catch the bag behind me,” said Papelbon. “Once I put my weight on it, it just gave on me. But I’m alright. A little bit of pain, but I just rolled my ankle, basically. That was it.”

Papelboner did look good striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced. Thankfully, he is not injured badly from this. He hopes to get in at least one game while the Sox are in Philadelphia this weekend.

The Red Sox are heading up to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies this weekend. Julian Tavarez will be on the hill for the game on Friday night and Daisuke Matsuzaka will pitch in the afternoon game on Saturday.

Just 3 days until opening day. I don’t know about you but I am wicked excited about the season starting. I think a viewing of ‘Fever Pitch’ is in order this weekend.

Something I probably should have posted earlier this spring is the top 10 prospects for the Boston Red Sox. So now here is your look at the top 10 prospects.

Note: This was done by Baseball America before the acquisition of Daisuke Matsuzaka. So I would definitely have to think he will be included in the 2010 rotation.

Instead of losing another player this time, UCONN has lost another coach to another school. On Thursday, the worst kept secret in Connecticut was made official when UCONN associate head coach, Tom Moore, was named the head basketball coach at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.

Moore had been at UCONN for 13 years as an assistant and spent the last two years as the associate head coach. His main responsibility at UCONN has been recruiting. Given the success that he has had in getting top flight recruits including Richard Hamilton, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Rudy Gay, Caron Butler, Charlie Villanueva, Marcus Williams, Jake Voskuhl, Kevin Ollie, Hilton Armstrong and Josh Boone, he could bring the Bobcats’ program to a new level.

He is the 7th former assistant coach of Calhoun’s to leave for brighter pastures. He joins fellow UCONN brethren Howie Dickenman (Central Connecticut), Dave Leitao (Virginia), Karl Hobbs (George Washington), Glen Miller (Pennsylvania), Steve Pikiell (Stony Brook) and Ted Woodward (Maine).

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima did lunch on Wednesday with about 10 members of the Boston media as a way to get to meet the main beat members. Here are some excerpts from the article.

Sox publicist John Blake arranged a luncheon with Matsuzaka and Okajima, the Far East’s answer to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Blake sat in on the session, as did translators Hoshino and Sachiyo Sekiguchi.

So how many games does the Dice Man expect to win?

“I think the fans certainly have great expectations for me, and I’d like to respond to those expectations in kind,” Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “If (the fans) have a number, I don’t know what it is.”

The rest of the lunch? Matsuzaka told us that his favorite American sex symbol is Angelina Jolie (nice choice) because, in part, she has “a strength and poise that I find attractive.” (Right. Like it has nothing to do with those lips.) He would most like to have a beer with Cy Young or Nolan Ryan. He likes Jackie Chan movies and has seen, among other American films, “Lethal Weapon,” “Cliffhanger” and “When Harry Met Sally.” (As for Sundance, he countered with “Ghost,” “Pretty Woman” and “Autumn in New York.”)

Unsurprisingly, both pitchers indicated that watching American films and television has helped with their English. Earlier this spring, one member of the Japanese media revealed that he learned many idiomatic expressions in English by watching “Seinfeld.”

After all, if Matsuzaka and Okajima start watching “The Sopranos,” the umpires are going to toss them like garden salads.

I wonder what ‘fuhgeddaboudit’ sounds like in Japanese. And I really hope Tony Massarotti didn’t mean this when he says “the umpires are going to toss them like garden salads.” I know if you clicked on the link and read it, you’re saying Ian, that’s just plain wrong. Well I am sorry but that was the first thing that came to my mind when I read that sentence.

Overall, a great idea by the Red Sox. It was a good way for the media to learn about the other sides of these two and not just about their baseball lifes.