The two biggest questions facing the Boston Red Sox heading into 2006 were how well pitchers Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke would rebound from their previous injury-plagued seasons.
Opening Day is no time to make definitive judgments, but certainly Schilling helped to dispel major doubts in Boston's 7-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday.
Foulke, however, struggled enough to keep Red Sox Nation worried and add some legitimacy to preseason grumblings.
Schilling was the story of the game, though; after enduring a horrific 2005 season, the Sox ace went out and threw seven strong innings. It looked like his velocity improved from last season as well. His off-speed pitches weren't as sharp as he surely would have wanted, but it's likely his feel for those pitches will come back in time.
As solid as he looked yesterday, Boston fans probably won't see the Curt Schilling they were used to seeing on the mound in 2004. A few years ago, Schilling would sit in the 93-94 mph range and occasionally hurl a 96-97 mph heater when he really needed an out.
Although those days are probably gone, yesterday's win over Texas was encouraging, and a 16-win season with an ERA around 3.80 seems a possibility. Admittedly, Schilling got some help on Monday from home plate umpire Gary Darling's expanded strike zone, but considering Boston got nothing out of their ace in 2005, his Opening Day performance was a step in the right direction.
Things did not go quite as swimmingly for Foulke. Although the Sox closer appeared to be making progress in spring training, he was consistently lobbing meatballs against Texas. Even the outs that Foulke recorded were hard-hit.
Just like Schilling, Foulke has lost a little speed on his fastball, but it makes a bigger difference when a pitcher throws an 85-86 mph heater like the 2006 Foulke does. Foulke's biggest problem was his inability to keep his changeup down in the strike zone. When he's on, Foulke has one of the best changeups in the game, but he can't afford to throw hanging pitches when he's already lost so much velocity on his fastball.
Still, Foulke has made just one appearance this season and deserves more time to prove himself. But manager Terry Francona should keep him on a relatively short leash in April. If reliever Jon Papelbon keeps pitching like he did in his 2006 debut, he may have Foulke's job by May.
Monday's game found other players on the team still in strong form. Designated hitter David Ortiz came a triple short of the cycle, picking up right where he left off in 2005. Big Papi knocked in three runs and made an early case for a possible MVP candidacy in 2006.
There were grumblings about third baseman Mike Lowell's slow bat throughout spring training, and while he did hit a home run in the opener, he still looked off-balance at the plate. At times it almost looked like he was starting his swing too early in an attempt to compensate for his slow bat. But once again, Opening Day is too early to make judgments and he deserves at least a month to prove himself.
Newly acquired outfielder Coco Crisp didn't do a whole lot with the bat in the opener, but he showed off his impressive speed in the outfield and on the basepaths. Twice he scored easily from first base on doubles to the gap, and he made some nice running catches in centerfield.
First baseman Kevin Youkilis had a tough day at the plate, going 0-4, but by season's end he should put up something like a .265/.370/.420 line, which is enough to get the job done. The "Greek God of Walks" also looked like he was struggling with Darling's large strike zone.
All in all, Monday's game has to put Red Sox Nation at ease, despite Foulke's difficulties. Although it was just one game, Boston's nice balance of offense, defense and pitching all contributed to the victory and gave reason for Boston fans to be optimistic about 2006.
