Over at SB Nation, Jeff Sullivan, the MLB Editor and also the manager of our Mariners blog, Lookout Landing, has his Idiot's Guide to the Lay of the 2010 Season, a review of the first of the year thus far. It features a look at the Top Five Most Disappointing Teams, Top Five Pitchers, Top Five Moments, Top Five Laziest Hanley Ramirezes and World Series Contenders from each league. And the Red Sox are prominently involved.
Top-Five Hitters:
5. Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis is doing the exact same thing he did in 2009, which was the exact same thing he did in 2008. The only difference is that now he's making a lot more contact. I'm not sure people realize how productive he is. Probably because he's really ugly, and people assume that ugly people aren't very good at things. Which I suppose is a fair assumption.
Top-Five Pitchers:
5. Jon Lester. People are probably going to yell at me for choosing Lester over guys like Tim Lincecum andUbaldo Jimenez, but to do what Lester's done, in that league, in that division, is nothing short of phenomenal. Also, he had cancer in 2006. The only thing keeping Jon Lester from being one of America's favorite stories is that he plays for the Red Sox.
Top-Five Moments:
1. Daniel Nava's first-pitch grand slam. I probably don't need to recount the whole Nava story to you, but I still want to, because it's awesome. Nava got cut in college, wasn't drafted, and was purchased by the Red Sox away from an indy league team for a dollar. He made it all the way to the bigs and hit a grand slam on the first pitch he ever saw. It doesn't matter if Nava ever sticks around or wins a World Series. He's already had his Hollywood ending.
And lastly, from the section on Top Five AL World Series Contenders:
3. Boston Red Sox. Finishing off the AL East triumvirate, the Red Sox are only down because they're beat up, and they won't be beat up forever. Players will come back, and the team will improve. If Josh Beckett shows up and pitches well, then they can throw him in there with Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz and conveniently forget about the troublesome #4 and #5 slots should they make the playoffs. Which isn't a guarantee, but if they make it, they'll be tough.