2019 Red Sox Opening Day Lineup

In just a few hours, the Boston Red Sox's highly-anticipated 2019 regular season will officially begin with their game against the Seattle Mariners scheduled to start at 7:10 PM est.

At this point, every other team in Baseball has started their 2019 season besides the Red Sox. Even though they're opening on the west coast, I would've preferred a 4:00 PM start time like last year's Opening Day game against the Rays. 

For the 2nd year in a row, Boston's ace, Chris Sale, will start Opening Day just days after signing a 5-year extension with the Red Sox. Similarly, just like the 2018 opener, 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia will not be in the starting lineup, for he is starting the season on the injured list.

So far today, the Brewers have bested the Cardinals 5-4, the Yankees crushed the Orioles at home 7-2, and the Mets won a decisive pitcher's duel against the Nationals 2-0 thanks to Jacob DeGrom's 6 shutout innings with 10 K's. 

On Opening Day in 2018, I previewed Boston's starting lineup which, for the most part, is incredibly similar to what we'll see later today against Seattle. Besides Hanley Ramirez, all players from 2018 will be starting tonight; the only other thing that has changed is the order of the lineup.

In just over 2 hours, the reigning World Champions will take the field for their first game of 2019. In order to get a better understanding of their lineup, let's preview who will be starting for the Red Sox later today.

Batting 1st; LF Andrew Benintendi

Making his 3rd straight Opening Day start in left field, Andrew Benintendi was stellar in 2018, the best season of his young career. The 2017 AL Rookie of the Month for August, Benny hit .290 with 16 homers, 87 RBI, and most surprisingly, 21 stolen bases in 2018. Now, the 24-year old will be hitting leadoff until Dustin Pedroia returns at the earliest. 

Batting 2nd; RF Mookie Betts

Starting with his very first at-bat of the 2019 season, all eyes are going to be on the 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts and for good reason. His 10.9 WAR during his MVP season remains incredibly impressive, likely part of the reason why he's surrendered the leadoff spot to Benintendi. Now, he can concentrate on boosting his RBI total after driving in 80 runs last season.

Batting 3rd; 3B Rafael Devers

After struggling with injuries and consistency across his first full MLB season, Rafael Devers is expected to have a breakout year in 2019. Every report that I've read states that Devers entered Spring Training looking and feeling much better. It'll be interesting to see if he fixes his biggest issues from last year, his batting average and defense. 

Batting 4th; DH J.D. Martinez

It's still surreal how J.D. Martinez can maintain a .330 batting average while also hitting 43 home runs, 130 RBI, and coming within striking distance of not just the AL, but the MLB Triple Crown. Now, at 31 years old and playing his 2nd season in Boston, I'm intrigued to see what his performance will be like in 2019 following a monstrous first season for the Red Sox.

Batting 5th; SS Xander Bogaerts

Following up behind fellow RBI machine J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts is a reliable option if J.D. fails to drive in runners in scoring position. With 103 runs batted in of his own in 2018, Bogaerts had his best season yet, and he wasn't significantly affected by injuries. In his contract season, let's hope for at least one more fantastic year from Xander Bogaerts.

Batting 6th; 1B Mitch Moreland

2018 World Series MVP, Steve Pearce, along with Pedroia, is also beginning the 2019 season on the injured list, but the 1st baseman's injury isn't expected to be serious. Until he returns to the lineup, Mitch Moreland and Sam Travis will split duties at 1st base. Because a lefty is starting for Seattle, Moreland will get the nod for Opening Day.

Batting 7th; 2B Eduardo Nunez

Nunez struggled with injuries throughout the 2018 season that limited his ability to contribute on offense. Now that he's completely healthy and starting on Opening Day for the 2nd straight season, I'll be watching him closely to see if he's improved. He'll have some respectable playing time before Pedroia returns as he's splitting the 2nd base duties with Brock Holt.

Batting 8th; CF Jackie Bradley Jr

After finally winning the first Gold Glove award of his career, Jackie Bradley Jr's defensive expertise can no longer be denied. The major concern, like 2018, is how he will fare offensively after struggling at the plate in 2018. Like Devers, it's been reported that he's worked on his swing. I suppose we can only wait and see if Bradley makes any major improvements on offense. 

Batting 9th; C Christian Vazquez

It took many years, but the Red Sox have finally settled on 2 catchers for their roster. Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez will begin the 2019 season on Boston's roster after Sandy Leon accepted a demotion to triple-A Pawtucket. The best all-around option for offense and defense, Vazquez will be starting on Opening Day.

Clearly, the 2019 Boston Red Sox's lineup for Opening Day isn't a drastic departure from the 2018 lineup. Rather, the major test for this year's team is if they can continue their success after a historic run last year.

Happy Opening Day everyone. Play ball!

2019 Predictions; NL West

With MLB Opening Day, thankfully, only 4 days from now, it's time to officially wrap up my predictions by division for 2019. No more waiting for Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel to sign contracts; it's time to complete my projections by focusing on one last division race; the NL West.

This division, more so than almost any other, has seen a ton of changes over the course of the offseason. Blockbuster trades, free agent departures, and extensions have affected the NL West as a whole as well as almost every team.

One of the biggest changes from 2018 to 2019 is that the Arizona Diamondbacks are no longer a major threat. After trading away superstar Paul Goldschmidt and letting Patrick Corbin walk in free agency, Arizona is entering a full rebuild. Thus, I fully expect the Diamondbacks to finish at the bottom of the division along with the San Francisco Giants.

Taking the Diamondbacks' place as a legitimate threat in the NL West is the San Diego Padres who signed Manny Machado to a 10-year $300 million dollar deal. They also have one of the best farm systems in the game along with a few key young players already in the major leagues.

The Rockies made an incredibly smart move this offseason when they signed 6-time Gold Glove award winner, Nolan Arenado, to an 8-year $260 million dollar extension. One of the most consistent hitters in the game, he's taken home a Gold Glove award every year since 2013. 

Though they lost out on resigning Adam Ottovino, expect Colorado to be in Wild Card contention once again in 2019. However, I fully believe that the Dodgers perform at a higher level than the rest of their NL West rivals.

If I had flipped the Rockies and Diamondbacks in my 2018 NL West predictions, they would've been completely correct. This year's division race will definitely differ from 2018, but I have confidence in my projected champions of the NL West.

1st Place; Los Angeles Dodgers

Although the Dodgers have had noticeable success over the past few seasons, their 2017 and 2018 World Series losses continue to haunt players and fans alike. With that being said, their 6 straight division titles is a pretty impressive feat, and I fully expect Los Angeles to continue this streak in 2019.

After missing most of 2018 due to injury, star shortstop Corey Seager is back and fully healthy for the 2019 season. Along with fellow young standouts like Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy, the Dodgers have one of the most formidable offenses in all of Baseball, even if their trading of Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig is somewhat baffling.

In addition to a stellar offense, the one-two punch in their rotation, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, is going to be a hitter's nightmare for years to come. With Kenley Jansen being one of the best closers in Baseball, I have no doubts that this well-rounded Dodgers team will take home the NL West title for the 7th straight year.

2nd Place; Colorado Rockies

It was pretty shocking to see the Rockies finish with the same record as the Dodgers in 2018, for I don't believe their team is as talented as the Dodgers. Regardless, they've come together and put up impressive performances for years now, and I expect nothing to change in 2019.

With both Nolan Arendao and Charlie Blackmon locked-up on long-term extensions, the Rockies will have their 2 prized hitters for many more seasons. Ian Desmond may have disappointed in 2018, but his 22 home runs in 2018 helped the Rockies reach the #8 mark in Baseball for dingers last season.

Their main issue remains their lack of pitching, and they're definitely going to miss Adam Ottovino this season. However, if Jon Gray can emerge as an ace for Colorado, they'll have no trouble maintaining the 2nd place spot in the NL West.

3rd Place; San Diego Padres

It surprises me that the Padres have one of the lowest payrolls in Baseball given what they're paying Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer, and now, Manny Machado. Even if those 3 stars perform to the best of their abilities, I don't foresee San Diego finishing higher than 3rd place in the NL West.

Myers has struggled with batting average for years now, and Eric Hosmer had a significant drop in performance during his first season in San Diego. As for Machado, he may have proven to be a consistent hitter, but his attitude combined with the length of his contract is a recipe for disaster.

San Diego's highly-regarded farm system will be put to the test this season and most definitely in 2019. With Julio Urias set to make his debut, the Padres' window for success is expected to open in 2018. Only time will tell if they actually take advantage of that or not.

4th Place; San Francisco Giants

After winning the World Series for the 3rd time in 5 seasons back in 2014, the Giants have been on the decline. Even if Buster Posey is shaping up to be a Future Hall of Famer, star pitcher Madison Bumgarner is expected to be traded soon. Once that happens, they'll be entering a complete rebuild mode.

It still baffles me why San Francisco felt the need to trade young prospect Christian Arroyo for an aging Evan Longoria or why they traded for Andrew McCutchen knowing he was in a contract season last year. Now, their farm system isn't very strong, and all they have to show for these 2 trades is a 4th place finish in 2018.

This year's Giants team is going to have a ton of aging veterans but not many young players that'll help San Francisco in the future. They may not be the worst team in the NL West, but they don't have the foundation to return to their winning ways for a long time.

5th Place; Arizona Diamondbacks

By trading superstar Paul Goldschmidt for a cluster of prospects and young players, the Diamondbacks proved that they're no longer interested in contending. 5th place may be a harsh placement considering that they were 3rd in 2018, but this team is going to fall apart this year.

Not only are Goldschmidt and Corbin gone, but Arizona is stuck over-paying Zack Greinke for another 3 years. Like San Francisco, the Diamondbacks don't have the farm system necessary to bounce back in another few years. This rebuild is destined to continue for a long time.

Without their franchise player, or any franchise player, come to think of it, the Diamondbacks are bound to struggle in 2019. Barring a miraculous performance, they'll be stuck at the bottom of the NL West for years to come.

Frankenset Page #43

At this point in the MLB offseason, I've usually begun the process of making predictions ahead of opening day, a date that is just over 3 weeks away. However, for the 2nd year in a row, players and teams are refusing to budge on contract negotiations, leaving dozens of starting lineup caliber players still unsigned.

The major 2 available free agents, as of the time I'm writing this post, are Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel, and they're far from the only guys left unsigned. Adam Jones, who hit a respectable .281 last year, could be a much-needed veteran presence for a young team, and he wouldn't even cost too much money.

Only 32-years old, it's perplexing to me that Adam Jones remains a free agent with roughly 3 weeks to go until opening day. Then again, when I look at who else remains unsigned as well, it all makes sense; the free agent market is not kind to players over 30.

I even posted my offseason predictions for this years' exciting free agency, and I'm 0-7 thus far with the 3 players I mentioned above still up in the air. I understand that stars like Craig Kimbrel want and deserve their money, but the contract he originally desired is totally irrational. 

No team wants to take the risk and give Kimbrel, a 30-year old closer, a 6-year contract worth around $100 million. However, if Kimbrel or any current free agents want a job come March 28th, there will need to be compromises made on both sides.

So, while we continue to await the signing of multiple big-name free agents, I'll postpone my predictions until further notice. Instead, I have the 43rd page of my frankenset ready to go, showcasing cards #379-387.

#379 1998 Bowman Julio Ramirez

For the sake of the game of Baseball, I pray that the Orioles and Marlins don't finish with as poor of records as they did in 2018. Combining to lose over 200 games, there were some pretty awful teams in 2018, including the White Sox and the Royals. Now, both Chicago and Kansas City made an effort to improve their record in 2019. The Marlins and Orioles? Not so much.

#380 2016 Topps Heritage Phil Hughes

Page #43 of my frankenset shows a lot of love to the Topps Heritage brand with 5 different cards from the product being featured. It's pretty fitting that this page includes so many cards from Heritage given the fact that I've been celebrating the release of the 2019 Topps Heritage set for nearly a week now, honoring the 1970 Topps design.

#381 2007 Topps Heritage J.J. Putz

An untraditional style of cards, the 1958 Topps design boldly features no "real" backgrounds on their cards. Instead, the cards feature a specific color in the background instead, effectively featuring no ballparks or other backgrounds that we've grown accustomed to seeing on a Topps Flagship Baseball card. 

I'm still firm in my belief that 1959 Topps is an enhanced version of '58 because of the backgrounds, but it was a bold effort by Topps, nevertheless.

#382 2018 Topp Big League Adeiny Hechavarria

Topps wasted very little time in announcing the renewal of the Big League product for another year in 2019, but they also decided to bring back Opening Day once again as well. Both Big League and Topps Bunt have been generally well-received as inexpensive, fun products geared towards kids, just like Opening Day. 

I simply don't understand why Topps won't just replace the boring product that is Topps Opening Day with a more interesting release, both in terms of design and checklist, like Big League.

#383 1983 Topps Ozzie Virgil

I probably separated the 2 1983 Topps cards on this page before I added the remaining cards from that set to my want list, but it's too late to remove them now anyway. Besides, I'm not missing a ton of cards from that set, and I'm hoping I can rely on trips to the Baseball card show and trades to finish it up completely.

#384 2016 Topps Heritage David Robertson

Thankfully, Topps finally removed the "ad panels" box toppers from Topps Heritage this year after being around for over a decade. Personally, I couldn't stand the ad panel cards simply because they made zero sense to me. 3 random cards were grouped into 1 single panel, and they weren't even consecutive cards in the product. 

I'd much rather have stamped original buybacks than some confusing ad panel as a box topper, especially with what hobby boxes cost collectors nowadays.

#385 1983 Topps Mike Easler

Almost every Pittsburgh Pirates cards in the 1983 Topps set shows a player in this exact uniform, and I couldn't be happier about that. Considering that the Pirates have some of the greatest and most iconic jerseys of all-time, it's pretty awesome to see 20-30 of these uniforms make an appearance in the '83 Topps Flagship set.

#386 2018 Topps Heritage Wil Myers

I'm genuinely interested to see how the San Diego Padres will perform this season with Manny Machado and Wil Myers leading a group of young players in a fairly tough division. San Diego has one of the best farm systems in all of Baseball, but they've consistently been a somewhat mediocre team for roughly a decade now.

#387 2007 Topps Heritage Aaron Rowand

The 43rd frankenset page will end with the 5th and final card from Topps Heritage, this once also from the 2007 set. Featuring a black background, Aaron Rowand's 2007 Topps Heritage card perfectly captures the potential of having 1-color backgrounds without ballparks being featured. With that being said, I don't know if I'd feel the same way if I were to collect the entire 500-card product.

My BoSox Bobbles

Although I'm sadly unable to make the championship parade tomorrow at 11:00, I'm still in a state of shock from the events of 2 days ago. That final strikeout is going to be replaying in my head for years and years to come.

Still, I'm not going to be celebrating Boston's World Series victory on the blog for all that time, so it's time for me to move on, gradually that is. I still have a Red Sox-related post lined up for today, and that's putting all my Red Sox bobbleheads on display.

Personally, bobbleheads are some of the funniest pieces of memorabilia a collector can have. Whether you attend a game with a bobblehead giveaway or you find one at a card show, shop, or yard sale, I don't think there's any piece of memorabilia out there that's more fun to have in your collection than a bobblehead, and if you have a group of them, that part's even better.

The bobblehead at the top of this post is of Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez and is from a giveaway at Fenway Park back in June of 2017 when the Twins came to visit. While I have a few more that I'm about to show, Manny's bobblehead is definitely one of my favorites of the group.

Contrary to the Manny Ramirez bobblehead, the one of Pedro Martinez, another legend from the 2004 curse-breaking team, was not a promotion at a Red Sox game but rather a card show pickup. In fact, I picked up the exact same bobblehead of Ken Griffey Jr. a couple years later. I can't say I know what company made these, but I'm a huge fan of the detailed ticket stub design that Martinez is standing on.

A closer look at the ticket shows that it's from a game 5, likely the 5th game of the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees. With the seat information at the top and the details throughout the entire ticket, it truly does resemble an actual ticket from an MLB game pretty well.

While I can't say I'm certain which bobblehead is my favorite, I can confidently declare which one is my least favorite, and that one is of former Red Sox fan-favorite Nomar Garciaparra. Not only was he not very well-liked at the end of his time in Boston, whoever made this bobblehead could very well have been trying to scare people by making his skin appear almost green.

I mean, I get that it's from the early 2000's and all where the technology wasn't as great as it is today, but you'd think that whoever manufactured this bobblehead would try to make it look a bit more like Nomar and a bit less like a Halloween decoration.

I suppose I should save the best for last, but Mookie Betts' bobblehead from a June 2016 giveaway was next in my line of Red Sox bobbleheads to have their pictures taken, so it's next in the order in which I'm posting them. 

Without a doubt, Mookie's bobblehead is the coolest given the fact that instead of your usual standing pose, Betts is shown to be making a diving catch over the rightfield wall, all while wearing the alternate home uniforms.

The actual Mookie Betts figure is also able to separate from the wall, though it cannot stand on its own without leaning against something or resting on the table. Therefore, it's best to keep Mookie connected to the short green wall where he belongs.

Next up, the 2nd Manny Ramirez bobblehead is making its appearance with this one being from an Upper Deck set, though I'm not certain what it's necessarily called. All I know is I also have one of these of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, and I'm also really pleased to see another example of the representation of the red alternate jerseys which are far more interesting to look at, especially on bobbleheads, rather than standard white home uniforms.

The next bobblehead features another member of Boston's 2018 World Series-winning team, All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts whose bobblehead is another promotional item from an August 2016 matchup against the Rays. 

As you can see given 3 of the souveniers thus far, when buying Red Sox tickets, I tend to gravitate towards games with bobblehead giveaways. If I'm going to pay Fenway Park prices, I'm definitely going to look for something in addition to a 9 or more inning game.

Okay, so this is a Paw Sox bobblehead and not a Red Sox one, so I suppose I'm slightly bending the rules. However, this was produced and given out for a Pawtucket Red Sox game many years ago in which Jacoby Ellsbury was on a rehab assignment from his injuries. A player with plenty of MLB experience, including many years with Boston, Ellsbury's Paw Sox bobblehead is definitely the most unique of the group for all the reasons above and more.

Although Ellsbury's bobblehead is incredibly unique, Chris Sale's, from an April 2018 game, is downright special. This "K counter" bobblehead is meant to serve as a tracker for all of Sale's strikeouts from 2018 given how many he had in 2017, his first season in Boston. You simply move the dials up or down to indicate an increase in K's.

Even with his limited innings pitched due to shoulder injuries, Sale still fanned 237 batters in 2018 which is where the dial will rest until I presume, Opening Day 2019 where Chris Sale is all but expected to start. Then, I'll reset the numbers back to all 0's, and we'll watch as another baseball season gets underway.

Until then, I have bobbleheads to keep me company and before I know it, the 2019 season will be starting up.

2 days down, only 149 days left to go.