Less than one month...

I can't wait for opening day and to start watching baseball again. There is too long of a break between football season and baseball season to keep me occupied. Basketball doesn't count unless maybe the Celtics grab Greg Oden and fire Doc in the offseason. Then maybe I'll give them a chance. Until that happens, I'm sticking to the Pats and the Sox.

There are multiple things about this year's Sox team that I am excited to watch. Will Lugo produce as expected, who will win the closer job, how long till Boston turns on Drew, but what I'm most excited about is the new rotation.

We've got the old guys (Schilling & Wakefield) who will anchor the staff and serve as mentors and guidance counselors. I expect that Wakefield may get a raw deal and end up in the bullpen later in the season. As much as I like Wakefield, I actually think he would be more valuable to the Sox in a relief position since he could pitch almost every day and knuckleballs have got to be impossible to hit when you've been seeing fastballs and sliders all night.

We've got the young guys (Papelbon & Lester) who are so good they are scary. I can't believe Lester is already pitching again and could be back in the rotation this year. I can't wait to draft him in the late rounds of my keeper league. I'm also excited to see Pap's getting a chance to start.

We've got the new guy ("Dice" Matsuzaka) who throws like 50 different pitches and will be fooling hitters all year. Nobody really knows what to expect out of him, but I wouldn't rule out 200 K's and 20 wins.

And we've got Beckett. I've always liked Beckett and every year he seems like he could end up being a top tier pitcher, yet every year he falls short. The Sox staff is so good this year, he'll have to work hard to keep up with everyone. I see him pushing extra hard just to keep up.

So there you have it. 6 Legitimate starters who are all healthy. Plus Donnelly in the pen. Definitely an upgrade from last year's pitching situation. I can't wait to see how it all works out.