In my apparent quest to challenge everything the sports guys on Boston.com are saying, I’m going to take their “Red Sox Stat Projections for 2012″ and do my own version. If nothing else, its a good spot to predict stuff and then look back at the end of the season. Because I do love being wrong.
Adrian Gonzalez – 35 homers
Under - He’s not trying to hit home runs. It just happens sometimes. He can’t help it that the lasers that come off his bat don’t always have the proper trajectory. He’ll come close to 35 though.
David Ortiz – 30 homers
Under - You never can tell, but I see 30 as a stretch this season. At this stage in his career, that’s not an overly bad thing Ortiz is a streaky hitter, and if he gets into a funk early, he won’t come close.
Jacoby Ellsbury – 25 homers
Under - If Ellsbury hits more than 25 home runs this season, I’ll be surprised. Last season wasn’t a fluke, but the man is a speedy slap hitter who isn’t built to hit bombs.
Carl Crawford – .275 batting average
Over - I won’t say way over, but I do think he’s going to have a comeback season. He started to hit better towards the tail end of last season, and he came up big in a couple games throughout the year. Hopefully the fans will remember those moments instead of the other ones, and show some support, which will be the difference between an average season and a great season. But who am I kidding; we’re in Boston.
Jon Lester – 200 strikeouts
Over – He had 225 k’s in the two seasons previous to last year, both of which he pitched in more innings than last season. The Sox need Lester to be good this year, and he will anchor this staff.