AL East

A lot of questions surrounding the New York Yankees pitching rotation entering spring training are being answered half-way in.

The biggest question mark had to do with starting pitching.

Many experts felt as though after C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and AJ Burnett, the Yankees really had no one one on their roster to fill the final two spots of the rotation.

With Opening Day just around the corner, baseball fanboys are abuzz about what their teams are going to look like headed into the season. 

While Boston’s lineup is pretty much cemented, pending any injuries, the only question remaining is how the offense is physically going to stack up, one through nine.

From the leadoff spot to the bottom of the batting order basement, let’s take a look at how the powerful Red Sox will introduce themselves to pitchers come April 1st.

When it comes to his lineup, Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona has a lot of difficult decisions to make. He was handed some of the best puzzle pieces around and was told to “Tetris” them together to the best of his ability.

Francona better invest in those extra big pencil erasers that you used to buy in elementary school. You know, the ones that fit onto the end of the writing utensil over the small eraser that’s already attached to the pencil. I think Tito will be going through quite a few of those.

By George Campbell

Red Sox setup man Daniel Bard had his best outing of the spring Tuesday as the Sox beat the Astros 3-2.

Bard was in the unusual position of coming in the inning after closer Jonathan Papelbon. He pitched the sixth inning, getting out all three batters he faced, including two by strikeout.

Mike Cameron’s first season with the Red Sox was not what he had hoped for. An abdominal injury last season put the former All-Star on the DL, and eventually required surgery. The injury cut his playing time to just 48 games, the fewest games he had appeared in since 1997.

After appearing in four games this spring, he is hitting .455 and ready to play again.

One hundred and fifty million five hundred thousand dollars. That's an obscene amount of money. With that kind of cash, you could open thirty of your own Dunkin' Donuts franchises, buy the high school I attended, acquire all of the Honus Wagner rookie cards that may be left on Earth, and a Fenway Frank.

Or, if you're like the Red Sox, you craft a multi-year commitment to two pitchers that went a combined 20-17 with an ERA above five last year.

Click here to enter the 2011 Fantasy Baseball Team Name Contest

That's right, Red Sox fans, baseball is back. The team is currently in the early portion of their Spring Training schedule, and all signs look good for the 2011 season.

But what should we be focused on in 2011? Who or what will most contribute to the team's overall performance this season? As with every baseball season, there are questions still left unanswered, and that's where we (the Boston Red Sox featured columnists here on Bleacher Report) come in.

Is it really fantasy baseball season again?

I'm still exhausted from last year, when the struggles of Mark Teixeira had me acting like the overstressed black police captain in every 1980s buddy cop movie you ever saw, popping Tums by the handful and saying things like, "I'm getting too old for this shit."

One of the best little news fragments to emerge recently from Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., to me, was that Daisuke Matsuzaka is trying to alter his cut fastball and changeup to make them more effective in 2011.