The Red Sox in 2010...Shades of 2003?

Saturday's Special - 2010 Red Sox...Shades of 2003?

With much discussion this off-season centered around the apparent lack of offense and power the Red Sox will have in the coming season, barring no further moves, I'm remembering a time not long ago, with the new ownership and general management regime just in place, when the Sox made several low-key off-season moves that I don't think caught too many people's attention.

It was 2003, and the Sox were quietly adding then unknowns such as Bill Mueller, Kevin

Millar, Todd Walker, and, oh, yes, David Ortiz, to go with the solid offensive core already in place. I'm not sure at the time anyone thought that was turning the Sox into a team to be feared; and, in fact, a general distress call sounded throughout Red Sox Nation, when early in the season they traded third-baseman Shea Hillenbrand, who looked to be blossoming into another star, as everyone wondered how the Sox would make do without his potent bat in the lineup. Instead, thanks in large part to those shrewd off-season transactions, the Sox propelled themselves to one of their finest offensive seasons (not to much coming within a whisker of the World Series) ever, as they rang up 961 runs, one of the most in club - and major league - history, when you think only seven teams all-time have scored at least 1,000 runs in a season (see earlier "Why 1027" entry).

While that output will be a big stretch for the 2010 team, this year's "quiet" pieces of Cameron, Scutaro, and Hermida may give sufficient oomph to the established, highly productive core of hitters now in place. That's not to suggest that, Hermida, say, who is around the same age as Ortiz was when he joined to Red Sox, will go on to reach similar heights, that would be unrealistic and unfair to expect, but he sure could produce in the manner that Walker, Millar or Mueller did in their opening seasons with the Red Sox. Cameron and Scutaro, it is certainly reasonable to anticipate comparably productive years at the plate from them.

Consider some of the things that those 2003 newcomers did in that year alone:

- Mueller won the batting title.

- Ortiz and Millar combined for 56 home runs and 196 RBI.

- Walker had a 20-game hit streak and hit several key HRs in the post-season.

What can also be reasonably counted on in 2010 is that the pitching and defense will be stronger than that of the 2003 team. So with what will be a productive offense and the lights-out possibilities on the other side, there is every reason for unbound optimism heading into the coming season.