The best closer in baseball can now be found in Boston, not New York.

Can I?

My only worry is that I am limiting myself to just ten…

10. The Second Coming of the Rocket Man
No, I am not saying that Roger Clemens is coming back to Boston, no matter how nice that might be. No, I am referring to Josh Beckett, who went from being a Texas-born pitcher that grew up idolizing Roger Clemens to pitching as well, if not better, than Clemens ever did in his prime. Not only did he win 20 games this year, the most in the league, with 194 strikeouts, tenth in the league, but also simply dominated in the postseason. There is no better pitcher in a pressure situation than Beckett right now, and if you doubt that just look at his mantelpiece, where he now has a set of postseason MVP awards.

9. Dice, Dice  Baby…
Last season, Beckett was good at times but not great as he made the difficult adjustment to pitching the American League in general and the city of Boston in particular. This year, Daisuke Matsuzaka is going through the same, only more so. Dice-K has had to adjust to pitching in the American League, in Boston, while not speaking the language, and being thirteen time zones behind his home country. Despite all those difficulties, he still finished with 15 wins and he was eighth in the majors with 201 strikeouts. Look at the potential Matsuzaka has, at the pitches he possesses, the difficulties he went through this year, and it is not a stretch at all to see him taking a huge step next year. If that is the case, Boston will have the best 1-2 combination in the rotation in the game.

8. An MVP before ROY?
Mike Lowell won the World Series MVP, but it could have easily gone to rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, who, oh by the way, has not even lost his rookie eligibility yet. All he did in the World Series was hit .438 with three RBI, four runs scored, and the stolen base that got everyone free tacos. He also played excellent defense and made Coco Crisp a bench player. Ellsbury will be the everyday center fielder for the Red Sox to open 2008, forcing Crisp to either the bench or a new market, and he will be looking to build on the .353, with three homers, eighteen RBI, twenty runs, and nine stolen bases that he produced in 33 games in his two cups of coffee in the bigs. The only way one could not consider him the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year would be if one were instead leaning towards…

7. The Next Ace
When Roger Clemens made his start for the Double-A Trenton Thunder on the way back to the bigs, the storyline turned from how he did to how he was outpitched by a youngster from the Red Sox organization. That pitcher’s name was Clay Buchholz. You might have heard of him – in his second major league appearance ever, he tossed a no-hitter. It is not a fluke either, as Buchholz was 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA in 16 Double-A appearances, with 116 strikeouts and 22 walks, and 1-3 with a 3.96 ERA, with 13 walks and 55 strikeouts, in 8 Triple-A outings. The Red Sox will put Buchholz near the back of the rotation, keeping pressure off him, and he will flourish.

6. Bigger, Better, Badder Drew
I have a friend that writes for Sports Grumblings who is a major J.D. Drew hater. His biggest problem is that he feels Drew plays the game in an emotionless state, that he simply does not appear to care. Well, unfortunately for Drew, the problem this year was not a lack of caring, but too much emotional baggage this year. Not only did Drew have to adjust to playing in his toughest market yet, one where he was certainly not welcomed and embraced by the fans, but he also had to deal with a sick child. Is there anyone reading this with children that can honestly say that their child’s health, or lack thereof, has not impacted their work performance? Drew’s son went on to have surgery at the beginning of August, one that lasted seven hours. Last I checked, seven hours of surgery is not a minor operation. After the surgery, Drew would hit .289 in August with a .366 on-base percentage and .342, with a .454 on-base percentage, in September, and he knocked in 24 runs and scored 28 of his own in those last two months. With his son’s surgery over, Drew performed when the pressure was most on, when the team needed him most. Drew also hit .360 in the ALCS, with a crucial grand slam, and hit .333 in the World Series. The post-surgery Drew was the Drew the Red Sox were looking for when they signed him, and that is the Drew they are going to get next year. If that does indeed happen, the rest of the league should be very, very scared of this lineup.

5. Manny Being Manny and Papi Being Papi
The scariest 3-4 combo in any lineup in the game, possibly in the history of the game, is back for one more season. Manny Ramirez enters his final year of his mega-contract, and he finally seems happy in Boston – winning twice seems to have that effect. Ramirez is closing in on his 500^th home run, and he is coming off his thirteenth consecutive season with at least 20 home runs. Sure, Ramirez breaks down a little more often than Sox fans would like, but this first vote Hall of Famer and two-time World Series champion in a city where they had not seen a World Series in generations has a little more left in him. As for David Ortiz, limping and swinging through injuries he still managed to hit .332 with a .445 OBP, 35 home runs, 117 RBI, and 116 runs scored in 149 games. With these two healthy, there is no better duo in the  game.

4. The Best Second Baseman In The American  League
Dustin Pedroia was horrible in April. Hitting just .182, Red Sox Nation was calling for his head, and for Terry Francona’s head for trotting him out there every day. Francona was right to do so, sticking with his player, and he turned around and hit .415 in May. It was not a fluke, as he would hit .333 in June, .299 in July, .346 in August, and .302 in September. After scoring just five times in April, Pedroia scored 12 times in May, 14 times in June, 11 times in July, 22 times in August, and 22 times in September. Pedroia also was not running in the first half of the year, with just one stolen base attempt before the break, but he would make seven such attempts after, succeeding six times. Pedroia also walked more times than he struck out and he finished the year with an OBP of .380 with three months of an OBP over .400. Pedroia is also an above-average defensive second baseman. Remember, he did all this as a rookie in an absurdly rough market on rookies. Pedroia is only going to get better with time, and he could be the best all-around second baseman in the league heading into the 2008 season.

3. The Favorite Closer of the Dropkick  Murphys
For those that do not know who that is, that would be Jonathan Papelbon, who has taken the title of best closer in the American League from Mariano Rivera and run with it. In two seasons as the Red Sox’ closer, all Papelbon has done is convert 72 of 81 save opportunities with an ERA of 1.35. In 126 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, Papelbon has struck out 159 and walked just 28. Any concerns about injury were minimized by how well the Sox managed Papelbon this year, and his second half numbers are as good, if not better, than his first half ones.

2. Youk
Kevin Youkilis has not committed an error in over a year at first base, and he is only getting better at the plate. Despite having 41 fewer at-bats this year than in 2006, Youkilis popped three more homers and knocked in eleven more RBI than he did in 2006. Youkilis is still an on-base machine, with a .390 OBP this year, his power is continuing to develop, and there is no one better with the glove at first in the game. Oh, and the fans really like the sound the beginning of his name makes.

1. History
It is a fact – the Red Sox historically always own the first two decades of a century. 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918 – the turn of the century means that it is the Red Sox’ turn to shine. Now, we have 2004 and 2007 on our side. History is on the side of the Red Sox. Of course, this means that Clay Buchholz will be an amazing pitcher only to be sold to the Yankees in 2019, move to left field, and hit about 900 home runs before he retires, but I will enjoy it while it lasts…