Bring On 2013

It's Opening Day 2013, and everyone's optimistic today.

I like the changes the Red Sox made this winter, and beginning today in New York, we see which ones pan out and which ones don't. I can see the Sox winning as many as 88 games this year. Obviously, MANY things have to break right for that to happen: Jon Lester has to pitch like an ace again, John Lackey has to look like the pitcher the Sox were getting in 2010, David Ortiz has to bounce back healthy from the Achilles injury, Will Middlebrooks has to take the next step at third base, and Jackie Bradley Jr. has to show he's ready for the big time. And that's just the beginning.

The Red Sox are in a rather balanced AL East, and it is one where anyone can win it, or finish last. Most of the so-called "experts" have the Sox finishing fourth or fifth. So be it. The Sox have so much to prove after the abject disaster that was 2012. (And would someone please tell that guy who managed the Red Sox last year to shut up and go away?) Maybe the lack of respect they are getting nationally will motivate them this season. Or maybe not.

Anyway, it's Opening Day. A day of new births. A day for optimism.

Bring it on.