The Red Sox head in to 2009 with easily the best pitching staff in baseball.

Their ace Josh Beckett is looking to improve his 2008 stats and return to his Cy Young deserving form of 2007. Daisuke Matsuzaka has had two years in the Majors and should now be able to make a full adjustment, especially considering the Red Sox could convert to a 6-man rotation when Smoltz is ready to pitch. Jon Lester is arguably the southpaw in baseball and he can only get better. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is back, and as long as he gets a little more run support than he did last year, he should statistically be the best pitcher on the Sox this year. Brad Penny, John Smoltz, and Clay Bucholz should all have a positive impact from the tail end of the rotation.

In the ‘pen the Sox got the pieces they needed to be able to hold leads and close out games. Wes Littleton, Ramon Ramirez, and Takashi Saito are the newcomers, joining Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and Justin Masterson. In the back of the ‘pen is currently the best and most dominating closer in the league, as Jonathan Papelbon returns for his 4th big league season.

In the minors the Sox have top pitching prospect Michael Bowdin, as well as knuckleballer Charlie Zink. Both appeared in Boston for short stints and putting together some impressive performances. They should be a good part-time fill-in this year.

The Sox picked up a win in their first game of the spring, playing the Boston College Eagles. The Sox were held scoreless through four innings and were down 1-0 heading into the bottom of the 5th. Then they struck for six runs to take the lead, added one more in the 6th off of a Yamico Navarro solo home run, and held off BC in the final frame to secure the 7 inning game.

On Deck:

The Red Sox travel across town to play the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in the first game of the Mayor’s Cup. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. The game can be seen on NESN and MLB.TV.

Tomorrow marks the first day of Spring Baseball as both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues have a handful of games scheduled for the afternoon. The Red Sox begin their spring with a split squad, first playing the Boston College Eagles at 1:05 at City of Palms Park, then they head across town to play the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium at 7:05.

The Sox have their early spring rotation set, as Josh Beckett gets the ball against BC, Tim Wakefield has his go against the Twins, Jon Lester throws to the Pirates on Thursday,  Michael Bowdin climbs the mound on Friday to face the

Josh Beckett looks to improve on a 12-10 record from a year ago.

Tampa Bay Rays, lefty Kris Johnson will throw against Northeastern University with a split squad on Saturday, then Clay Bucholz is on the bump for the nightcap against the Reds. 

Brad Penny is expected to pitch March 5th, but that isn’t yet set in stone.

Of semi-related news, the World Baseball Classic begins play on Thursday, March 5 at 4:30AM EST.

Julio Lugo got $36 Million for 4 years before the 2007 season. He knows it's time to give something back.

Julio Lugo, probably the worst signing in the American League in the past few seasons. Signed in the 2006 offseason to the tone of $36 Million for four years, Lugo hasn’t given much back to the team that won him his first ring. He hit just .237 in 2007, although he did have a good second half that year, hitting .280. In 2008 Lugo was looking to bouce back, and did get off to a decent start, but he suffered an injury midway through the season and only got 82 games in.

This opened the door for rookie Jed Lowrie, who more than erased the memory of Lugo constantly hitting into rally-killing double plays. Now Lugo and Lowrie will compete for the starting job, though many fans are calling it pointless and they already view Lowrie as the everyday starter.

However, Terry Francona is hinting that Lugo is the front runner, and I can’t blame him. While Lugo has struggled, he is still a proven veteran compared to the 2nd year Lowrie. Plus, the Red Sox never addressed the loss of utilityman Alex Cora, and are now left without a backup at 2nd Base. Lowrie can fill that position fine, but can you really see Lugo at 2nd Base? He struggled as LA’s utility man three years ago after being dealt by the Devil Rays at the trade deadline.

Anyway, Lugo believes this is the year he finally shows his worth. “I’m ready to do it now,” Lugo said. “I’m ready to get back to the level I was at. I’m hungry every day. That’s why I get paid so much money — to do well. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Well any way you look at it, Boston is stuck with him for another two years, so he may as well give us something to cheer about during this time.