Thoughts on Spring Training Thus Far

So I'm back from my Caribbean cruise, which was certainly not without some legendary stories (let's just say it was almost a very short trip for me). But all's well and good, so I am picking up the blog as promised. Here are my preliminary thoughts on the Sox and their 7-8 Cactus League record:

- Alexei Ramirez just may be everything I'd hoped he'd be...and more. A 4-5 debut and a .360 average overall? So long Juan Uribe.
- Linebrink's contract is wayyyyyy too long.
- We can't keep leaning on MacDougal's 'stuff' as a crutch--he needs to be on a very short leash come opening day.
- This will for sure jinx it, but Jose appears to be his old self in terms of velocity, control, and pitch effectiveness. I also am impressed (perhaps shocked is more appropriate) by how much he improved in his last outing after Coop told him to speed up on the mound.
- I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Dewon Day is not a major league-caliber pitcher.
- The John Danks cutter does exist! And he's getting closer to erasing a question mark from the rotation with every start.
- Then again, Gavin Floyd is not exactly helping his own cause, getting hit very, very hard. I've said it since last year, he simply cannot get the job done on a day-to-day basis.
- Dotel's still got it (with the exception of one rough outing). Here's to keeping him off the DL.
- I'm sure Javy's just working out some early-season kinks, but I'd be all for him figuring it out sooner rather than later...
- Why, Joe Crede, why? (More on this in an upcoming post)
- Paulie's back.
- Jerry Owens could and should be the lead-off hitter and CF on opening day (more on this later, too).
- Swisher could be much better than advertised if he stays healthy to play 81 games at the Cell.
- I have this nagging feeling that JD is done.
- Fat Bobby has 0 K through 5 IP. Let's work on that...
- Jason Bourgeois is Pablo Ozuna v. 1.1.

All things considered, I am much more optimistic about this season than I was a month ago. We desperately need to figure out the 5th starter situation (not that there's much to figure out, since barring a 'Day After Tomorrow' situation, Ozzie and KW have said that Gavin will be in the rotation), and the bullpen could make some strides towards consistency (sound familiar), but most of the players are hitting the ball pretty well, and Danks and Contreras seem poised to handle the starter's roles much better than last year.

World Series? Probably not. But at the very least it doesn't look like a 72-90 squad, so at least we're headed in the right direction.