John Lackey?

Mike Cameron?

Marco Scutaro?

Adrian Beltre?

It's almost a dream for Boston Red Sox fans, and if Adrian Gonzalez was in the picture, we'd be on Cloud Nine.

Theo Epstein responded well after the New York Yankees won their 27th World Championship, and instead of nickel and diming  like last offseason, he signed big-gun Lackey and bolstered the defensive unit in Cameron, Beltre, and Scutaro.

The Red Sox want to be that team in 2010.

Even though they lost their power guy in Jason Bay, it may not be the end of the world. Someone will step up to the plate. There's always that one surprise guy that no one expects, but who will he be?

That's really the only troubling question mark going into the 2010 season. Will the Sox have enough power in their lineup? Will David Ortiz still have enough left in his tank? If not, could Mike Lowell be the answer in the designated hitter role?

Epstein could still try to trade off Lowell after his thumb surgery, but in reality, shouldn't Boston keep him just in case Ortiz doesn't turn it around? 

Here's a quick glance at what we might see on Opening Day, Easter Sunday, at Fenway Park against the Yankees.

1. Jacoby Ellsbury LF

2. Dustin Pedroia 2B

3. Victor Martinez C

4. Kevin Youkilis 1B

5. David Ortiz/Mike Lowell DH

6. J.D. Drew RF

7. Adrian Beltre 3B

8. Mike Cameron CF

9. Marco Scutaro SS

1. Josh Beckett/Jon Lester

2. Jon Lester/Beckett

3. John Lackey

4. Dice-K Matsuzaka

5. Clay Buchholz/Tim Wakefield

To be honest, I'm more excited about the pitching rotation. Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in any order, may very well be the strongest 1-2-3 combo in the league.

But is this team better than the Yankees?

Mark Teixeira 1B

Robinson Cano 2B

Derek Jeter SS

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Jorge Posada C

Brett Gardner LF

Curtis Granderson CF

Nick Swisher RF

Nick Johnson DH

1. CC Sabathia

2. AJ Burnett

3. Andy Pettitte

4. Javier Vazquez

5. Phil Hughes/Joba Chamberlain

Chamberlain may be moved back to the bullpen, which wouldn't be surprising especially with Vazquez coming back for his second stint.

It'll boil down to the bullpens and bench depth since anything can happen throughout the season.

If no other moves are made, this should be a very interesting season in the American League East. April can't get here soon enough.

Melky Cabrera got shipped away to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Javier Vazquez and he'll have his second stint in pinstripes.

With Curtis Granderson as one of the newest outfielders for the Yankees this doesn't seem surprising, but with Hideki Matsui off to California (even though he served as a designated hitter in 2009) and Johnny Damon more than likely on his way out, why trade away an outfielder?

Unless, there's another sure deal in the works.

That's where Jason Bay comes in. 

No matter what anyone says, Bay is not coming back to Boston. It's more than clear.

Bay could very well be the newest signing in New York after Christmas.

If that does happen, where does this leave Red Sox fans? 

Will he be another traitor just like Damon?

Will fans boo him so hard every time his name is announced or comes to the plate at Fenway they'll lose their voices?

Or how about making creative signs to show their true feelings?

Yes it would be devastating, I mean this guy came from the Pittsburgh Pirates and no one knew who he was until he replaced Manny Ramirez in 2008. Now all of a sudden everyone wants this guy, including the Yankees.

But it's true props to Theo Epstein for finding him first.

It always seems to happen this way. Maybe Bay will be smart and go to Seattle like everyone else.

Why in the world would you trade away a clutch defender who has 70 steals and is a leadoff hitter—something a Boston Red Sox team has never had?

There are other options, Theo. Even if it's parting with Clay Buchholz, which would also be a shame since the starting rotation on paper looks to be more deadly than even the reigning World Champions' (dare I say it) New York Yankees.

Tim Wakefield will be iffy in 2010, without question, so why ship away a reliable arm?

The signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron make it easier to trade both Buchholz and Ellsbury, however, who is going to play leftfield and who'll lead off?

Yes, I know, it'll be for Gonzalez, the 27-year-old who hit 40 home runs, drove in 99 runs, and walked 119 times, but you can't have enough pitching—unless Boston might be willing to risk it and sign Chien-Ming Wang, who left the Yankees on not-so-good terms.

Just in case you've forgotten, Wang was the Yankees' No. 1 starter and won 19 games in 2006 and 2007.

Marco Scutaro can't lead off and he certainly won't steal 70 bags. 

Move Ellsbury to leftfield if you have to because, whether you like it or not, Jason Bay is not coming back. It's quite a shame really, but what are you going to do?

The Sox would be deadly if they acquired Gonzalez, and the move makes sense, but throw in Max Ramirez instead of Ellsbury. But there are other options; this isn't Nomar Garciaparra.

This could very well be a possibility, but the question is, why? Why do the reigning World Series Champions need to add another ace to their already proven and capable starting rotation?

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman tweeted  that the Yankees plan on inquiring about Halladay.

New York won without former ace Chien-Ming Wang, who only pitched 12 games and compiled a 1-6 record and 9.64 earned run average. Pretty much everyone in New York forgot about this guy: the same guy who, in 2007, was a 19-game winner, posted a 3.70 ERA, and was 2/3 of an inning shy of 200.

How were they were able to pull it off? CC Sabathia ($161 million) and AJ Burnett ($82.5 million), a combined $243.5 million investment. Throw in veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain, who fully transitioned from the bullpen to a starter. 

If Halladay goes to the Yankees, their rotation will look more like an All-Star team than a regular club. 

MLB Trade Rumors reported that Halladay definitely "wants out of Toronto," and new Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos "won't rule out trading him within the division."

Who can blame Halladay for wanting out of a losing club? But it's just downright unfair for one team to pick up every ace that becomes available to them.

This obviously goes deeper into the business aspect of the game. Clubs like Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Washington won't have the opportunity to pick up anyone like that.

Tampa Bay placed Scott Kazmir on waivers because of his salary; he was picked up by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Yankees? More like "The Yankee All-Stars."

After missing out on the playoffs a year ago, the New York Yankees clinched the American League East in a 4-2 win over the Red Sox.

Boston is stuck on three games to clinch the AL Wild Card.

This is the first time the Yankees have won 100 games since 2004, when they finished at 101-61.

In 2003, they had the same record and 2002 New York was 103-58.

Let's recap what happened to the Yankees in the playoffs from 2002-2004.

2002: Eliminated in ALDS in four games to Anaheim Angels (World Series champions).

2003: Lost WS in six games to Arizona Diamondbacks.

2004: Lost in ALCS in seven games to Red Sox (WS champions).

Let them celebrate.  Boston has seven more games at friendly Fenway Park to get the job done.  It's not the end of the world, but of course the Sox didn't want to be the team to lose for it to be official.

With the loss, the season series ends up tied 9-9, after Boston jumped out to a dominating 8-0 run.

On Syracuse.com, the Post-Standard's official Web site, the featured story is about nine-year-old student Nathan Johns who was forced to turn his CC Sabathia Yankees T-shirt inside out by his fourth grade teacher, Peter Addabbo, who is a diehard Red Sox fan.

Johns thought he was kidding, but that wasn't the case at all. He was instructed to wear the shirt like that until dismissal.

During lunch he was picked on by the fifth graders because his shirt was inside out.

"It was such a horrible day," Johns said. "I don't ever want anything like that to happen again."

Who can blame him? I couldn't even imagine.

Way to go, Addabbo, for poorly representing Red Sox fans and for flat out not thinking.

The Boston Red Sox got off to a good start amidst its nine-game road trip with a sweep over the O's, but now it's onto the real test in the East—Tampa Bay and New York.

Boston visit Tropicana Field for a brief two-game series against the Rays, who are six games back and sitting in third place, and then return to the Bronx for a stinging four-game series with the first place Yankees.

New York helped out the Sox by dropping three of four to the Chicago White Sox as they gained ground in the division standings. The Yankees are 1-12 against Sox teams this season.

Tampa Bay has a 6-4 record against Boston this season and has won two out of the three series, including taking three games out of four from April 30-May 3 at the Trop.

New York has yet to win a game against the Red Sox this season (0-8), which speculates that streak will end soon.

In order for the road trip to be dubbed a success, the Red Sox must either:

A) Split with Tampa Bay and New York

B) Sweep Tampa Bay, split with New York

C) Sweep Tampa Bay, win or sweep New York 

D) Split with Tampa and win or sweep New York

They can't get swept by the Rays because that'll put the Sox at 8-4 against them. If the Sox sweep the series will be tied 8-8.

Boston need to remain confident and powerful over the Yankees and show them they are willing to recapture first place in the standings.

August is the home stretch month before rosters are extended to 40 in September. With the addition of Victor Martinez and Casey Kotchman, Boston's heart of the order is stronger than ever before and needs to prove itself worthy on the playing field, rather than just on a piece of paper.

Well, because the Boston Red Sox aren't playing today.

For the first time in a long time, Boston has lost five games straight.

The New York Yankees just stole first place rankings in the American League East, and now are two games up.

Boston's offense decided to take an extended vacation after Clay Buchholz's start in Toronto last Friday. As a team, the Red Sox are batting .192 and have scored nine runs in five games. 

Who knows? Anything is possible at this point.

Red Sox Nation, though we may be at the brink of trying every trick of the trade to get rid of the bad karma, remember this: Have you kept quiet towards Yankees Universe?

Now is the time to keep quiet and let Yankees fans ruin their karma. Don't start pointless arguments. Don't start shouting matches with friends, family, co-workers, or random people on the street. 

Let Yankee fans dig their own hole and look like the fools, because this Red Sox fan has kept her quiet and cool and hasn't said peep to rub it in any Yankee fan's face.

The Sox have friendly Fenway to look forward to on Friday, and the trading season has only begun.

Josh Beckett is 6-0 after a loss, and is shooting for lucky number seven.

Boston has suffered an offense implosion over the past three games, all losses. The three runs they scored in Monday's 6-3 setback were the team's highest offensive output of that stretch.

Scoring three runs at best is not exactly going to win games and the bats need to wake up now before it's too late.

There are several guys in slumps who include Jason Bay who is 2-for-15 since the All-Star Break, Jason Varitek (2-for-19), and J.D. Drew has managed one hit in his last 26 at-bats. Dustin Pedroia is the only player in the lineup hitting above .300 (.302).

The New York Yankees are hot, winning its last four games, and are 7-3 in its last 10, while the Red Sox are 6-4. One game can make all of the difference. New York has won its last three with the score of 2-1, a first since 1991.

The Yankees are hosting Baltimore in the Bronx followed by Oakland for a long four-game series.

Is it safe to say that everyone should feel sorry for them?

Buried in the midst of the National League East, the Nationals sit in last place not only in their division, but the entire league with a 20-48 record.

Skimming up and down the 25-ma roster, there are a lot of familiar faces, if you're a Boston Red Sox or a New York Yankees fan.

For starters for Red Sox Nation, there's relief pitcher Julian Tavarez. He was valuable in 2007, thrown in as a fifth starter (7-11, 5.15 ERA), but he was no Brad Penny. He spent two and a quarter seasons in Boston compiling a 12-16 record in 29 starts.

Next on the list is familiar friend, catcher Josh Bard. In 2006, Bard failed miserably trying to catch knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and was shipped back out to San Diego so the Sox could re-acquire Doug Mirabelli. No one will ever forget that state police escort from the airport to make it to Fenway on time for Wakefield's start.

One not so familiar face is Willie Harris who also served a short stint in Beantown in 2006. Harris was a utility outfielder and played in 47 games, but only got 45 at bats. He hit a measly .156, struck out 11 times, had seven hits (two for extra bases), and knocked in a run. There's no doubt fans miss him.

For Yankees fans, remember first baseman Nick Johnson? Of course you do, but maybe not anymore because of that new $22.5 million man by the name of Mark Teixeira. Johnson was suppose to be the next big thing, but it never turned out that way.

He spent three seasons in the Bronx from 2001-2003 and got dished out to the Montreal Expos, part of a three-player deal for pitcher Javier Vazquez. Then the Expos moved down to DC in 2005 and he's been with the club ever since.

And last, but not least there's relief pitcher Ron Villone. Red Sox fans love this guy only because the Sox have always rocked him and he is winless against them (0-3).

Villone has played on 12 different teams in his 15 year career and he spent two of them with the Yankees from 2006-2007. And Villone never really had the right stuff to be a Yankee as he went 3-3 with a 5.04 ERA in '06 and 0-0 with a 4.25 ERA in '07.

So there it is. Those poor Washington Nationals.