Ladies And Gentlemen, Boys And Girls, Welcome To Baseball 2011. LET'S PLAY BALL!

So here we are. It's Friday April First, 2011, the day it all begins once again. What begins again? Baseball, that's what, and it looks like the Boston Red Sox have all the weapons to make a serious run at the world championship. That's a ways off but it should be a fun ride getting there. So strap yourselves in and get ready for all the joy and sadness one could imagine. That's baseball for you. Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein summed up spring training about as well as it can be summed up. Now it's time for the players to prove it on the field. Here's Theo...

“I think it was a good spring training as far as health. This is the position player core that we expected to break camp with. It’s a talented group. Ask us in six or seven months how happy we are. Right now, this is a group we believe in. We like the way they fit together and obviously there’s a lot of options and talent. This is the group we’re prepared to compete with in the toughest division in baseball.’’

Now it's time to hear from the manager of the Boston Red Sox, Terry "Tito" Francona...

“I don’t think we have just nine good players, I think we’ve got 25 guys and we’re going to use them. I asked guys to be patient, and make sure they understand what comes first are our team goals because we are going to use everybody. If you’re in a uniform and you’re not excited, you’ve got to get a different job. Along with it, there always comes a little bit of anxiety. You think you’re ready, you know you’re ready, but let’s go show you’re ready. I don’t care how many times you go through it, it’s an unbelievable feeling.’’

It's an unbelievable feeling to be less than 11 hours from the start of a brand new baseball season but that's exactly where we are. It will be Boston at Texas. Here are the pitching match ups for all three games...

Fri. 1 at 4:05 PM ET*** ESPN/FxSW ***Lester (0-0) vs. Wilson (0-0)
Sat. 2 at 8:05 PM ET*** NESN/FxSW*** Lackey (0-0) vs. Lewis (0-0)
Sun. 3 at Tex 2:05 PM ET*** NESN/FxSW*** Buchholz (0-0) vs. Harrison (0-0)

Enjoy this weekend trio of joy and make the rest of your weekend one to remember. I'll be watching ESPN starting at 4pm, hoping for Jon Lester and the boys with the bats to make a statement with plenty of crooked numbers on that Texas scoreboard. Enjoy the game if you have the chance. I'll be back in the morning, if not sooner, with a full wrap of what hopefully will be Lester's shining start. Please click on this post's title for more on the Red Sox season opener and as always, BE WELL. Oh, don't forget the FINAL FOUR. The men's and women's tournaments begin this weekend. Two games...winner take all times two.

Thanks for stopping in and I'll be back.