Monday, March 27, 2006

Opening day is, miraculously, less one week away. (Check back here for real-time blogging of the game, Red Sox at Rangers, starting at 1 pm next Monday.)

In the mean time, to get you psyched up for the coming season, might I recommend the 2006 Red Sox Annual, published by Hingham’s Maple Street Press.

Written in conjunction with the smartass smart guys at Sons of Sam Horn, it’s an invaluable handbook for the new-look Olde Towne Team.

Sure, its Bronson Arroyo coverage already makes it a little out of date (and its Dustan Mohr and Tony Graffanino capsules probably mean it will soon be more so). But if you’ve ever wanted the straight dope on what the Red Sox really think about the sacrifice bunt, or what the precise correlation is between the club’s financial wherewithal and the team’s performance on the field, or whether or not Craig Hansen might consider developing a split-finger pitch, this is the book for you.

Among some other highlights:

* Chad Finn takes a detailed look at the strengths and weaknesses of the 2006 roster.

* Aaron Gleeman surveys the rest of the American League competition.

* Brandon Magee heads down on the farm for an up-close look at the Sox’ minor league system.

* Shaun Kelly composes a moving memorial to the great Tony Conigliaro.

* David Laurila conducts insightful interviews with draftees like Hansen and Jed Lowrie.

* Bruce Allen offers an overview of the sprawling Boston sports media landscape.

Elsewhere, retired intelligence analyst Jim Bennett does some numbers crunching, using sabermetric tool of composite rate analysis (CRA) to get at some hard facts about what to expect from Red Sox pitchers and hitters this season. SoSH board member Steve Mastroyin takes stock of the reign of our once and future GM, Theo Epstein. And Stephen Vetere and Jim Walsh offer an intriguing and informative look back on Red Sox elimination games over the last six years.

It’s Maple Street’s first publication, but won’t be their last. More volumes are due this summer. That’s a good thing. It costs $9.95. Order a copy here.