BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are eager to return to Fenway Park and show that their worst performance in almost 50 years is behind them.
After finishing last in the AL East, the revamped ballclub opens the home schedule on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles. Clay Buchholz is scheduled to face Wei-Yi Chen.
The Red Sox followed an unprecedented collapse in September 2011 with a 69-win season. Manager Bobby Valentine is out after one season, and several of the high-paid and underperforming players from last year are gone in the trade that sent Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Third baseman Will Middlebrooks says these players wants to prove to the fans that they’re there to win.
