The Boston Red Sox started off their season by doing something they have never done before: giving their general manager and owners a standing ovation. Before their first full-squad workout, the Red Sox welcomed general manager Theo Esptein and owners John Henry, Larry Lucchino, and Tom Werner to their team meeting with a gesture to show their appreciation for all of the work they did over the off season.  

This winter, the Red Sox acquired two big names in the baseball world, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez.    

Although Gonzalez underwent surgery on his right shoulder just four months ago, he is already back on track for the 2011 season. Monday he began swinging the bat and said there wasn’t any discomfort. The Red Sox have him on a training plan that will hopefully get him ready to start Opening Day, which is a little over a month away, on April 1.

You may recognize Carl Crawford’s name from all those games against the Tampa Bay Rays, where he has always been extremely successful against the Red Sox. In fact, during the 2009 season, he stole six bases in one game. The leader in stolen bases for the Sox stole ten bases in total last season. If that doesn’t give you a good sense of the speed Crawford will be bringing to the Sox then I don’t know what will.  

Speaking of speed, Jacoby Ellsbury is reported to be feeling very healthy so far at spring training, which is nothing but good news after missing the majority of the 2010 season with rib fractures.    

Crawford and Ellsbury could possibly be the two fastest runners in the American League, giving the Red Sox a nice feeling of comfort when thinking about their outfield. The Sox’s third outfielder, J.D. Drew, has said that his nagging hamstring injury has been feeling much better lately.    

Of course Ellsbury’s and Drew’s injuries were not the only ones the Red Sox had to deal with last year.   

Shortstop Marco Scutaro has been saying he feels back to his normal health, after dealing with various injuries all last season, including an elbow injury, pinched nerve in his neck, and a rotator cuff problem. He still managed to bat an impressive .275 in 152 games, despite all of these injuries. I think it’s safe to say everyone is looking forward to what he can do with a healthy body this season.  

So, with a week of spring training under their belts, the Boston Red Sox are nothing but optimistic. But, as any member of Red Sox Nation has learned in previous seasons, you never know what could happen. So I guess we will have to wait and see.