For baseball fans, it’s never too early to start some hot-stove discussions. When looking at the other three major New England teams, it’s apparent that things have been pretty much status quo the past week; the Patriots fell back to 5-5, the Bruins continue to startle the NHL with their amazing (11-2-3) start, and the Celtics won two and lost two to fall back to a 6-4 record. All three teams will face favorable schedules in the coming weeks, and should emerge from those tests with a healthy outlook for the rest of the season.

Can the same be said for those vacationing multimillionaires known as the Boston Red Sox? Let’s take a look at what’s happened to the roster since we last saw the 93-69 Sox leave the hallowed Fenway turf in late September. Pitchers and catchers today, infielders and outfielders this weekend.

Starting pitching — Aside from its suffering some hurt feelings that no Boston pitcher took home the Cy Young hardware, the Sox’ starting rotation seems to be intact for next season. Pedro Martinez will most likely harbor a grudge all season long after losing the Cy to Oakland lefty Barry Zito, but if that translates to a matter of settling the score, and Petey’s off-season regimen displays the same result that it did this past season, the Sox ace should be able to build upon his 20-4 2002 season. And in spite of missing out on the $750,000 bonus he would have received had he received more votes than Zito (he instead got a $500K pittance for finishing second), the $15 million he’ll receive in compensation this upcoming season should soothe his frayed nerves. Derek Lowe’s obviously happy about his 21-win season, and the Sox’ll have a real bargain on their hands as the All-Star Game starter will make only $3.5 million this upcoming season. Lowe will always lament his numbers down the stretch this past season that might have cost him the Cy, along with the two wins he would have had if not for the late-inning incompetence of the bullpen (in one case, a 4-0 ninth-inning lead was blown — to the Devil Rays!). John Burkett is also under contract next year, as the second season of his two-year deal will bring him another $5.5 million. With any luck, the upcoming season will also include fewer idiotic statements, and more concentration on winning, since his 7-0 start fizzled into a 13-8 overall log. Burkett will turn 38 on Thanksgiving Day, and it’s unlikely he’ll be on the roster after this year unless he can improve upon his 4.53 2002 ERA and halt Father Time’s journey. On a brighter note, Tim Wakefield got a vote of nice confidence from the team as a wedding gift, as the knuckleballer was given a three-year, $13 million extension. That pretty much guarantees that the veteran jack-of-all-trades will be able to secure a spot in the starting rotation, which is his due after his sparkling 11-5, 2.81 ERA season that saw him finish fourth in the league in ERA (Martinez and Lowe were one and two). The fifth spot in the rotation is probably Casey Fossum’s to lose, as the lanky lefty did an admirable job as a starter in the final six weeks, winning five games and compiling a 3.46 ERA. A bargain at $215,000 last year, Fossum is not eligible for arbitration, but should nonetheless make a hefty upgrade from last year’s paycheck, since he is definitely in the team’s plans and is also highly coveted whenever other teams ring up the Sox looking to make deals.

Bullpen — Frank Castillo, who was in the starting five at the beginning of last year but eventually was relegated to set-up and mop-up duty on the way to a 6-15 record, saw his contract expire, although he could be re-signed at a bargain-basement rate, as could Dustin Hermanson, who was injured most of the year but still took home a tasty $5.5 million last season.

Last season saw the perpetual scale-busting Rich Garces get sent packing, as the rotund reliever pouted and flew home instead of accepting a minor-league assignment in Pawtucket. Lord knows what his future career holds, but unless his attitude and poundage change, we may have seen the last of El Guapo in the majors. Though there may be some who miss the Handsome One, few will be sorry to see the end of the Rolando Arrojo era in Boston, as the Cuban middle reliever never got on track last season, nor any other year during his tenure with Boston. The club will rejoice in saving the nearly $2 million he "earned" this past year, and can also close the book on the pox-on-both-their-houses trade that brought him and Mike Lansing here in 2000 (not that the Sox were sorry to see Jeff Frye, Brian Rose, and John Wasdin go to Colorado in that deal). In the meantime, two dazzling deals consummated by interim GM Mike Port last summer should continue to bear fruit, as Bobby Howry, the effective set-up man acquired from the White Sox in July, is due to make $2 million next season, while potential free agent Alan Embree, dealt from San Diego at the trading deadline, just inked a two-year, $5.5 million extension with Boston. Embree will most likely take the closer role that has opened up with the perceived departure of Ugueth Urbina, the loathsome savemeister who closed out 39 Sox wins but also went 1-6 and refused to talk to the English-speaking media all season long. The $6.7 million that Boston paid him last season will be well-spent elsewhere, and the right-handed fireballer will seek but unlikely find greener pastures in his free-agent ventures.

Other middle-of-the-road hurlers that made appearances for Boston this past year are most likely history. Willie Banks, Chris Haney, and Wayne Gomes won’t be particularly missed, and while the minor-league system is for the most part barren, right-hander Josh Hancock showed some promise in a couple of late-season starts to offer him some hope for a spot on the 24-man roster next season. Filling out the balance of the pitching staff will most likely be high on the Sox’ agenda as they proceed into free-agent and horse-trading negotiations this off-season. While the names of free-agent relievers Tom Gordon and Roberto Hernandez are being bandied about in Sox HQ, it is questionable whether Boston would spend the kind of money needed to bring in those marquee players while sacrificing as compensation the valuable draft picks that would help them re-build their ailing farm system.

Catchers — Behind the plate, the Sox are again set with switch-hitting backstop Jason Varitek, who came back strong from the elbow injury that wiped out most of his 2001 season. ’Tek, who batted .266 and caught 132 games, was a guiding force for the Red Sox, who had four pitchers with 11 or more wins, had three of the league’s top-four individual ERA leaders, and boasted the AL’s third-best team ERA. After making a reasonable $3.5 million last year, Varitek will make $4.7 mil this season, and jump another $2 million for the 2004 campaign. While veteran Doug Mirabelli ably backed up Varitek, the Sox most likely watched enviously as Scott Hatteberg, whom Boston opted not to sign last off-season, had a breakout year for the playoff-bound A’s, as the lefty catcher hit .280 in the regular season and .500 in the post-season, all on a $1 million salary. Mirabelli, while adequate, is up for arbitration after a season that saw him hit a paltry .225 while collecting $650,000.

Recap — Boston fans will see a lot of familiar faces taking the hill prior to "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Fenway next year, and they should feel good about that. Starting pitching, though, was not the problem last year; it was the inability of the middle relievers to bridge the gap between the starters and the closers, and therein lies the single-biggest concern for Red Sox Nation next season. If the Boston brass ever gets a general manager in place, this void — with the exception of Howry at this point — will need to be the focus. In any case, whoever ventures out of the bullpen will be in good hands with Varitek, but if he were to get hurt again, the Sox’ lack of depth in this area will be exposed.

In all, Boston could probably use another premier starting pitcher, but what team can’t? The Sox’ starters one through five are second only to Oakland’s as the envy of the league (yes, even up against the pinstripers’), and barring injury, they should carry the team to a lot of W’s next season. An improved bullpen could boost the current Sox roster to 100 victories in 2003, which should be good enough for a post-season berth.

Who will generate the runs necessary to catapult the Red Sox’ pitching staff to victory after victory after victory en route to the end of the 85-year title drought?

Tune in Friday. Same bat time; same bat channel.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com