And so it begins. Boston's pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Fla., on Thursday, and the rest of the team won't be far behind.

The 2009 Red Sox are an intriguing lot, with some new faces joining the battle in the major leagues' toughest division. The biggest prizes of the offseason landed in New York and the defending American League champs reside in Tampa, but Boston fans feel their team can challenge for a championship once again.

The Red Sox hope a deep pitching staff will help overcome the stiffest competition they've faced in years in the AL East. Here's a look at how the team breaks down:

• Starting rotation: The Red Sox open camp with a very deep staff. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka give them a returning nucleus. Beckett (12-10, 4.03 ERA) is coming off a less-than-dominating season, but Lester and Matsuzaka are returning from their best seasons in the majors. The Sox will need to be cautious with Lester, who is coming off a 240-inning season (including the playoffs), and the transformation of Matsuzaka into an aggressive starting pitcher continues.

In addition, Tim Wakefield is back for his 15th season with the team.

To that mix, General Manager Theo Epstein has added Brad Penny and John Smoltz. Both are coming off of injury-plagued seasons, but both came to Boston relatively cheaply and could be terrific bargains.

• Bullpen: This could be Boston's biggest strength. Jonathan Papelbon is back with a hefty salary hike ($6.25 million compared to $800,000 last season) and is as good as any closer in the game.

Thanks to the deep rotation, Justin Masterson can return to the bullpen, where he was so good at the end of 2008. He will join Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima as late-inning options for Manager Terry Francona.

In addition, Takashi Saito is coming off three years with the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he had a composite 1.95 ERA. Ramon Ramirez (2.64 ERA with the Kansas City Royals) was acquired for Coco Crisp, and Javier Lopez is back as a lefty specialist after the best season of his career (3.10 ERA in 61 appearances).

• Infield: The right side of the infield will be a strength of the team for a long time to come. Dustin Pedroia is the reigning MVP and returns with a new six-year, $40.5 million deal. Kevin Youkilis also got a new deal (four years, $40 million) and is coming off a season in which he had 29 home runs and 115 RBI. Pedroia and Youkilis are young, locked up and the envy of most teams.

The left side has question marks. Just 16 months ago, Mike Lowell was named MVP of the World Series, but he now is 34 years old and coming off hip surgery. He may have felt unappreciated this winter as the Sox made a full-court press for Mark Teixeira.

At shortstop, Jed Lowrie became a fan favorite in August after Julio Lugo was injured, but no one is sure if Lowrie is the answer after he hit .213 in September and October. Plus, Lugo has $18 million remaining on his contract and will have to find some playing time.

• Outfield: For the first time since 2000, the media won't be sitting around the City of Palms waiting for the late arrival of Manny Ramirez. The Manny headache is gone, but so are the 36 homers he averaged in his seven full seasons in Boston.

Jason Bay begins his first full season with the Sox and was productive batting fifth or sixth in the lineup. J.D. Drew was Mr. June in 2008, hitting .337 with 12 HRs and 27 RBI, but he struggled after the All-Star break (.211, 2 HRs, 9 RBI). With Crisp gone, Jacoby Ellsbury is the man in center field but has yet to establish himself as a consistent major league hitter. At 25, he'll try to do that this year.

• Catchers: Jason Varitek is back after failing to find a suitor in the free-agency market. Fans will have little patience for him at the...