Repeat champions are rare in baseball, especially in this day and age with free agency and frequent player movement. Teams that can keep their core players around for multiple years are the teams that usually have the most success.

The last repeat World Series champions were the New York Yankees who won three straight from 1998-2000. Before that the Toronto Blue Jays achieved that distinction in 1992 and 1993. This year 2008, the Boston Red Sox have what it takes to win it again.

The Red Sox are the most complete team in baseball. They have starting pitching, a strong, solid bullpen, a talented lineup with speed, power, youth and experience. Their core players have been with the team for years, and they know how to get it done. Their manager Terry Francona is one of the best in the game, and a former manager of the year, and their wonder boy GM Theo Epstein is one of MLB's top executives.

Here is a break down explaining why Boston has an excellent chance to repeat.

It's All About Pitching

If you ask any knowledgeable baseball person if a team has a chance to win, the first thing they will look at is the starting rotation. The Red Sox rotation is superb. Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield make a formidable five.

Beckett was 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA last year, and in the playoffs posted a 1.20 ERA (4 ER/30.0 IP) in his four starts. He is a perennial Cy Young candidate, a former World Series MVP, and is one the most reliable aces in the game. As a number one starter, it doesn't get much better than Beckett.

Matsuzaka was 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA last season. Coming from Japan as its best pitcher, he had to face an adjustment period in the U.S. Now that he is more or less settled in, he is currently 5-0 with a 2.43 ERA this season. He is demonstrating he is also an all star caliber pitcher. This basically gives the Red Sox two aces at the top of their rotation.

Lester and Buchholz are two talented young arms. Lester was 4-0 last year, while Buchholz threw a no-hitter in his second major league start! Tim Wakefield the ol' knuckleballer, can still get outs and eat up innings as a fifth starter. Curt Schilling is still on the comeback trail and if he returns and is capable of being the pitcher who has 216 career wins, Boston will have the best rotation hands down.

The bullpen is strong too, Julian Tavarez, Mike Timlin, Manny DelCarmen and David Aardsma provide solid middle to late relief. But what makes Boston's bullpen a strong point is the dynamic eighth-ninth inning combo that rivals the Yankees Joba Chamberlain-Mariano Rivera as the best in the league.

Hideki Okajima, as the setup man, posted a 2.28 ERA last year and currently has a 0.64 ERA. Jonathan Papelbon, the second coming of River it seems, has a 1.35 ERA and 72 saves in the last two years. If Boston is leading after seven innings, the game is pretty much over. In the playoffs, pitching has even greater importance, and the Red Sox staff and bullpen are as good as it gets.

The Lineup

Few lineups in Major League Baseball are as deep as the Red Sox. They have two "table setters" at the top of the order with the young Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia.

After that you have arguably the best 3-4 combo in the history of baseball in David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez following them. These are two fearsome power hitters who are as clutch as it gets, and they pose tremendous problems for any pitcher they are facing on the mound.

Mike Lowell, who is recently returning from injury, batted .324 with 21 homeruns and 120 RBIs last year, and Kevin Youkilis is a feisty, hard nosed hitter who is a tough out, and is a .280-.300 hitter who can get on base. J.D. Drew, although a career underachiever, is still a capable hitter with raw skills, while Jason Varitek the teams' leader and captain is a guru behind the plate and is a reliable hitter in clutch situations. Julio Lugo fills out the lineup as the number nine hitter. He is a veteran who has speed and is solid as the last guy in the lineup.

Boston also has players like Coco Crisp and Sean Casey coming off the bench have been major contributors on teams in the past. This lineup is proven and is clearly one of the most potent in baseball.

Intangibles

The curse of the Bambino is gone, and the Red Sox Nation is alive and well. The team has great chemistry and the core veterans – Varitek, Ortiz, and Ramirez – have been together for several years now.

The rivalry with the Yankees is also alive and well, and the last few years the Red Sox have gotten the better of that match up winning two World Series in the last four years to the Yankees zero. So far, early in 2008, the Sox are on top of the AL East even with Ortiz getting off to a horrendous start.

There is no reason to believe the Red Sox will not make the playoffs, barring severe injuries. Once the playoffs start, then it's every man for himself and anything can happen. The teams that succeed in the playoffs are those who have strong pitching, timely hitting, and sound defense. The Sox have all three of these, which makes them the favorites to win the World Series in 2008.

Can the Red Sox retain their title? Yes they can!