BOLD GAZE INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL

Ten out-of-the-box takes

Everyone’s an expert when the games start, but forecasting baseball becomes as difficult as pinning the snow-rain line on the next nor’easter. So much can happen: One injury can affect an entire lineup, an injury to a starter impacts the bullpen, and an off-year or bust-out year can change everything.

Anybody can project 40 home runs for J.D. Martinez or 300 strikeouts for Chris Sale, but let’s predict outside-the-box a bit, OK? Picking longshots is simply more fun than the short-odds stuff, so here are a few 2018 Red Sox predictions that may wind up having as much of a chance to see the light of day than the so-called “safe” picks.

1. Blistering start . . . before Yankees catch up

Besides a home-and-home series with the Yankees and one on the road against the Angels, the Red Sox are blessed with plenty of early action against 2018 lightweights — Rays, Royals, Marlins and Braves — or imbalanced and imperfect teams — Rangers, Orioles and Blue Jays. The Yankees have a tougher go of it at first, with two series against the Astros and one each against Cleveland, Washington and the Angels.

Piling up wins against some of these lighter weights won’t be a given, but I don’t expect the Red Sox to come out lethargic or feeling entitled to romp. There is a hunger to do much, much better this season and I doubt Alex Cora will allow a scintilla of complacency to creep into such a talented roster.

That said, the Yankees are going to eventually overtake the Red Sox at some point in the second half — yes, I’m aware the season ends with a three-game series against New York — and win the division. Both teams are playoff-bound, but the Yankees are better.

2. Benintendi busts out

I know, I know, it doesn’t take much guts to proclaim Andrew Benintendi is going to improve, but I’m talking about a huge leap in production. Like from 20 to 35-plus home runs, and from 90 RBI to 120 RBI. Along with his good defense, he’ll be in the AL MVP discussion.

That’s a bust-out season.

3. Abreu pursuit by the trade deadline

It’s trendy to declare that the offensive shortcomings from 2017 were addressed by Martinez, but I’m not retreating from an offseason stance that the Sox will still be one offensive player short. An additional pick-up of Eric Hosmer would have been the perfect solution to the looming issue of who’s on first next year.

I don’t think Hanley Ramirez is going to produce much of anything above replacement value, and there is the very real problem of the Red Sox being on the hook for $22 million should Ramirez gather 497 plate appearances this year. Unless he goes bonkers in the first half, which I’m not predicting, going out to acquire more help this season rather than wait out another uncertain offseason market behooves the Red Sox very much.

They have already tried to trade for the 30-year-old Jose Abreu, who is two seasons from free agency.

He’s making $13 million this season (and could make a few million more next year with a strong 2018), but whatever his price tag, assume the Red Sox want to be on the hook for that instead of $22 million for Ramirez.

What cost Abreu? The White Sox will ask for Jackie Bradley Jr., but that deal favors the White Sox. There’s a fit with the Red Sox; they will have to get creative to satisfy Chicago, but the motivation and the need are there.

4. Rafael Devers is going to struggle

There will be plenty of days and nights this season where Rafael Devers is going to channel Vladimir Guerrero and golf balls out to right and center field with the most deceptively powerful swing in the league. People will start making Chipper Jones or Mike Schmidt comparisons. That’s only natural. He’s blessed with freakishly good hitting instincts at 21.

But there will be growing pains for Devers, more than people think.

Defensively, he’s a project at third base that the Red Sox are working hard on, but making the routine plays is still not a given. There has long been talk that he will have to move to first base, though it’s too early for that. There’s room for improvement, also more than people think.

Offensively, it remains to be seen what kind of attack plan opposing pitchers take with Devers, the type of aggressive hitter Cora loves. There are enough good pitchers in the league who can exploit that tendency, and it’s going to be fascinating to see how Devers adapts. Many believe Devers is going to take off like a rocket and never look back. I think there will be more look-backs.

5. Price will have a better first half than Chris Sale

I’m not talking strikeout totals, but overall performance — innings, ERA, WHIP and other more telling stats. This doesn’t mean Sale isn’t going to be real good, but I believe there will be a slight downtick in results as he grapples with parceling out his energies differently. Sale’s on board with the slow start approach from this spring, but it will translate into more pedestrian numbers than last year, when he was on pace to win the AL Cy Young at the All-Star break.

David Price appears to be in a really good place, both physically and mentally. He’s looked sharp and it should come as no surprise that he prefers the lower-key approach to starting the season. He runs, usually, on the mellow side, which does not always make for perfect harmony in this high-strung market. But he looks healthy, he’s sharp and everybody knows he’s capable of greatness as a starter.

6. Red Sox overestimated how good their bullpen is

Of all the departments on a baseball team to take stock in, the bullpen represents the riskiest of bets. The Red Sox will learn this.

I’m reasonably sure the short spring training is not going to hurt Craig Kimbrel all that much, but I don’t feel that confident that the Red Sox are going to dodge a bout of regression, never mind injury, from more than one of Carson Smith, Joe Kelly, Heath Hembree and Matt Barnes. (Bobby Poyner and Marcus Walden are excused from this discussion.)

It wouldn’t shock me if the Red Sox go out and trade for a reliever midseason like they did with Addison Reed last year, but they may not have the luxury to wait until July.

7. Cora’s honeymoon will last the entire season

I’m not saying that Cora’s going to be flawless. He will goof up here and there, as surely as we all do, but early returns are a good indication that whatever problems do inevitably crop up, Cora will be a problem-solver versus a problemcreator.

The players have bought into not only his program but also him, responding well to a low-key, baseball-savvy style that has more than a few things in common with Terry Francona. That’s a compliment.

8. Chavis and Travis are going to be knocking soon

Assuming Michael Chavis can fully recover from his spring training oblique issue, the third baseman (eventual first baseman?) looks as if he figured out his power stroke last season, with 31 combined homers in Single and Double A.

Sam Travis, meanwhile, shined in spring training. He needs work on his defense at first base, but knowing that he will get consistent at-bats in Pawtucket is going to unlock his power and make the Red Sox think about adding him to the offensive mix this year.

Going for Abreu in a trade will always be an option, but a breakout first half from Chavis and/or Travis may offer a homegrown solution to corner infield challenges.

9. Knees of Pedroia and Nunez are a concern

Dustin Pedroia is a 34-year-old veteran who is coming back from major surgery on his left knee and has played at a higher gear than most for 11 seasons. His current replacement is an offensively gifted, but not totally mobile 30-year-old infielder who is relying on a right knee that he rehabbed rather than surgery.

We’re supposed to think that everything’s going to work out great and Cora will enjoy the luxury of having to find enough at-bats for Eduardo Nunez? Color me skeptical. Brock Holt is the one who’s going to need some rest. I think he’ll be playing more second base than we all think.

10. Another Doug Fister will be needed

It could happen, but I wouldn’t bet the farm that all three of the Eduardo Rodriguez-Drew Pomeranz-Steven Wright sick bay crew will make it back as smoothly and effectively as predicted. That’s going to create a need, because Hector Velazquez and Brian Johnson do not represent a long-term solution for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

The Red Sox picked Doug Fister off waivers in late June last year. Their eyes will be peeled from the get-go this year, because their pitching depth is not as deep as they would like.