In just a few minutes, the Boston Red Sox will open up their 2012 season against the Detroit Tigers. Here are some news and notes around the team before they begin.

• Rob Bradford from WEEI.com says that Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington did not consider putting Daniel Bard in the bullpen this spring, and they view him currently as a starting pitcher.
• Tony Massoratti from the Boston Globe suggested that the Red Sox could have made Vincente Padilla the closer so that they could have kept Alfredo Aceves in his role from last season.
• Alex Speier from WEEI.com looks at 25 questions following the team going into this season, with some key questions and some not so key questions.
• Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes some more about the mysterious thumb injury of starting pitcher Josh Beckett, that still yet might need surgery at some point.