FORT MYERS, Fla. — Dustin Pedroia pointed to his locker in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse at JetBlue Park, remarking how it was overstuffed with gear and clothing.

“But you know what that all adds up to, don’t you?” he asked, pausing for his usual dramatic effect.

“It adds up to a championship.”

The ever-confident Pedroia is always talking championship, and like others on the team, he expects one in 2015 – despite a last-place finish in 2014.

Outside the clubhouse, fans weren’t so sure. Those followers of everything Red Sox wonder about their team.

It’s one of those annual spring traditions. New Englanders anticipate the snow melting. They plan their gardens. And they long for baseball, with the usual balancing act of hope and angst before a Red Sox season.

“I’m a Red Sox fan so I expect the worst and hope for surprises,” said Chip Ach of Waltham, Massachusetts, who was watching a minor league workout while on vacation in Florida.

The Red Sox are supposed to have a new, improved lineup, having invested $183 million in the off-season in two hitters: Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez.

“A lot of people think they are going to have a lot of hitting. But I need to be convinced,” Bob Carbone said as he waited for a Sox game to begin at JetBlue Park. Carbone is from Boothbay Harbor and, like many retirees, spends the colder months in Florida. He lives in Naples, just south of Fort Myers.

Bob Clapp grew up in Revere, Massachusetts. While his mother, Margaret, retired to Maine (Lyman), he moved to North Fort Myers. He still follows the Red Sox, especially in the spring when he’s an usher at JetBlue Park.

“After the signings of Sandoval and Ramirez, the expectations are up there,” Clapp said. “But the biggest issue is the pitching.”

Only one pitcher remains from the starting rotation that propelled Boston to the 2013 World Series – Clay Buchholz. And he is forever dogged by questions about his health. He starred in 2013, until a shoulder injury limited his effectiveness at the end.

He is joined this year by Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson, Wade Miley (all acquired in the off-season) and Joe Kelly (who arrived through a trade last July).

“We got great arms here. They have the stuff to win games,” said Christian Vazquez, not exactly an objective observer as the Red Sox starting catcher.

The problem in 2014 was not pitching. Boston’s hitting ranked last in the American League. To fix that, Boston brought in Sandoval and Ramirez. That duo, plus slugger David Ortiz and two players coming back from injuries – Pedroia and Mike Napoli – have the Red Sox upbeat as they prepare for their first game April 6 against the Phillies.

“I think we all feel we have a much deeper lineup, one that needs to improve upon a year ago,” said manager John Farrell. “Guys with proven track records have been brought in and plugged in. It has a chance to be a strong lineup offensively.”

One reason for optimism, despite the last-place finish in 2014, is that Boston has rebounded before. It went from finishing last in 2012 to the championship the next year.

“No guarantee, but I think they’ll do all right in their division,” said Carbone.

The American League East Division has no powerhouse in it, not even the rival New York Yankees. That can only help the Red Sox.

“The AL East is pretty wide open and we like our chances,” said Boston outfielder Daniel Nava, who experienced the roller coaster of the previous three years.

“I don’t think this is a team that dwells on last year,” Nava said. “Lots of new faces and that helps with the proverbial turning-the-page adage. We have a lot of depth. That clearly is going to bode well for us.”

Brian Butterfield, a Maine native who serves as Boston’s third-base coach and infield guru, always has a glass half full (if not more). He says to watch this team.

“We have guys who have come back with strong attitudes and a couple of new guys like Pablo and Hanley. And the new pitchers, of course. … I think we got a nice mix to work with,” said Butterfield, who grew up in Orono and makes his home now in Standish.

But will they work their way toward a championship?

“The talent is there as far as I can tell,” said Ach, shading his eyes, watching another Red Sox workout. “But you never know.”