FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The sunny skies and beauty of the brand new JetBlue Park here in Southwest Florida is like perfume on the stench from last September. The time has finally come for the Red Sox to shower, clean up and go about silencing their critics.

From the moment the sinking liner off the bat of Robert Andino squirted out of the glove of Carl Crawford and onto the outfield grass at Camden Yards, everyone in a Red Sox uniform knew this was coming.

Time to face the music -- and microphones, recorders and cameras.

This spring training figures to be the most intense the Red Sox have ever experienced. Certainly, there will be more questions of the players who stayed with the team in the aftermath of the worst September collapse in the history of the sport.

There were the Lester, Beckett, Lackey and Francona stories that went public and many more behind the scenes that did not.

One Red Sox official this week here in sunny Fort Myers termed last September a “catastrophe.” That’s not hyperbole.

Despite what Dustin Pedroia told WEEI Wednesday, the meltdown of last September is still fresh in everyone’s minds.

“Go to the archives, pal,” Pedroia quipped.

Well, as you wish.

There will be far more media attention than in the spring of 1979, after the Red Sox lost the 163rd game of the 1978 season to the Yankees following a blown 14-game lead in July.

This will be more intense than 1987, when the Red Sox were answering questions about being one strike away from the 1986 title before giving it away vs. the Mets. Again, there wasn’t nearly the national media and local focus.

It will be more intense than John Henry’s first year of ownership in 2002, when the Red Sox were trying to put the ugliness of Dan Duquette and 2001 behind them.

And yes, this spring there will be even more questions than 2004.

Back in February 2004, the Red Sox were coming off a stunning and crushing postseason loss to their arch rival Yankees in seven games in the 2003 American League Championship Series.

The 5-2 lead squandered in the eighth inning of Game 7 at Yankee Stadium produced a managerial change that netted Terry Francona and a World Series title the very next year.

There would be another championship three years later, again with Francona at the helm.

Now, following “The Collapse,” the Red Sox have a new manager for the first time since the season they ended 86 years of misery and heartbreak.

Like 2004, the mood is one of uncertainty.

But this is unlike 2004 in one regard -- the expectations are far different.

Boston fans have become accustomed to having their playoff ticket punched in every sport routinely.

Even in ’04, there was no Twitter, Facebook hadn’t exploded onto the scene and social networking meant going to a public establishment or a friend’s living room to enjoy the game.

Now, every move is instantaneously judged. Every mistake is magnified. Every loss is scrutinized. All of which produces an environment where everything will come into question unlike ever before.

Are the Red Sox mentally tough? Have Josh Beckett and Jon Lester shed the pounds and image from “Chicken-Gate”? How will Bobby Valentine cope with the daily questions about his lineup -- questions that his predecessor dreaded?

As much as Francona publicly praised the fans at Fenway for being the best and most intense, there is a huge part of Francona that won’t miss the second-guessing and the scrutiny and overreaction that comes with playing in Boston.

And he hated lineup questions before pitchers and catchers reported.

That’s Bobby V’s responsibility. And it starts this week as reporters and fans descend on Fort Myers to see if this team is worthy of a sparkling new spring training complex with a state-of-the-art stadium.

Is Kevin Youkilis healthy? What does David Ortiz have left for $14.5 million? Will Daniel Bard work out in the rotation or is he better served staying in the bullpen to support Andrew Bailey, Mark Melancon, Bobby Jenks and Franklin Morales? Is Clay Buchholz healthy? Can the Red Sox live with Alfredo Aceves as the fourth starter?

From the followers in the TragsBag:

@ZakDodge Just wondering, do you know where Michael Bowden will be when the season starts? And Felix Doubront?

Both are longshots to be with the big league club. As our own Rob Bradford and MLBTradeRumors.com pointed out this week, Bowden and Doubront both are out of options. In other words, their futures are on the line this spring. That’s not a bad thing. Both are young arms that were projected to be contributors in the Theo Epstein regime. Both have leveled off for different reasons. Bowden couldn’t find a role with his finesse repertoire because his pinpoint command hasn’t always been there. Doubront reported to camp in 2011 out of shape and was slowed by “forearm stiffness.”

Speaking of needing to prove something, what do the Red Sox need to prove this spring?

Again to the TragsBag:

@Farmstrong27 that they care as much as the fans do.

@jcullen71 The Sox need to show as much frustration with their collapse as the fans. This is not going to go away until everyone deals with it.

Well, that certainly is a common theme among the fan base, which is exactly why there is so much trepidation and uneasiness with this 2012 Red Sox group.

Barring stories of table-tipping and screaming in the dugout (like Youk-Manny, circa 2008), we’re not going to know how this team deals with adversity if it gets off to another slow start like last year. That’s because the clubhouse will be on full alert, as Pedroia told us this week, to keep out all the rats.

Still, the team can show it cares by simply doing what new Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon did last September during “The Collapse” -- stand up and take responsibility and express pain and remorse for bad losses. That’s really all the fan base wants. Put out your best effort and take ownership.

Where do the Red Sox go from here?

We’re about to find out. And Red Sox nation will be hanging on every word.