Saturday, May 4, 2013

Can you believe it?


Even after last night's loss to the Rangers, the Red Sox still have two more wins than any other team in baseball. A month into the season, the Sox are in first place in the AL East, two-and-a-half games up on the second place Yankees. Especially after the misery of last season, this start has been wonderful for Red Sox fan - especially those of us who live in the city and can take advantage of low ticket prices.

I don't for a minute expect tickets to stay affordable for long, especially if the Red Sox continue anywhere close to the pace they're on. And despite the stuggles from Felix Doubront that we've been seeing, the core of the pitching staff is as solid as can be - led by Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester.

Though the crazy production we've been seeing from David Ortiz (.465 batting average in eleven games) is certainly unsustainable, I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit well over .300 for the season. Mike Napoli is taking to first base like a fish to water, and in his first season where he doesn't spend a ton of time crouching behind the plate, his offensive numbers - and the Red Sox - are the beneficiaries.

You never really know how a season will shake out - in 2011, we had a team proclaimed the "greatest ever" during spring training, and then suffered through the worst collapse in history in September. This year, expectations were tempered, to say the least, but the Sox have the best record in baseball so far. I'll leave you with one final thought: the last time the Red Sox had the best April record was 2007 - and before that, 2004.

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