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.

Buchholz brushes off accusations

Clay Buchholz does not react to ridiculous accusations about cheating the way I would react - it's just one of many differences between us, a list that includes height, gender, age, and music taste, among various other things. I would have thrown an absolute fit if some has-been like Dirk Hayhurst, he of two major league seasons and a career 5.72 ERA, had the audacity to accuse me of cheating.

Not Buchholz. No, he answered all the stupid questions about touching his own hair and arms patiently, with just a touch of snark: "Buchholz laughed it off and said if he had thrown two innings, opposed to the seven scoreless frames of two-hit ball he hurled, that this probably wouldn't be a story."

John Farrell was less casual about it. Though the manager was told about the baseless accusations secondhand, he wasted no time in categorically denying them. As the first pitcher in the majors this season to six wins, Buchholz is clearly doing something right - and it's just as clear that he isn't getting any help from "foreign substances."

Jerry Remy was even more indignant than Farrell, ranting about the absurdity of it all through a full inning: "I faced Gaylord Perry for god's sake. I think I know what a spitball looks like!"

I think it's pretty obvious why the jealous Dirk Hayhurst though Clay was working with a "foreign substance," and it's because Bucholz DOES have access to something that Hayhurst never had - and that unfamiliar asset is called TALENT.

Buchholz earns sixth win

The Red Sox offense absolutely exploded tonight for ten runs, but starter Clay Buchholz didn't need most of them, going seven innings without giving up a run. Indeed, Buchholz was just as sharp tonight as Jon Lester was wobbly yesterday, allowing just five base runners and earning eight strikeouts.

Buchholz also became the first pitcher in the majors to six wins, after he became the first to five wins in his last outing. As I said last night, it's really always about the pitching, and Buchholz is on a roll - he's fun to watch, especially when he works as efficiently as he did tonight.