In the dark, dismal early weeks of the season, the Red Sox at one point had not only the worst record in the division and the league, but the worst record in major league baseball. The light had not yet come on and the team looked fragmented and befuddled. If they were hitting, they weren't pitching. If they were pitching, they weren't hitting. When runners were in scoring position, they were going to stay there, marooned on the bases when 3 outs had been recorded. In other words, they were getting on base, but they were staying on base.
It is now Memorial Day weekend and during the month of May, the Red Sox have come charging back. There were stumbling blocks in the early part of the month, namely getting to .500, but once they got out of the red, which they accomplished by sweeping the Yankees in The Bronx, they've gone on a tear, save for the May 21 bizarre "rapture" game and Monday night's loss in Cleveland. The bats have been smokin' hot and Aceves and Wake have filled in admirably for Lackey and Dice-K. Buchholz put his early season woes behind him and started to look like the guy who had the second-lowest ERA in the league last year. Lester scuffled a bit, but the bats had his back. Beckett has continued to be Commander Kick-Ass, taking the Kick-Ass to a whole new level. It will be next to impossible to maintain this torrid pace the Red Sox are on right now, but if they continue playing the kind of baseball we all know they are capable of--and stay healthy--they should stay at or near the top of the division from here on out.
Two more games with the Tigers remain and two of the Sox' best starters are scheduled to man the bump this weekend in Buchholz and Beckett. Keep on rolling, Red Sox! I may have vented a lot of frustration toward you guys when you were playing so far below your potential, but I kept watching. Now you've turned it around and become an exciting team to watch.
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