The return of the Sox

SPORTING GOODS

I was at the Fens last night, where, needless to say, the excitement these days is running at a fever pitch.

At any rate, here we are, on the first day of summer, and the Red Sox are a mere one game out of first place after having caught up to the Rays. A team I truly thought was done for just a few weeks ago has revived itself to the point where they're 23-8 for the last month plus.

I don't know if the emphasis on pitching and defense has come to fruition: Adrien Beltre already has twelve errors this season, and Dice-K and Beckett have been out for a while. The guy who's really doing the job is Buchholz, who I saw pitch last night. He wasn't overpowering, but he toughed it out and ultimately gave up no runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Crazily, with all the emphasis on pitching and defense, it's been the offense that's gotten the Sox to this point. The team is second in the majors in batting average and homers, and first in runs, hits, and slugging percentage. Pedroia's on fire, Youk is is his old reliable self, and Papi and V-Mart got out of their spring funks.

It could be a very interesting rest of the season.