140!

Today, with their win, the Red Sox dropped their magic number for winning the division to 140!

And, what a win it was. It was the sort of performance that leads you to believe they might be at least reaching the corner, if not turning it.

On Monday, EdRo put the Sox in a hole almost immediately. But, he was able to hold the Athletics where they were to allow the Sox to come back and win running away. That continued last night. Rick Porcello gave the best start the Red Sox have had this season. The bats showed no signs of slowing down as they piled on runs from beginning to end. Today? Even more. It’s not just a big inning that’s doing it. It’s the sustained type of attack that means lots if people contributed lots of times. I'm not sure there's been a three gameish stretch where the Sox have felt this good to watch this season. This is what they're supposed to be.

Which makes some sense. If you consider them to have punted on spring training, this is about the month it took to get into the swing of things. They're now 6-4 in their last ten games and 8-5 in their last two weeks. No, that's not setting any barns on fire, but it's a solid stretch. It's a 99-win pace.

Which is pretty exciting. Sure, their record isn’t great yet. But, it doesn’t have to be great on May first. It just has to be good enough on October first. Which is exactly where they're headed.

And it's funny that whenever Cora has been asked about Sale and his slow start, he kept referencing his Houston start from last year. He said that was when the season turned for him, and he looked like himself again. That start was in early May. So, you could almost see this as the plan working to perfection. The Sox are saving their wins for when they matter, rather than have their pitchers chase after a win on April 15. Honestly, I'm surprised that Boston fans aren't used to this. It's the model the Patriots have been using for years. Take the first bit of the season to figure out exactly where you are, and then turn it on to steamroll to the championship. Why is it so hard to transfer that process to baseball? Especially since each game in baseball is much much less valuable than a game in football is.

So, now that we're here, let's hope it sticks around for a while. This sure seems like a team ready to go on a run of excellence. It's time.

And I can't wait.