Expectations for the Boston Red Sox were higher in 2021 than they were in 2020, but whatever the bar was, the Red Sox have passed it thus far.
Friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels marks the 40th game -- or the quarter mark -- of the season for the Sox.
In his exclusive "Friday Night Fenway" interview with Tom Caron on NESN, Sox manager Alex Cora was asked what he's taken away from the start of the season.
"Out of 40 games, we feel like we were out of only one. It was Game 3 of the season," Cora told Caron. "It feels like we've been one swing away from changing the game when we're losing, and we've played a lot of tight games that we ended up winning. So, that's a testament to who they are, they're a bunch of grinders, a bunch of good baseball players.
"My mother says, they're like a bunch of little leaguers enjoying the baseball game. It's been fun for 40 games. Hopefully we can keep rolling, keep doing the things that we're doing and keep getting better and hopefully great things are going to happen over the summer here at Fenway."
That third game of the season was an 11-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, which completed the opening weekend sweep at the hands of the O's. Of course, things rebounded in a big way immediately afterwards, and Boston now finds itself as one of the best teams in baseball.
