If you saw the Boston Red Sox being among Major League Baseball's best teams through 35 games, raise your hand.
LIAR!
No, we're not calling you out because everyone expected Boston to be bad. There's just no way the Red Sox could be expected to be as competitive as they have been given what they've had to deal with. We can exclusively point to injuries as a reason why they shouldn't be in the position they're in, as starting centerfielder Adam Duvall is on the 60-day injured list following his roaring start, front-line starter Garrett Whitlock has been on and off the IL due to multiple ailments and bench/bullpen pieces like Yu Chang, Adalberto Mondesi, Kutter Crawford, Zack Kelly and Joely Rodriguez are all stuck on the shelf.
Despite all of that, the Red Sox hold MLB's fourth-best record at 21-14.
They're tougher than a $2 steak.
Only three teams in baseball have a better record than the Red Sox through Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays (27-7), Atlanta Braves (23-11) and Baltimore Orioles (22-11). Oh yeah, we forgot to mention that two of the three teams are in their division. Tough luck, but not the end of the world.
That unfortunate nugget has provided the Red Sox with a solid viewpoint as they attack the season. Boston cannot control what the teams in its division do, it can just control its own destiny. That has been the clear motivation, as the Red Sox have bounced back following their horrific showing against the American League East in 2022 (26-50) to start 7-7 against divisional opponents.
How have they done it? Well, they've gotten everything you could ask for. There are newcomers like Kenley Jansen, Masataka Yoshida, Duvall and Justin Turner who have stepped into every-day roles and flourished. There are also the returning youngsters from a year ago who have done complete 180's like Jarren Duran, Josh Winckowski, Connor Wong and Crawford. Chris Sale and Christian Arroyo are healthy and contributing. Then there are the franchise cornerstones, like Rafael Devers, Alex Verdugo and Kiké Hernández, who are playing like, well... franchise cornerstones.
Has it been all sunshine and rainbows? Absolutely not. Sale took a bit to get going, Hernández struggled in the field and those dang injuries just won't quit.
But neither will the Red Sox, and that's why they're one of the best teams in baseball.
