So Boston’s been pretty good lately, eh? Ha ha, I kid, I kid. Boston sits at fourth in the east with a 14-14 record. Toronto (by some fluke and some Vernon Wells) is third at 16-13. Our  boys in the Bronx are 19-8, and the little choo-choo team that could from Tampa is sitting pretty in first at 20-7. Baltimore, per usual, is in last, in part due to vast underproduction. That team from Camden Yards is going to be a contender in ’11 or ’12 though (Markakis + Jones + Wieters + Tillman + Matusz = future success).

Did anyone else feel like Boston’s defense-minded-moves were slightly over-blown this off-season? Adrian Beltre’s glovework hasn’t really been golden. Okay, they fell victim to bad luck with the Cameron and Ellsbury injuries, and their offense is struggling worse then you’d have predicted. Right now only Pedroia, Youkilis, and Beltre are doing much offensively, and Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield have been, well, bad. Lackey isn’t an ace, as anyone who looks at his stats knows, and Lester hasn’t been, yet, but he’s begun to turn it around. The Boston pen has been okay (depending which guys you’re talking about) so, honestly, Boston’ s going to pick it up soon. They’re going to end up in 3rd, and that’s okay, because only the best two teams can make the playoffs. So, Tampa will get the Wild Card, and the Yanks will defend their division/league crown.

For the New Englanders, it comes down to David Ortiz and Victor Martinez learning to hit, and  the lineup staying healthy, plus Josh Beckett ending his Kei Igawa imitations. For us Yank supporters, though, it sure is fun to watch those villains struggle.