COMMENTARY
All mediocrity is not created equal.
Consider this factoid: Fifty games into last season, the ultimately uninspiring Red Sox were . . . 26-24. Same as they are this morning, entering a brief home trio with the first-place Milwaukee Brewers and a visit to the 30-win Orioles in Baltimore.
I’ll admit that it caught me by surprise, the memories of a year ago hardly fond. By this point, the 2023 squad already had an eight-game win streak, but also three distinct four-game skids. It was fourth in the majors in runs scored, but an established defensive disaster, with Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta already booted from a rotation that had one starter (Brayan Bello) with an ERA south of 4.