BOSTON -- So, this is what a pennant race looks like.
After last-place finishes in back-to-back seasons and three of the last four, there was a chance the Boston Red Sox forgot. And before you say that six players from the 2013 World Series champions are still on the roster, that team had a cozy lead of 5 1/2 games in the AL East when the calendar flipped to September three years ago.
Even in 2011, when the Sox were eliminated from playoff contention on a wild and crazy final night of the season, they played themselves into a nip-and-tuck race by going 7-20 in September.