Before the season began I thought the Sox would win 100 games or more. We were expecting a lineup that included Lowrie at SS and a recovered Ortiz at DH. The starting pitching looked to be the best in modern Sox history. Except at catcher, the team appeared to have no lineup holes, and on the field it appeared to be equal to, or even better - because of Lowrie - than last year's team. There was concern about Lowell coming back from his surgery but he seemed to be doing OK in spring training.

So what happens? Lowrie goes down, Papi doesn't hit, Lowell can't move, Dice-K can't pitch, and, in fact, the entire starting pitching staff under performs. Varitek hits pretty well early on. Youk hits a ton, along with Bay. Somebody named Nick Green, who never has been a SS, takes over for Lowrie, and hits pretty well, makes some great plays in the field and also some awful ones but is better than Lugo, and the bullpen is lights out. With all their problems the Sox start out well, while the Yankees stumble out of the gate.

Then reality catches up, and all those Yankee aging veterans step up and perform better than they should. Meanwhile, Papi's slump becomes something akin to a baseball version of a Greek tragedy. Penny and Smoltz disappoint. Wake is the best pitcher on the staff for a while before suffering the breakdown everyone seemed to be expecting. Following the All Star game the Sox essentially collapse, while the Yankees go into a sprint. Not only do the Sox fall well behind the Yankees, Texas catches them in the wild card race.

Then Theo makes some deals that I think really helped to right the ship. Martinez has been a great acquisiton. He has hit and he has helped overcome the problems at 3B and C. Gonzo has made a huge difference in the field, and, surprisingly, he also has hit, sometimes at key times. The Wagner acquisition also has helped to compensate for the loss of Masterson. Buchholz now is having a huge impact. Becket seems to be overcoming whatever was wrong with him. Lester is getting better and better. Dice-K is coming back. Papelbon has recovered his splitter.

The team now is close to what we were expecting in March. That's why I'm optimistic. 20 games to go, four ahead in the Wildcard. It will be interesting this week to see how the Sox match up against the Angels.