BALTIMORE - Just about 3 1/2 weeks ago, the Red Sox left Fort Myers. What was the vibe? What was the take? What was the identity? And, most importantly, could this actually work?
Heading into this three-game series against the mighty - OK, at least surprising - 14-7 Orioles all of those answers remarkably still hover over Alex Cora's crew. Vibe? Take? Identity? This working? Go ahead, we're all ears.
Perhaps as we sit here there is slightly more optimism than existed on that last day in spring training when Cora offered a pregame fire-and-brimstone declaration. And certainly the perception is 180 degrees different than when the Sox left St. Petersburg April 13 a team that had just been taken to the woodshed while living life at 5-8.
Since then, however, the Red Sox have won three straight series - including the most recent one against the first-place Brewers - and would be just 1/2 game out of first-place if they resided in the American League Central.
But, still, most of maybes can't quite yet be turned into certainties.
Masa Yoshida looked like a superstar in hitting two homers (one grand slam) in the eighth inning Sunday. But we still can't define the outfielder one way or another thanks to his struggles leading into the last four games.
Starters Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello have shown glimpses their brief showcase, but not enough consistency for anyone to make no-doubt-about-it proclamations (as much as we want to).
Since the best hitter in baseball over the season's first nine games, Adam Duvall, was sidelined, Justin Turner has gone a long way toward picking up the slack. During that stretch, the Red Sox' DH has managed a .943, with teammate Kiké Hernandez (.802) and Alex Verdugo (.891).
In fact, since Duvall's absence the Red Sox have scored the fourth-most runs and totaled the sixth-most extra-base hits in baseball.
But is all of it sustainable without the emergence of Triston Casas and whoever is manning the middle infield spots? Put it this way: It would certainly offer a clearer image if some of those expected outcomes would creep closer to the way we viewed them in late March.
Josh Winckowski. Kenley Jansen. Reese McGuire. Tanner Houck. All certainly seem to be identifiable as part of the solution rather than any future problems.
And then there is Monday night's starter, Chris Sale, who might represent all that we are trying to lock in on when it comes to these Red Sox. After the first three starts? Uncomfortable. After the last one? The perfect guy to throw out in a big game at Camden Yards.
“You’re this far away from being the best in the game but you’re also this far away from being the worst in the game. When you’re at the bottom sometimes you’re not that far off. When you’re at the top, again, you’re not that far off,” Sale told the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast'. “You got to find it and it’s not going to come for free.”
It sure feels like the Sale conversation is at a fork in the road, with his team seemingly coming up on the same sort of navigation. The combined record of the next five opponents (Baltimore, Cleveland, Toronto, Phillies, Braves): 64-46.
This sure seems like Sale's big chance. The same goes for the Red Sox. Who knows? Maybe by the time New England fans pick their heads up from the Celtics' and Bruins' postseason runs this will the team they were hoping for.
