More than a few media outlets – this one included – continue to scratch their heads about the Good Guys’ position atop the AL Central, and for good reason. We’ll skip the dead-horse beating about old age and feet of lead, but what about the other, simpler possibility that the Sox are actually more than a bad team feasting on an even worse division? In the spirit of respect where respect is due, maybe it’s time to reconsider a few things.

For starters, take the starters. When they’re on, Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez can dominate with the best of them. Add in the stellar seasons the kids are having, and the Sox might actually have a four-man rotation worthy of matching up with the Bostons and LAs of the world. The fifth slot might still be a dead end, but in all seriousness whose isn’t? Even those vaunted Angels are trotting out a Jon Garland who more closely resembles the pre-2005 Jon Garland we all cursed than the post-2005 Jon Garland we all revered. Clay Bucholz and Bartolo Colon haven’t been exactly invincible for the Red Sox either.

Speaking of returns to form, did anyone see this kind of season coming from Jermaine Dye? Countless fans and pundits (this writer included) swore he was finished and wanted nothing more than to see him sent packing. JD, we owe you an apology.

And reviled as they were, those two supposed has-beens of the bullpen have been as close to late-inning coffin nails as we’re seen around these parts since the glory days of Neal the Meal and Uncle Cliff. Five-run leads are safe once more, and we have the castoffs of the Milwaukee and Kansas City bullpens to thank for it.

But of course, no discussion of this team could ignore the industrial-strength power supply. Okay, the Sox have the second-fewest stolen bases in the entire sport but that’s not a problem. Why steal bases when you can just round them instead? All told, stealing a base is nothing but running, and the only people who run are the people who have something to run from. Believe.