Now is the perfect time to start paying attention to the Red Sox

Now is the perfect time to start paying attention to the Red Sox originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

Now we’re at the stretch that should put the Red Sox in their place and send their flirtations with .500 permanently south.

Here’s their record so far: 7-2.

If you’re looking for a reason to wait for time to come Celtics championship parade and Patriots training camp won’t be a total sports wasteland, the Red Sox have quietly demonstrated that they deserve our attention.

After a slow start during recalibration following a season-ending shoulder injury to shortstop and team leader Trevor Storythe Red Sox have caught fire with a formula that seems, dare I say, sustainable?

In the last week alone, they’ve won series against the two best teams in baseball (Phillies, Yankees) and increased their playoff chances by nearly 25 percent, second only to the furious Mets. That’s the kind of thing that should catch the attention of analytically-minded Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, who is still deciding whether to buy, sell or thread the needle at next month’s trade deadline.

The Red Sox may still only have a 30 percent chance of making it to October, but check back another week. Or better yet, a month. They have become one of the toughest players in baseball, a throwback team built around speed that stole five more bases in Wednesday’s 7-3 victory in Toronto to complete a sweep of the fading Blue Jays.

Every Red Sox manager since Ralph Houk has stated that his team would put pressure on opposing defenses, but Alex Cora’s team is the first to actually step up and do it across the entire roster. The Red Sox lead the American League in steals with 76, and that number will only increase as they embrace their dynamic identity. Just in the last week, they set a franchise record with nine steals against the Yankees before following up with Wednesday’s explosion of five robberies.

Rookie shortstop David Hamilton, maligned for not being ready for prime time when he was forced into action after Story’s injury, found new life in his second round. He ranks second in the American League with 20 steals and is now third on the team in batting at .288. He may not have the strongest arm, but he is routinely making short plays, which has allowed another sprinter, rookie Ceddanne Rafaela, to return to the center of the field.

Meanwhile, the team’s best player might be outfielder Jarren Duran, who has caught fire. He stole two more bases on Wednesday, bringing his total to 19. He leads the team in WAR (3.7) and is the only player on the roster who hasn’t missed a game. Duran’s energy off the plate gets the Red Sox going, with his league-leading 10 triples highlighting how exciting he can be on the bases.

Add a stabilized defense and enough power (81 homers, 7th in AL) to change the game with one hit, and the Red Sox are finally delivering an all-around product worthy of their surprisingly excellent rotation.

Even with the return of starters like Kutter Crawford and Cooper Criswell to the mound, the Red Sox still rank fourth in the American League in ERA at 3.45. There are questions about how ace Tanner Houck and other young arms will perform in the second half – Houck is expected to surpass last year’s career high in innings sometime in the next two weeks – but that’s a problem that can be resolved at the deadline. if the property ultimately decides to shift its attention away from future seasons.

For now, the Red Sox are giving us a reason to watch and are heating up at the right time. The Duck Boats take their tour of the city on Friday, and then the baseball team will have the stage to themselves.