Boston's first 13 games of the 2013 season are against division opponents.
Dustin Pedroia and his teammates could use a good start to the 2013 season.
Not only have the last two seasons finished in terrible fashion for the Red Sox. They've started off pretty awful too.
Epically awful in fact.
In 2011 it was a 2-10 kickoff to a season in which the Red Sox were expected to win another World Series title.
Last season the Red Sox were not burdened by such lofty expectations. The team was expected to struggle. They didn't disappoint: their 4-10 start was a preview of the team's eventual last-place finish.
It might be worth mentioning that the team's first 13 games of the 2013 season are against the Yankees, Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays. Yes, that's every team in the division.
As spring training heads into its final two weeks, the Red Sox have seen some very encouraging signs for the upcoming season, and some not-so-encouraging signs as well.
Jon Lester has looked nothing short of dominant, and Clay Buchholz has looked good too.
The Red Sox have seen a lot of good from young players such as Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Jose Iglesias, but they haven't seen anything out of David Ortiz, and it looks like they won't be seeing much from Stephen Drew.
Come April 1, none of those things will matter. It will be time to play real games, and the Red Sox could really use a decent start in 2013.
The American League East is about as wide open as any in baseball.
There are two teams that won 90 or more games last year, but there are varied degrees of confidence that either the Orioles or the Yankees can repeat that performance.
The Orioles don't have that much starting pitching, and their bullpen which was dominant last season, could easily experience a less spectacular 2013 campaign.
The New York Yankees have been decimated by injuries, and their remaining healthy players are mostly aging veterans whose health for the entire season is anything but a safe bet.
Tampa Bay has more pitching than anyone, but they lack much in the way of offense.
And then there's Toronto.
No team in baseball acquired more talent in the offseason than the Toronto Blue Jays.
Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buerhle, and R.A. Dickey is a pretty decent haul.
The problem is that the team that brought on the most talent entering the 2011 season was the Red Sox, the same Red Sox team that collapsed that fall. Prior to the 2012 season it was the Los Angeles Angels that grabbed headlines. How did it work out?
Not all that much better than it did for the Red Sox in 2011. The Angels started poorly, got a big boost from their all-everything rookie Mike Trout, but when the season ended the Angels were not a first place team, or even a second place team. They were a third place team that missed the playoffs.
Toronto has a lot of talent and a lot to prove.
The Red Sox are one of the division's great mysteries. If a few breaks went their way the Red Sox could be a team that contends for the playoffs, or even the division title. A few poor performances or a rash of injuries could put the Red Sox right back where they were on October 3, 2012, in last place.
In the first two weeks of the 2013 season the Red Sox are going to get an opportunity to see where they stand against the teams they will battle for playoff positions.
The 2011 season didn't need a great start because most people felt that the team had so much talent that they could overcome a few weeks of poor play. Those who felt that way were clearly wrong, but at the time they appeared logical.
The 2012 season didn't require a great start because most people felt that the team was destined for a bad season. They were right.
This season is different.
Ninety wins could get the Red Sox to the playoffs. Perhaps even 88 or 89 could get the job done? Getting off to good start might not be essential, but it sure would be a nice change of pace from the past two seasons, and anything that runs counter to 2011 and 2012 is probably pretty good.