Red Sox Fans – Are They Contenders Or Pretenders?

As the baseball season wraps up its first month, our Boston Red Sox find themselves with the best record in Major League Baseball. I dare say most experts did not see this coming for the Sox. I want to know from Red Sox fans, what do you think of this year's team? Let's break it down and take a closer look.2012 was one of the team's worst seasons as they stumbled to a record of 69-93, to find a worse record, you have to go back to the 1960 season when the Red Sox finished 65-89.

This season, Boston is 18-8, tying a team record for most wins in the month of April. What is different this season from last season?

1. Pitching: The starting rotation has been better than any Red Sox fan could have hoped for. Clay Buchholz is 5-0 with an ERA of 1.19, Jon Lester has 4 wins and a solid 3.11 ERA, Ryan Dempster has 43 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched and an ERA of 3.30. The bullpen has been good too, with Bailey, Tazawa and Uehara doing the job.

2. Hitting: The offense has been balanced with the star players leading the way; Dustin Pedroia is batting .337 with 6 stolen bases, Jacoby Ellsbury leads the league with 11 stolen bases, Mike Napoli has 27 RBIs just 26 games into the season and David Ortiz is hitting .500 in 9 games with 15 RBIs. The team's role players have contributed as well, Daniel Nava is hitting .289 with 4 home runs and 16 RBIs and David Ross has been a solid backup catcher with 3 home runs.

3. Fielding: The Red Sox only have 11 errors in 26 games for a .988 percentage.

It is a long season, but it's the best start Red Sox fans have seen in years. What do you think of this year's team? Playoffs, .500 team, tell us!