The Sox are pretty lousy these days.

Anyway, today’s game got me thinking about how far they will really have to go to not just right the ship but come out as the winner-by-default we all know they can be. Even on their current 3-7 skid, the Good Guys are still only 3.5 games out, which is not exactly insurmountable.

The Sox are five under .500 as I write this, and even if we assume a mere 83 wins takes the division (not exactly an impossible scenario) they’ll need a 68-61 showing from here on out. Again, not impossible but looking more and improbable with each squandered gem and every call for Greg Walker’s head – and even worse considering the Sox’ best stretch to date has been a three-game win streak.

Three games. Glory, it seems, is still attainable.

As the 2006 Cardinals (World Series Champions, at that) taught us, eighty-three win seasons for the ages are not built on the backs of 9-2 runs. That particular squad, in fact, won eight in a row once but lost seven in a row twice. It seems likely the Sox are capable of at least one of those things. So they’ve got that going for them.

Of course, that Cardinals team never ran into the Toronto Blue Jays. And, you know, they found a way to beat the Tigers too.

So what have we got to hold on to? At best, they can claw their way to a painfully average season; at worst, the whole division will collapse on itself and five under will miraculously become the new ten over.

Dream big, people. Dream big.