We're starting off 11-8, 3 games over .500. That's really not too impressive considering we've only played the Tigers, Indians, and Royals (sure the Royals are playing well, but we should be able to beat them). We have 1 more easy series against the Orioles, and then its on to the big guys.
The Twins series should give us a good idea of how much we have really improved from last year and where the Twins are at. We should take no less than 2 out of 3. Then we go out of the division and face the A's and Mariners for the next 12 games.
From what I've seen so far, we've been very inconsistent at times. Our pitching has been pretty good (except for the last two games). D'Lo and Valentin have been very impressive leading off games. When our big guys (Thomas, Maggs, Konerko) start producing more, we should blow our opponents away.
I would expect no less than division champs for the Sox with about 92 wins. The Twins just aren't as competitve as last year, when they put together a fairly magical season. The Royals will fall down to earth by about next month and we should have the division in control for 75% of the season.