.500 at Fenway?

Somewhat overshadowed by the commotion surrounding Bobby V's championship quote is that the Red Sox are back at .500. I know, nothing to get excited about; not around here. But when you consider where the Sox have come from, and the fact that there are a few other high-profile, big money teams like the Tigers, Angels and Phillies who can't boast as muchlet's give the Sox some credit.

Just a little.

OK, that's enough.

Now let's look to the next step in the face-saving process: Getting to .500 at Fenway.

To this point, the Sox are only 9-11 at home on the young season, which is understandable since the atmosphere has been so ugly and the tension so visibly thick. These guys get booed more at home than they do on the road.

But they've turned it around as of late, with five straight wins at Fenway, and will take the field tomorrow for a seven-game home stand against Rays and Tigers. They need to go 5-2 to split town with a .500 record at Fenway, and that might be what it takes to keep up the good will that's been built up over the last few weeks.

It won't be easy, considering that these next seven games include dates with David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Doug Fister and Justin Verlander, but what better way to prove themselves worthy of those championship expectations.