Poll: Are you on Sox bandwagon with 2nd half beginning tonight?

After a week of nothing in the sports world, the Red Sox open up baseball's unofficial second half at Wrigley Field tonight on The Ticket, with pregame coverage beginning at 7:05pm and the first pitch to follow an hour later.

Boston remains in last place in the AL East, but owns a 5-game win-streak and the Sox are winners of eight of their last nine. They're 48-43 overall, 1-game behind the Yanks, 2-behind the Jays and a pair out of the wild card picture in the AL East.

It's certainly right there for the taking in the 2nd half if Boston can roll over the momentum they entered the break with.

Obviously, the looming trade deadline will also have an impact on Boston's 2nd half hopes. Fifteen games remain until the deadline, and if you listen to Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom, these next 15 games will decide Boston's fate.

"How we do in these weeks leading up to the deadline could really move the needle one way or the other as to what our odds are of getting to the postseason. That’s just a fact," Bloom said Thursday, via Mass Live's Chris Cotillo. "Obviously, these games are very critical and it’d be unreasonable not to factor that in and respond accordingly."

"Our faith in young players, our faith in our core, the accomplishments of that group... that has really been, to me, the headline of this first half,” Bloom said. "It has not only given us a chance to stay in this race in 2023, but I think has made us...really optimistic about where this is headed longer-term. We can’t get away from that. We can’t stop focusing on that because that is ultimately the backbone of a championship-caliber club."

Translation: don't expect too much to happen in the way of Boston being buyers in a coupe of weeks.

But as the squad showed going into the break, they have some pieces to make noise.

So, let's take the current temps of Red Sox Nation. How are you feeling about this team as it gets set to embark on the back half of the 2023 regular season?