Poll: What can the Sox do to make you a believer this year?

The Red Sox banged out 15 hits and 10 runs last night in Minnesota for their 6th-straight win, the team's second-longest win-streak of the season after winning 8-in-a-row from Apr. 29 to May 6.

The bats have come alive once again, the starting pitching has been phenomenal for the most part, and the bullpen locks down most leads handed to them. They're even playing sound defense, which for this team is pretty remarkable.

Despite having not suffered a loss in over a week at this point, it is still necessary to recognize it's only a 6-game streak at the moment and Boston still isn't even out of the basement in the AL East. The gap has been closed, though, as the Sox are just a half-game behind the Jays and 1 1/2 behind the Yanks.

At the start of last week, it seemed the season was teetering on the brink. Now, with the way they're playing and a favorable schedule in front of them, it's not inconceivable to think Boston could go on a little run heading into the All-Star break.

Now, the only thing consistent about this year's team is its inconsistency. The Sox started the year 21-14 in their first 35 games before going 12-21 over their next 33 prior to this 6-game streak.

Based on what we've seen this season, it would not surprise me in the least if the Sox went on another skid and in a week or two we're once again asking which pieces of the team should be sold off at the deadline to maximize future return. But hey, it's sunny out today so let's be positive.