Poll: Is October baseball in Boston’s future?

It's MLB Trade Deadline Day. A day when traditionally the contenders announce themselves as such and the cream begins rising to the top while the scrappy near-.500 teams start to falter.

Here in New England, we're still trying to figure out exactly which side of that the Red Sox fall on.

For almost two months, they were a .500 ballclub. For nearly the next two months, they were the best team in baseball. In the last 10 games, they've shown signs of both, but mostly the former rather than the latter.

Regardless of whether Craig Breslow makes any additional moves today or not, it's all still right there in front of the Red Sox, who are a game out of the postseason picture.

But so was last year's team, who actually had the same exact record, 56-49, 365 days ago, before inaction at the deadline led to a lethargic final two months.

Will this year be different? The vibes certainly appear to be in a much better place, led by a youthful squad that hasn't been burned by past failures.

They're a game out today - Tuesday, July 30th. When the season ends on on Sunday, September 29th, will Boston be gearing up for playoff baseball or jetting off into the off-season?