Boston fans were spoiled in 2013 because we hardly remember times when the Red Sox looked bad, so we’ve been taken aback at how they’ve played this April. But let’s take a look at the Yankees to get an objective sense of where the Red Sox stand.

New York sits atop what, right now, is a very weird AL East. They have a .600 winning percentage but, like every other team in the division, they have a negative run differential – they’re pitching and fielding has allowed more runs than their hitting has been able to score.

You don’t need to be a math geek to figure out that the Yankees can’t continue playing .600 baseball if their pitching and fielding doesn’t improve. But if you want to be a math geek about it, we’ll dive into the dark arts of Sabermetics.

Personally, I prefer to use hard statistics instead of measurements derived from algorithms with linear weights and what-not which may or may not show the bias of those calculating the measurement, but the Pythagorean expectation for the Yankees is interesting because it suggests that the Yankees are overachieving to an alarming degree.

According to Pythagorean expectation, the Yankees should have a .467 winning percentage and they’re playing like a 75 or 76 win team. Maybe you agree with that assessment or maybe you think it’s junk, so take that for what you will. But it is difficult to believe that the Yankees will continue to play .600 baseball.

How does this reflect on the rest of the AL East? It shows that everything is still up for grabs, which isn’t out of the norm for any sports league at the beginning of its season.

The Red Sox are not (yet) a .500 team, and at times it doesn’t look like they’ve come close to playing like even a .500 baseball club. But they’ve also faced harder tests than the Yankees so far this season. Outside of the division the Red Sox have played against the Brewers, Rangers, and White Sox; all of whom are .500 or above (the Brewers have a .720 winning percentage). Contrast that with the Yankees lackluster opponents: the Astros, Cubs, and Angels.

Regardless of how the Red Sox have looked in April (which hasn’t been great) or how they’ve had to face tougher opponents, they are only two games below .500 right now. With Shane Victorino and Will Middlebrooks out for most of the month, and Clay Buchholz looking like he was a breath away from winding up on the DL until this weekend, that’s not too shabby.

The Red Sox fielding a healthy lineup looks especially appealing when you consider five other things: Derek Jeter is 40, Alfonso Soriano is 38, Carlos Beltran is 37, Jacoby Ellsbury is 30 and has a sorry past with the DL; and Brian McCann is 30.

How long will the Yankees go this season without suffering an injury to a key player in their lineup? I hate to sound like a homer, but that’s a reasonable question.

Beyond the Red Sox and Yankees, Baltimore looks good but Chris Davis just went on the DL, Toronto isn’t impressing anyone with those sub-.200 hitters on the bottom of their lineup, and Tampa Bay is having trouble winning without Matt Moore. If Tampa Bay is pretty much out of the race by the end of May, I suspect they’ll shop David Price around for a prospect. By August, the AL East may be a three team race between Boston, Baltimore, and New York.

Despite what the Red Sox have been through and how they’ve played thus far, the team hasn’t dug itself into a huge hole to climb out of. So if you think the Red Sox took a crap in April, just consider it to be fertilizer for their flowering this summer.

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis.

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UConn Football links

Former UConn DB looks to build off rookie season [jim fuller – new haven register]

SEC scheduling format worthy of mention [jim fuller – new haven register]

Despite basketball glory, UConn must look to football to boost athletic business [hartford business journal]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Rakim Lubin Signs On With UConn, According To His Coach [dom amore – hartford courant]

What CEO’s Can Learn From UConn Huskies Basketball [forbes]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. UConn Drops Series Finale At Louisville, 8-2 [uconn huskies]

Softball. Scarlet Knights Use Extra-Inning Walk-off Grand Slam to Best Huskies, 7-3 [uconn huskies]

UConn Women’s Ice Hockey Virtual Tour [uconn huskies youtube]

After securing the series win yesterday, the Boston Red Sox look for the sweep this afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. The game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Blue Jays market, you can catch the game on Rogers SportsNet. And if you can’t catch the game on television, you can always listen on the 2014 Red Sox Radio Network.

Jon Lester looks to help the Red Sox to the sweep in his sixth start of 2014. In his previous five starts, Lester is 2-3 with a 2.67 ERA. He made six starts against the Jays in 2013 and was 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA. In 28 career starts against them, he is 15-7 with a 3.55 ERA. 16 of those starts have come at Rogers Centre where he is 7-5 with a 3.35 ERA.

R.A. Dickey is tasked with preventing the sweep in his sixth start of 2014. In his previous five starts, Dickey is 1-3 with a 5.90 ERA. He made two starts against the Red Sox in 2013 and was 0-2 with a 8.53 ERA (12 ER/12.2 IP). He’s made 11 career appearances (five starts) against the visiting nine and is 2-3 with a 5.32 ERA.

12-13		11-13
1. Dustin Pedroia	2B	1. Jose Reyes	SS
2. Grady Sizemore	LF	2. Melky Cabrera	LF
3. Mike Napoli	1B	3. Jose Bautista	CF
4. A.J. Pierzynski	DH	4. Edwin Encarnacion	1B
5. Will Middlebrooks	3B	5. Brett Lawrie	3B
6. Jonny Gomes	RF	6. Juan Francisco	CF
7. Xander Bogaerts	SS	7. Moises Sierra	RF
8. Jackie Bradley, Jr	CF	8. Josh Thole	C
9. David Ross	C	9. Jonathan Diaz	2B
Jon Lester	SP	R.A. Dickey	SP

NOTES:

Here is how the hitters have fared against the starting pitchers during the regular season over their careers.

More links will be added if/when they become available so please check back often.

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Jackie Bradley Jr. learning April history lessons from Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz [rob bradford – weei]

Red Sox-Blue Jays preview: Sox go for the sweep [csn new england]

Red Sox call on Lester to complete sweep vs. Blue Jays [red sox]

photo credits: getty images, getty images

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Moseley happy at UConn, no contact from BU [carl adamec – sny uconn]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

A Look Ahead At Next Season’s UConn Men’s Basketball Team [hartford courant]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. UConn Stymied In 6-1 Loss at No. 12 Louisville [uconn huskies]

Baseball. Pair of UConn baseball stars quietly make move [waterbury republican-american]

Softball. UConn Tripped Up In Saturday Doubleheader at Rutgers [uconn huskies]

W. Lacrosse. Kacey Pippitt’s Career Day Leads UConn Past Villanova, 15-4, On Senior Day [uconn huskies]

M. Track. Huskies Wrap Up Big Weekend at UNH Wildcat Invitational II and Penn Relays [uconn huskies]

W. Track. Set, Reset; 4x200m Relay Posts Yet Another Record Time in Final Day of Penn Relays [uconn huskies]