After last year’s slug-happy cardiac season that featured largely mediocre pitching, I gotta admit it’s awfully nice winning games as systematically and methodically as these Red Sox do. Simply put, on almost every night, the Red Sox will start the better starter, field the better lineup, replace their starting pitcher with better relievers and replace their position players if needed with better role players than their opponent. It’s a simple and simultaneously alarmingly effective means of achieving baseball success.

Tonight Curt Schilling pitched his best game as a Red Sox and Jason Varitek’s 4th inning 2-run home run off Paul Abbott was all the offense the Sox would need. As is their custom, the Sox tacked on an extra four runs and the team went on to a 6-0 win. Bill Mueller and Manny Ramirez each had impressive nights at the dish, both singling and doubling on the evening. It will be interesting to see how much the Boston mediots harp on Manny’s failure to run out a towering double he hit in the fifth inning. On a ball that appeared almost certain to either be foul or a home run, Ramirez stood at home plate only to see the ball land fair and off the green monster. What easily should have been a two-out double was just a single. Of course since the next batter, Varitek, grounded out the matter was inconsequential.

Schilling was lifted after 7 and 1/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts and did not walk a batter. Alan Embree and Lenny Dinardo combined to polish off the Rays, getting the final five outs in succession.

I understand that times will not always be as serene as these. Still, this roster is built to succeed with exceptional regularity and it is difficult to imagine even a hypothetical scenario in which things could go all that awry.