4 reasons the Red Sox are 10-4

The Red Sox are off to a fantastic start - probably much better than any of us anticipated, but there are some things about this team that lead me to believe that they can keep it up. Here are ten of them.

1. Jon Lester's cutter. Yes, specifically his cutter. In Lester's terrible 2012 (9-14, 4.82 ERA), he threw his cutter on 22.1% of pitches.This year, the ace is throwing his out pitch 27.4% of the time through his first three starts, in which Lester is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA. He has an 8.5 K/9, an improvement from only 7.3 K/9 last year, a number that has been decreasing since 2009.

2. The starting rotation. For the previous few years, the Red Sox have followed in the footsteps of their starting pitching - when they succeed, so does the team. The starting five is 6-2, has yet to allow more than three runs in a start, and the pitching staff as a whole leads the majors with 141 strikeouts. If the rotation can continue to play their part, the bullpen is strong enough to secure victories.

3. A healthy lineup. With Pedroia second on the team in average and on-base percentage, Victorino leading the team with a .333 average, Mike Napoli's team-leading 16 RBI, and Ellsbury's team-leading 11 runs, the top half of the lineup is getting the job done. And, David Ortiz isn't even around, yet. Throw him into the lineup, and the Red Sox suddenly have a very dangerous top half of the order.

4. Sexiness (or lack thereof). Look, there's nothing flashy about this team. Nothing like what was supposed to happen in 2011 and 2012. That is good for this ball club. The "sellout" streak is over, but the city still has the team's back, and the Red Sox will play their part to support the city of Boston. With a group of players focused on wins and losses, the franchise is slowly on its way back to being about baseball. And that's all we need, right now.