The way you hear some Red Sox fans talk, you’d think this year’s edition of the carmine hose was hovering near the bottom of the American League standings. Sure, Pedro Martinez has already been shelled in two outings and may be headed to the DL; sure, last year’s surprise 21-game winner, Derek Lowe, has a 1-3 road record with a gruesome 11.57 ERA away from Fenway; sure, Nomar Garciaparra’s batting "only" .281 and has already committed eight errors; sure, the committee has blown five of 14 save opportunities, and provides Sox managers with a nightly reminder that "No lead is safe."

Well, fact of the matter is, it’s mid May, and while Boston is not en route to the 40-19 start it jumped out to last spring, this year’s squad is really a solid group of players, capable of very good — though not necessarily great or championship-level — things.

As of Monday, the Sox were at 23-14, three games behind the Death Star in the AL East standings. But throw Boston temporarily into the Central Division, and what do you have? A first-place team. Toss them into the West? A first-place team. Truth be told, only one team in the American League, and three in all of baseball, have better records at this early point in the season. Add to that the fact that the Sox are the top offensive team in the majors — in the majors — with a .286 team batting average, and you wonder what kind of team you’d have here if it had better than the 11th-best pitching staff in the league. And don’t forget: starting pitching was supposed to be one of the Sox’ strengths coming into this season, since they boasted two 20-game winners last year and two other guys who won 10-plus games.

Much criticism has been directed at the bullpen, particularly in the early going of this season, but their twelfth-best 5.06 ERA is not significantly worse than the earned-run numbers that the starting rotation has put up thus far this season (4.92, ninth-best in the AL). Lately, the pen has done a pretty decent job, and the relievers’ numbers bear that out: Jason Shiell (1-0, 1.54 ERA), Brandon Lyon (1-1, 2.41, four saves), and Mike Timlin (3-1, 4.03) all boast respectable numbers, and even beleaguered firemen Steve Woodard (5.09 ERA), Ramiro Mendoza (7.54), and Alan Embree (10.29) have all in the last couple of weeks seen their numbers whittled down after very shaky Aprils.

Martinez claimed to have been hampered by a groin problem in his most recent loss in Minnesota, but Lowe’s recent struggles have most likely been a breakdown in mechanics. If Pedro misses any significant time because of that injury — which is a possibility considering he does not have the bull-like physique of a Roger Clemens or Nolan Ryan, both power pitchers who were prone to such injuries — then the Government Center parade in October can already be cancelled. Lowe should be able to work out his problems, although the occasional absence of pitching coach Tony Cloninger (cancer treatments) could hinder Lowe’s ability to make instant adjustments during the course of his starts.

Luckily, the Red Sox have gotten several decent outings from knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and youngster Casey Fossum, with Wake collecting four wins in five decisions along with a save, and Fossum going 3-1 with a 4.38 ERA over his seven starts. The weakest link so far has been fifth starter John Burkett, who has gone five innings or more in six of his seven starts, but is nonetheless scuffling along with a 1-2 record and a whopping 6.20 ERA in seven games.

What’s most encouraging about this team overall is its character and penchant for comebacks. In the past couple of years in particular, if the team fell behind early, one could hit the hay and not have to worry about missing any dramatic late-inning comebacks. This year the team seems to stay focused throughout each contest, with Sunday night’s nationally broadcast 9-8 loss in Minneapolis serving as a prime(-time) example. It started badly, as Lowe submitted another dismal outing and put the Sox in an 8-0 hole after just four innings. With Twins ace Brad Radke cruising along and with the AL’s best bullpen at the ready, many New Englanders probably threw in the towel and were in the rack by 10. If they did, they missed a classic chip-away rally, as Boston struck for single runs in the fifth and sixth, chased Radke in the seventh by tacking on another three-spot, and had a golden chance snuffed out in the eighth when it was only able to cut the gap to 9-6. In the ninth, Minnesota closer Eddie Guardado — he of the seven saves and 0.66 ERA coming in — got the first two Soxers easily before things got interesting. Fifteen minutes later, the Twins had survived a 9-8 triumph, with the tying and winning runs on base for Boston before third baseman Bill Mueller grounded out to end the game. Both Manny Ramirez and Shea Hillenbrand were in 0-2 holes against "Everyday Eddie," and both came through with clutch singles to extend the inning.

Sunday night’s game was a feel-good loss, if there is such a thing, since Boston was on ESPN’s national stage and appeared to be laying a giant egg for the nation to see before waging the face-saving rally. If you were up late to see the end of the game, you most likely had the feeling that the Sox were really going to pull off what two hours earlier would have been unfathomable. Sure, the team came up short on this night, but scoring seven unanswered runs after the fifth inning, on the road, against one of baseball’s best pitching staffs, was a moral victory in spite of the fact that the Sox dropped two of three to Minnesota for the second straight weekend.

The Boston starting and relief corps is still in a state of flux, but the hitting displayed by this team on a nightly basis is routinely a thing of beauty. To wit:

• Ramirez: Manny has climbed out of an early-season slump to climb to seventh in the batting race at .336, and he has shown flashes of brilliance not only defensively but on the basepaths. The 2002 batting champ has only hit four HRs so far, but he’s collected 48 hits, 24 RBIs, and 16 walks, and always seems to be a key component of every Sox rally.

• Mueller: Originally expected to be a back-up infielder, Mueller has emerged as the Sox’ must-play factor, as he has batted .337 while playing a respectable third base. Mueller, who was signed as a free agent from the Cubs during the off-season, has already come up with so many key hits this season that Little has little choice but to make him an everyday player, even though it bumps regular third baseman Hillenbrand over to first on a regular basis.

• Hillenbrand: Shea has shown that he is more than capable of playing first base permanently, although he hasn’t been tested too many times thus far on the short-hop scoops. Who cares when he’s batting .308 with 29 RBIs batting sixth or lower?

• Kevin Millar: Millar has been relegated to DH and right-field duty because of the shifting of Mueller and Hillenbrand, but he’s been a solid character addition to the clubhouse, and his .303 average and impressive power numbers are nothing to sniff at.

• Trot Nixon: Typically a slow starter, Trot has lit up opponents for a .330 average, and while he is still being regularly platooned against lefties, he has shown that he can produce on a regular basis, and he may be headed for a career year — for which the fandom has patiently waited over the course of his six-year career.

• Todd Walker: Walker (.308) has proven to be one of GM Theo Epstein’s niftiest pick-ups, as the 29-year-old second baseman, like Mueller, has proven indispensable and always seems to find a way to get on base or move the runner over at a key juncture.

• Others of note: Backup catcher Doug Mirabelli (.267) is actually out-hitting the starter, Jason Varitek (.253), but the tandem is still providing some key hits out of the ninth spot; Damian Jackson has been a pinch-runner extraordinaire, and has already stolen eight bases; and though David Ortiz (.217) and Jeremy Giambi (.209 after a four-for-four effort Sunday) have certainly struggled the first six weeks, it is not for lack of effort, and both have made occasional vital contributions and will certainly get the opportunity to make more.

There are plenty of other things to admire about this year’s Red Sox. Their ability to get that runner home from third with less than two outs has been greatly improved from last year, and their aforementioned clutch hitting overall has kept them in many games. In addition, Boston’s record in one-run games is a vast improvement over last season’s, as the Sox are 9-3 in those contests, including 4-0 at the Fens heading into the 12-game homestand.

Only Vader’s Raiders have scored more runs overall than the Red Sox, and the Olde Towne Team has averaged nearly six runs a game, a total that is almost unheard-of in these parts. And when and if the pitching staff settles down to reasonable ERA levels, six runs a game will win you a helluva lot more games than it will lose.

For Boston fans, the best part of all this is not that the Sox are 23-14, are the best hitting team in the big leagues, or have scored the second-most runs.

What’s best, and what’s clear, about this year’s team, is that while it is still very rough around the edges and not yet championship-caliber, the 2003 Sox seem to be working hard, getting along, doing the little things it takes to win, and really seeming to give a damn.

They’re still a work in progress, but in the process, they’re sure making it hard for their fans to get a good night’s sleep.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com, and Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com