The Red Sox have made the playoffs eleven times since 1995. Alex Speier (108 Stitches) notes that all eleven of those teams won at least 24 of their first 43 games. Boston is 22-21 this year. From Speier's Monday newsletter:
To date, the 2017 Red Sox have been a team that has been unable to define itself. They've staggered through fitful performances, winning no more than four straight this year and losing no more than three straight. ... The inconsistency has been somewhere between puzzling and maddening to both observers and members of the team alike, a head-scratcher for a team expected to run away with the division.