DETROIT—We traditionally overrate the Red Sox. They have the best lineup. They have too much pitching. They have great ownership. They have dedicated fans and a cozy, celebrity ballpark. This is the year. Best Team Ever. Leave calendars open for October. Strawberry Fields Forever.
Not this year. No one is picking the Red Sox to win. The Sox are careening down the dugout steps and they haven’t even played a game yet. The Red Sox this year are underdogs, hiding in the weeds while all the attention is focused on American League teams from New York, Detroit, Anaheim, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Tampa Bay.

The Sox have earned this disrespect. Royally...

Don't the people at the Globe get tired of having a negative guy with such a stupid haircut walking around all the time? Constantly complaining and finding things to be negative about.

We know all the negatives about the Sox going in to the season but that's just the point - we're going IN to the season. There's no guarantees that the Red Sox will win the title, sure. But there's no guarantee they won't either. Despite what Shank may want you to think, Opening Day is not a time to throw in the towel, whine because things aren't going your way and take your ball and go home.

On the contrary - Opening Day is about hope and the promise of a clean slate. On the same day that the Masters is starting and Tiger Woods looks to finally reclaim his place at the top of golf, one thing is clear from the reception and fever surrounding the tournament and Tiger himself: In order to make people forget about your past transgressions, all you need to do is win.

All of the pain and sorrow we felt as Red Sox fans last season can be replaced - even for a day - by a win against Justin Verlander and the Tigers. One win can inspire a nation (Red Sox Nation) with the hopes that this year is going to be different.

So on Opening Day remember this: It's easy to be negative and constantly bring up the bad things, to focus on the ways it COULD go wrong or has in the past, but it's a lot more fun to have hope and know that on Opening Day, everyone has a shot.