enlarge The Associated Press

Daisuke Matsuzaka led the Red Sox with 18 wins last season, but an injury has slowed his start and he has yet to win a game in 2009.

TODAY'S GAME

WHO: Red Sox (Matsuzaka 0-3) at Detroit Tigers (Porcello 6-3)

WHEN: 7:05 p.m.

TELEVISION: NESN

The Major League Baseball schedule is a grind unlike any other in sports. The Red Sox calendar is an ongoing blur of red and white squares, three- and four-day series that roll on from city to city.

Monday was a rare white-square day, Boston's first off day in two weeks. It also was the first day of a new month, providing an opportunity to reflect on what this team has accomplished during April and May.

The Red Sox began June a half-game out of first place in the American League East, a stunning fact considering the following:

• David Ortiz is hitting .185 with one home run. He was hitting .250 with 12 homers on June 1, 2008.

• Daisuke Matsuzaka, who led the staff with 18 wins a year ago, has yet to win a game.

• Jon Lester's ERA is 5.65, 2.50 higher than his 2008 ERA.

So, are you a glass-half-full Red Sox fan or do you gnash your teeth and wail over the water missing from your cup?

After all, if Big Papi had been hitting, if Dice-K had been healthy, this team might be five games up in the division race.

On the other hand, the half-fullers look at the standings and say the team's best baseball is ahead, that the Red Sox have been able to tread water without contributions from several key players.

It has been an inconsistent start to the season, and a team with Boston's playoff experience should show more consistency in the weeks and months ahead.

The bullpen has been the only consistently effective aspect of this team. Red Sox relievers have a 2.96 ERA, the best in the American League. Jonathan Papelbon, who has made the ninth inning a little too adventurous at times this year, has converted 13 of 14 save opportunities. Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson head up the most reliable group of setup men in baseball.

Other than that, it has been hard to predict what this team will bring to the table on a given night. Offensively, the team lately has fallen on hard times, forcing Manager Terry Francona to shuffle the lineup twice over the course of the current 10-game road trip.

First, Francona made the long-awaited move of dropping Ortiz to the sixth spot in the order. That hasn't paid many dividends yet – Ortiz is 3 for 24 on the trip since moving out of the No. 3 spot. J.D. Drew took his place and produced even less offense from that important spot in the order: one hit in 16 at-bats.

On Sunday, Francona shuffled things again, batting Kevin Youkilis third. That paid off, with Youkilis hitting two home runs, one shy of the total the Red Sox got from the No. 3 hitter in the first 50 games.

After all, the third hitter in a lineup is supposed to be the team's best all-around hitter, right? That's Youkilis. He's got the team's best batting average (.366) and he hits for adequate power. His OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is 1.150, the best of any AL hitter with 100 at bats.

Much of Francona's lineup juggling has centered on finding the right place for the left-handed hitting Ortiz and J.D. Drew. Instead, he should focus on Youkilis at No. 3 and build the rest of the lineup around him, with Jason Bay the perfect cleanup hitter behind Youkilis.

The shakeup also moved Dustin Pedroia to the leadoff spot, with Jacoby Ellsbury sliding down to eighth. While Ellsbury has hit well enough (at least one hit in 23 of his last 25 games), he has not gotten on base enough for a leadoff man.

Pedroia's on-base percentage is .416, significantly higher than Ellsbury's .335. Get the leadoff man on base more often and the big guns will get more chances to drive in runs.

With the lineup more settled (for now), there is reason to believe the rotation will settle in, too. Josh Beckett already has rounded into form, lowering his ERA by more than 21/2 runs after going 3-0 with a 2.38 ERA in May. Jon Lester struck out a career-high 12 batters Sunday, the most by a Red Sox lefty in...