Too good to be true?

You might think after two titles in four years that a fan of the Red Sox would stop being paranoid and just enjoy the success, but after an 86-year drought, you'd be forgiven for holding on to feelings of anxiety about the Sox' chances.

But the way the team is playing, it's almost too good to be true. There have been a couple of instances this season where I thought a game was lost, but the Sox found a way to pull out a victory (two games in Cleveland come to mind), and a few escapes in the four-game sweep of Texas over the weekend also qualify, especially Sunday's comeback.

But last night's series opener against those Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was the biggest example yet. On a night when Josh Beckett was scratched from his scheduled start with a neck problem, and both Jason Varitek and Manny Delcarmen were out with the flu, all signs pointed to a rough night at Fenway.

The Sox called up David Pauley from Pawtucket to take Beckett's start, and the Angels quickly figured out that if they wait for the sinker-baller to get a pitch up, they were in business. It didn't look good.

But Jacoby Ellsbury hit two home runs, and the Sox rallied for a 7-6 victory in a game they probably should have lost. Too good to be true? Maybe. But this team is so solid, words like "dynasty" are starting to creep into my mind. With Big Papi in an early-season slump and Mike Lowell on the DL -- not to mention the fact that Curt Schilling might not pitch an inning this year -- the Sox have found a way to grab first place in the loaded AL East. Will the other shoe ever drop? Should I even be thinking about that? The way this team is playing and the "embarrassment of riches" success tell me that I should not.