Instead, there was talk of one mission, which hadn't been achieved since the Yankees of 1998-2000 won it all three years in a row.
"Our focus has to be to come out and win another championship," said the captain and catcher, Jason Varitek. "We come in to try to build another championship team. It's been a while since anyone in Major League Baseball has had that opportunity. We'll go out there and do Step 1 of trying to start that and set that tone now. It's been, probably since 2000, that someone has been able to repeat. That's the goal of this team, this organization: to keep putting winning teams out there."
And seven months later, as they enter Monday's key set with the first-place Rays one game out of first and leading the AL Wild Card by six games, the goal put forth by the captain is still within range. Though they haven't locked it up just yet, the Red Sox are closing in on their fifth postseason berth in the last six years.
It seems the only thing to be decided is if Boston's entry to October will be as the Wild Card or the American League East champion.
One thing is for certain: The ride to get to this point as been equal parts exhausting, entertaining, injury-filled and memorable.
Unlike the magical 2007 season, when the Red Sox led the division almost wire to wire, there have been obstacles at just about every turn in '08. But the Red Sox have survived all of it to this point and are now gearing up for the games that count the most.
"We're playing good baseball right now," said left-hander Jon Lester. "We're swinging the bats and playing good defense. We're getting guys back at key times. Hopefully we'll keep going forward and keep this good thing going."
As the Red Sox continue to, as Lester says, go forward, it seems like a sensible time to take a look back and see how this gritty team has arrived at this point.
Going the distance
The season started like none other in Red Sox history -- in another continent. Yes, the Red Sox cut short their Spring Training and trekked all the way to Japan, playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams, and then opening their season at Tokyo Dome against the Oakland Athletics.
While most of New England was just getting up for the start of the work day on March 25, Brandon Moss drilled a solo homer in the top of the ninth to force extra innings on Opening Night. Manny Ramirez made the team's first international opener one to remember, rifling a game-winning double into the gap in right-center in the top of the 10th inning.
A day later, Lester and the Sox lost, and just like that, it was time to go back to the United States.
After traveling thousands of miles, the Red Sox knew they would have to get re-energized.
"The best thing we can do ... is for each person to take care of themselves, and you can either elect to be tired or not be tired," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "And then when you're tired, elect not to let it affect you. That's how it is during the year anyway."
Milestone May
The Red Sox overcame their rough, early-season travel well enough to go 17-12 as they headed into May. And if there was a month in which individual accomplishments were as much of a storyline as what was going on with the team, this was it.
The most magical night of the entire season took place on May 19, in what didn't seem like anything more than a nondescript Monday night game against the Kansas City Royals.
But that was the night Lester fired a no-hitter, sending chills throughout the Boston dugout and throughout the stands.
"It's something that I'll remember forever, a lot of excitement," said Lester that night. "I think I had more adrenaline going in the ninth inning than I did in the first inning, which I guess is normal for that situation. It was great. The fans were great; they're on their feet yelling and screaming. It was probably one of the loudest times I've heard Fenway when I've been out there pitching."
The next individual quest to follow was Ramirez, and his bid for 500 homers. Though Ramirez belted No. 496 on April 19, it wasn't until May 31 when he finally got the big one.
The venue was Camden Yards, which was packed with Red Sox fans. They all stood up and roared when Ramirez hit a soaring drive into the seats in right-center against former Boston pitcher Chad Bradford. With that long ball, Ramirez, No. 24 in your program, became the 24th player in MLB history to achieve the feat.
"As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone. I was happy to move on," said Ramirez. "It was great. I've been trying so hard the past three weeks just to get it done. It finally came, and I'm happy. I'm proud of myself and all the things that I accomplished. So now I can go and have fun."
But there wasn't much fun two innings later when David Ortiz felt a pop in his left wrist after finishing his swing. Two days later, it was revealed that Big Papi would be out of the mix indefinitely with a torn tendon sheath. He would miss seven weeks.
The Red Sox were embarking on their first true gut check of the season.
J.D.'s June
When the Red Sox arrived in Baltimore at the end of May, right fielder J.D. Drew woke up in his hotel room, only to find it spinning all over the place. Drew had vertigo, missing the first two games of the series.
Who could have known that when Drew returned to the lineup on June 1, he was ready to embark on his most significant offensive tear as a member of the Red Sox?
Not only did Drew take over for Ortiz in the No. 3 spot in the batting order, but he came through with the type of production usually reserved for Big Papi.
In the month of June, Drew hit .337 with 12 homers -- one more than he hit in all of 2007 -- and 27 RBIs.
"It definitely feels a lot better when you're going well instead of having to worry or stress about the everyday life of trying to get out of slumps and things like that," said Drew. "As far as that goes, it's going really well. It's been one of those situations where it's just a second year kind of thing, things go better. You go out there and keep it nice and easy and play the game."
Thanks in large part to Drew, the Red Sox got to the All-Star break back in first place -- albeit by just a half-game -- over those pesky Rays.
Manny being Gone
Manny being Manny had gotten to be too much for the Red Sox. The off-field stuff -- be it decking respected traveling secretary Jack McCormick, sitting out with questionable injuries or griping about his contract -- was starting to outweigh the on-field production.
The Red Sox were losing games and seemingly losing chemistry. It all bottomed out the night of July 30, when not only did the Red Sox lose 9-2 to the Angels to get swept by the eventual AL West champs for the second time in two weeks, but they looked thoroughly disjointed in the process. It was the eighth loss in 12 games for the Sox.
The next day, general manager Theo Epstein recalled memories of his blockbuster deal involving Nomar Garciaparra four years earlier when he traded another franchise icon -- this time Ramirez -- literally at the buzzer of the trade deadline.
Ramirez was off to Los Angeles to play with Joe Torre and the Dodgers, and Jason Bay -- acquired as part of the three-team trade with the Pirates -- was coming in as the replacement.
Bay officially started his tenure with the team on Aug. 1, being showered with cheers as he dug in for his first at-bat at Fenway. Later that night, Bay delivered a key triple in the bottom of the 12th inning, fueling the Red Sox to victory. The next night, he belted one over the Monster.
Bay never allowed for the pressure that comes with replacing a superstar. Instead, he chose to relish the opportunity. "I just look at it as, 'They traded Manny and they needed a left fielder.' That's the way I look at it," said Bay. "Somebody had to come play after him, and I'm kind of glad it was me."
Finding their groove
A funny thing happened to the Red Sox after Ramirez got traded. They started hitting their stride.
This, even though a barrage of injuries seemed to hit the team at once. For each one, the Red Sox seemed to have an answer.
Shortstop Julio Lugo tore his left quad just before the All-Star break, and rookie Jed Lowrie stepped right in, driving in runs and making all the plays on defense.
When Drew's back got so bad in August that he had to be shut down for weeks, general manager Theo Epstein went out and got Mark Kotsay -- a highly professional veteran -- from the Braves.
Tim Wakefield and ace Josh Beckett both served stints on the disabled list, but Paul Byrd came over in a trade from the Indians and helped fill the void.
"You can't help but be proud of the way they've gone about it from Day 1 of Spring Training," said Epstein. "With a lot of little hurdles and moments of adversity that have crept up, they just keep grinding through it. [I'm] proud of these players and the whole organization so far for having the depth to get us where we are right now."
And big props belong to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. In a year in which Ortiz was injured, World Series MVP Mike Lowell was on the DL twice and Ramirez was traded, Youkilis topped 100 RBIs for the first time in his career.
Just as Youkilis seemed to be gaining some steam in the race for American League Most Valuable Player, a teammate caught utter fire.
By September, it was apparent that if the Red Sox were going to have an American League MVP for the first time since Mo Vaughn in 1995, Dustin Pedroia was the one who was going to win it.
The second baseman belied his diminutive frame by being a huge presence in the lineup. When Youkilis missed a couple of games with injuries, Pedroia even stepped into the cleanup hole.
By adding power and speed to his game, Pedroia far outdid the accomplishments of his 2007 Rookie of the Year season.
"I told him I was going to paint an 'S' on his chest," Kotsay said of Pedroia. "He's a great young player who comes to the park ready to play every day, and you can't say enough about that."
Pedroia - the little engine that could -- symbolized the fight of Boston's 2008 entry. "I just come to the park and keep doing the same thing I've done all season," Pedroia said.
MVP?
"I don't think about that," he said. "I just keep trying to hit; keep doing what I do."
Then there are the Red Sox who will keep doing what they do in hopes that the end will be the exactly the same as it was in 2007, even if the process was a whole lot different.
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