∗ Just over three weeks into the season, almost nothing has gone as planned for the Red Sox.Garrett Crochet’s most recent start was the worst of his career and the one two starts before that wasn’t very good either. Rotation additions Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez have each had two good and two bad, though at least with Suarez, the arrow is pointed up. Brayan Bello has been what he’s always been — maddeningly inconsistent.The guy who was supposed to have become the catcher of the present and the future, Carlos Narvaez, has played poorly enough to lose his grip on the No. 1 role.

Caleb Durbin looks overwhelmed, and despite a few breakout games, Trevor Story looks as lost at the plate as he did last May. Marcelo Mayer has looked fine in the field, but overmatched at the plate. Roman Anthony appears uncertain at times, often caught in between at the plate.

Aroldis Chapman has been human, as opposed to otherworldly.In short, here is the entire list of players who have met or exceeded expectations to date: Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, Connor Wong and Connelly Early.End of list.It’s early still, of course. We’re not even to Patriots Day, never mind Memorial Day, the customary calendar marker to first evaluate teams. The Red Sox may well figure things out and play to their capability, and the first few weeks will soon become a distant memory, a short hiccup to start an otherwise successful season.But the longer it takes, the more it makes you wonder: What if this is it?

What if, despite the investment and promises, this is who they are?And if that’s the case, then what?∗ Regarding the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini mess: I don’t know for certain the nature of their relationship and neither do you. But a few things have been made clear.First, Russini has suffered far more from the fallout of their time together in Arizona, and while some of that is due to the journalistic ethics she clearly fumbled, a part of it also reeks of a double standard, with a dash of misogyny thrown in.Even in a fast-changing media landscape, some journalistic standards have to be upheld.

Sadly, there are no such ethical standards within the coaching fraternity, allowing Vrabel to skate. While Russini was apparently pressured into resigning, there are no such calls for Vrabel to lose his position.But by attempting to hide out with no additional comment or explanation until the storm passes, Vrabel has, at the very least, come off as cowardly. Further, his past championing of female journalists, promoted by the likes of ESPN and other legacy media, now rings hollow.Russini, meanwhile, through her unprofessional behavior, has sullied the reputations of all female sports journalists, who already have to overcome ignorant assumptions about their motivation for being in the business in the first place.∗ The Bruins, who get their postseason underway Sunday, are already playing with house money.

No one (raises hand meekly) expected this kind of one-season turnaround and return to the playoffs. That seemed out of the question at the start of the year, especially when you consider the long rebuilds experienced by Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago and others.GM Don Sweeney made shrewd trades last deadline and smart free agent additions last summer, and now has the franchise pointed in the right direction far sooner than anyone could have forecast.I like Buffalo in seven games in this series — not because there’s a huge talent gap, but because the Bruins have been a poor road team and the atmosphere in Buffalo is going to be bedlam for a visiting team.∗ The Celtics should have a far easier time of it in their first round series with Philadelphia.

The Celts were already massive favorites and the unavailability of Joel Embiid represents one more hurdle for the Sixers.Anything longer than five games means something’s gone wrong.∗ I find it hard to believe there’s another RSN (regional sports network) in the country that has more technical issues than NESN. Not a week goes by without one of its telecasts being interrupted by one glitch or another.∗ Baseball’s better when Mike Trout is healthy and playing like his younger self.∗ As much as he doesn’t even want to talk about it, Joe Mazzulla should be Coach of the Year in the NBA. ∗ It’s hard not to think that the Los Angeles Angels are somehow a cursed franchise.

The number of accidental (and early) deaths suffered by their players the last few decades is impossible to ignore. From Lyman Bostock to Donnie Moore to Nick Adenhart to Tyler Skaggs to, now, Garret Anderson, dead this week at 53, no team has weathered more tragedy.∗ On one hand, MLB owners must be thrilled that the San Diego Padres, a franchise designated as a small market team, were able to fetch almost $4 billion when they were sold this past week. On the other, it kind of shoots a sizable hole in their claims that the game needs a salary cap as CBA negotiations get ready to start.∗ The NFL draft lacks a certain buzz this year, with