Ugh. These Red Sox have become tough to watch.

After an April filled with excitement, the Sox have been a hard team to figure out in May. The month started with a five-game losing streak, followed by a four-game winning streak, followed by three losses in the final four games of the homestand.

Go figure. The team that led the AL East by three games on May 1 finds itself in Toronto in the expected dogfight with the Yankees. Nothing is going to come easy – but you should’ve expected that, too.

The 3-3 homestand vs. Kansas City and Cleveland was disappointing to say the least. These are teams the Sox should be beating, even if the Boston roster is depleted with the loss of Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon. To go through this stretch of games against weaker teams and have only a slight edge over the Yankees does not bode well. More on that later.

First, let’s break down the good and bad of this team. Let’s start with Mark Bellhorn, who might be the poster child for these enigmatic Red Sox. Bellhorn hit Toronto leading the league in walks. With 29 free passes, his on-base percentage was more than .160 higher than his batting average. He was on pace to break the Red Sox record for walks in a season, and two weeks ago fans were buzzing about this statistical anomaly.

Now, fans are buzzing about another league-leading stat Bellhorn carries – the most strikeouts in the league. A team will endure a high strikeout number from a slugger, but Bellhorn is no deep threat. Through 34 games, he had hit three home runs and had a total of 11 extra base hits. It’s hard to feel good about a No. 2 hitter with the league’s leading strikeout total.

In general, the Sox offense has been slow to start. Perhaps we were spoiled by last year’s record-setting lineup. You knew this team wouldn’t match last year’s totals, but the lack of offense is concerning. Theo Epstein let some of that offense go when he elected not to re-sign Todd Walker, figuring there was enough offense to go around. Then Garciaparra and Nixon were injured, and the bottom of the order was suddenly very weak. Sox pitching has been good, but it has needed to be nearly perfect most nights.

And the defense is even scarier. After Wednesday night’s three-error loss, the Sox had committed more errors than every other major league team except for Detroit.

“I’ve never been on a championship-caliber club that wasn’t a very good defensive team,” said Curt Schilling after Thursday night’s loss. Read between the lines as you will.

That said, it’s mid-May and the Sox are hanging in there. They’re treading water without two of their best hitters in the lineup. They’re doing it with guys like Bellhorn, Dave McCarty, and Cesar Crespo. There’s no doubt things will get better when Nomar and Trot return.

Still, the rough water of the schedule lies ahead. While the Sox were scuffling against the Royals, Indians, and Blue Jays, the Yankees were feasting on the A’s, Angels, and Mariners. New York’s schedule is going to get easier; Boston’s will be tougher. So it’s going to be a long, tough race. Did you expect anything else?

Lewiston native Tom Caron is a sports analyst for Red Sox and Bruins telecasts.