Dads across New England were smiling Sunday the Red Sox are starting to look like World Champions again. After a disastrous trip through St. Louis and Chicago, the Sox have returned to Fenway and have looked like world-beaters.

Yes, the Reds and Pirates are the dregs of the National League, and have pitching staffs that rank amongst the worst in the game. Over the first four games of this homestand, the Sox pounded out 64 hits and scored 37 runs, giving the home fans a glimpse of the offense that made A Nation stand up and cheer for the past two summers.

The offense is back but, frankly, it’s been back for a while. After yesterday’s game, the Sox had scored six or more runs in 12 of the last 16 games. Think about that for a minute. That’s a very impressive amount of run support. That should lead to a healthy winning streak.

And it has, now that the starting pitching has come around.

Even with Wade Miller’s early-game trouble Friday night (keep an eye on this trend – Mr. Miller has suddenly developed a Ramon Martinez-esque habit of struggling through the first two innings), the Sox have had great starting pitching. Going back to Sunday night’s win at Wrigley Field, Sox starters are 5-0 after Sunday’s game and had given up a total 31 hits, 13 walks and 43 strikeouts in six games. That’s an impressive run through the rotation.

It’s also quite a change from the previous 19 games, when Sox starters were 6-13 with a 6.46 ERA.

Three of those wins came against the Reds, a team with a horrendous 6-23 road record. Still, it is a team that scores runs – Cincinnati hit Fenway with the second-most runs of any team in the National League.

They left town having scored four runs over three losses.

The Sox are playing an exciting brand of baseball. They’re pitching, hitting, and playing defense (six consecutive games without an error.) They’ve had some solid performances from a bullpen that has taken plenty of heat this spring. Mike Timlin and Mike Myers have been solid from the start, and Keith Foulke has suddenly regained his form.

Jason Varitek is blocking the plate better than the Patriots offensive line blocks a blitz. Johnny Damon is hitting the ball on a nightly basis. It all adds up to a nightly festival at Fenway, where the fans cheer, think back on last year’s October of love, and wait to see if they won a World Series ring in the Red Sox Foundation raffle.

The Sox have been dominant at home, but they’ve yet to find the right formula on the road. That will come if the team pitches like this.

To paraphrase James Carville, the former aide to Bill Clinton, “it’s the starting rotation, stupid.” This team will score enough runs. If the starters pitch well, the Sox will win. If those pitchers are good, this will be a good summer.

And, for the most part, those starters have been outstanding this week.