For the Boston Red Sox, the Road to October begins this week in Cleveland. It’s a 162-game journey that will test the mental and physical toughness of every man who wears the uniform.

For the past two seasons, the journey has ended long before it should have. It’s been more than two years since Sox fans have been treated to any sort of playoff race.

Red Sox Manager John Farrell says, "We know what's transpired the last two years, but those years are behind us." Associated Press

That’s why there’s so much talk about the importance of a good start for the 2016 team. Last year, the Sox were under .500 by May 3. They never reached .500 again, and finished in the cellar for the second straight year, the first time in 85 years Boston had consecutive last-place finishes.

It’s no coincidence that the team finished well back of the pack. You can’t win a championship in April, but you can certainly lose one.

“It’s been written a lot about that, that anytime you look back (on) a good year, you’ve got off to a decent start,” said Manager John Farrell. “That’s no different for us. The urgency which has been spoken about, written about, that’s every year. That’s Boston. We know what’s transpired the last two years, but those years are behind us. We’re looking for a tremendous amount of energy and optimism (for the season opener).”

Farrell believes his team is built for the long haul. He thinks this group is ready to hit the ground running. They had better be. Farrell’s job could be hanging in the balance.

When the Sox signed bench coach Torey Lovullo to an extension this winter, they did so in part because they weren’t sure if Farrell would be fully recovered from his battle with lymphoma.

Farrell is fit and ready to go. Now he has to prove he’s the right man to lead this team back into playoff contention.

“We’re ready,” said Farrell. “We’re ready to begin the season. That means that there’s a journey ahead that we’ll get thrown some things that might be unexpected, some bumps and twists along the way. How we respond to those as a team is what matters most.”

To truly respond to the challenge, the Red Sox will have to prove themselves in an early-season gauntlet that will test the notion that they are a contender.

Seven of Boston’s first 13 games are against the defending AL East champion Toronto Blue Jays, a team that led the American League with 891 runs last year. Friday’s game in Canada kicks of a two-week stretch of games against divisional opponents.

“That’s one thing you can’t do,” said Dave Dombrowski, Boston’s president of baseball operations. “You can’t get buried early.”

Opening Day starter David Price signed a seven-year, $217 million contract to lead this team back to respectability. Last year he won nine of his 11 starts with Toronto in August and September, and the Blue Jays made the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.

He’s expected to live up to his big contract. This spring, Pablo Sandoval and Rusney Castillo didn’t live up to theirs. So they begin the season on the bench, after Brock Holt and Travis Shaw fought their way into the Opening Day lineup.

“The way our players came and worked every day, the energy that they brought every day, their attention to detail, that’s been outstanding,” said Farrell. “We’ve seen a group that has somewhat grown together and become a little more close as we begin. This is a special group of guys, and I’m happy and proud to be a part of it.”

Farrell hopes to be part of it for a long time. For that to happen he’ll need this group to make the start of the season special for all of us.

Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.

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