Some teams go for the quick fix. They need a starting pitcher or two, they see names of established pitchers (established doesn’t have to mean good) on the list of free agents and they leap. Millions here, millions there, and they have filled their gaps.

The Yankees hit the lottery two winters ago following that formula, spending more money on two pitchers than other teams spend on entire teams. Their signing of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett helped produce a World Series championship.

Not every team is that successful.

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Consider this possible development: Joey Votto, the Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman, doesn’t make the National League All-Star team but is voted the league’s most valuable player.

A 26-year-old Canadian, Votto has been the N.L.’s No. 1 hitter this season and has been the primary reason the Reds have been one of the five most surprising teams of the year. They have been that along with the Padres, the Rangers, the Braves and the Mets.

Votto leads the league in slugging (.599) and on-base (.419) percentages, total bases (173) and home runs (21). He is also in the top 5 in batting average (.316), runs scored (56) and runs batted in (59).

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Theo Epstein made a promise. “One way or another we’ll field a team every night,” the Red Sox general manager said. He was responding to a question about the rash of injuries that have jammed the team’s disabled list. “Are you going to be able to play out the season?” I asked him.

Ken Williams, on the other hand, refused to answer the question I asked him: “How did you put that streak together?”

“I can’t talk about a streak,” Williams, the White Sox general manager, said. “We’ve lost three of four. You can’t talk about winning streaks when you’ve lost three of four. We should play better. You should have caught me at a better time.”

Nevertheless, the White Sox, like the Red Sox, have played themselves into the races in their divisions.

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