Since the creation of the central divisions, only 4 teams have finished last with 78 wins or more. The Red Sox have done it 3 times.
So, yes, they are not horrible. But if you are going to play in a tough division like the AL East currently is, then you do need to step it up if you want to be competitive. You simply cannot wait for the rest of the division to come down and meet you and limbo under your .500-ish performance...