FOXBORO — Time, now, to embarrass Scott Pioli.

Since I chronicled, a few days ago, a sorry series of personnel moves that should have left Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein red-faced, it’s now Pioli’s turn.

Pioli’s embarrassment, however, is of an entirely different nature.

While Epstein this year has treated New England’s avid sports fans to the likes of J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo, and Eric Gagne, Pioli, the VP of player personnel for the Patriots, has brought in the likes of Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth.

Pioli’s haul, then, is an embarrassment of riches.

In contrast to Epstein, who’s frittered away millions of Red Sox owner John Henry’s dollars — $70 million on Drew, $36 million on Lugo, and $103 million on Daisuke Matsuzaka, who’s under .500 since Memorial Day — Pioli has provided real bang for Pats owner Robert Kraft’s bucks.

No deal has been a bigger steal than Moss, the talented but troublesome wide receiver who was obtained from the Raiders during the draft for a fourth-round pick.

While there never was any question about Moss’s ability — at 6-foot-4, 210, with speed that enables him to glide past defenders, great hands, and an array of moves both before and after the catch, he has Hall of Fame talent — there were lots of legitimate questions about his work ethic, his selfishness, his behavior, his demeanor, his professionalism.

Two games into his career in New England, the only question about Moss is whether he’s playing better than the legendary Jerry Rice, the former 49ers wideout who is the standard by which all others are now measured.

Moss has been nothing short of spectacular in the Patriots’ first two games — back-to-back 38-14 romps past the Jets and highly regarded Chargers. Against New York in the opener, Moss had 9 catches for 183 yards and a 51-yard touchdown (in which he left four Jets hopelessly chasing him), then followed that up last Sunday night by scoring two TDs on 8 catches, good for 105 yards, against San Diego.

“He’s playing with confidence,” Chargers coach Norv Turner said.

He’s also playing with Welker, and it’s obvious that the 5-foot-9, 185-pound darter obtained from the Dolphins complements Moss very well.

Welker was Miami’s leading receiver last season, with 67 catches for 687 yards. At the rate he’s going, he could match those numbers by midseason. He already has 14 receptions, for 152 yards and a touchdown for the Patriots.

When Moss stretches opposing defenses, understandably worried about him going deep, Welker exposes the soft underbelly of the secondary, finding openings underneath the coverage.

It helps, of course, that the Patriots’ incomparable QB, Tom Brady, invariably finds the open man.

The Pats had been impressed with what Welker had done against them in previous seasons. In a game at New England last October, he had a career-high 9 catches for 77 yards. Miami’s leading kickoff and punt returner the past three years, Welker also filled in as the Dolphins’ kicker for a game against the Patriots in Foxboro in 2004, when he stepped in after Olindo Mare was hurt in pregame warmups and converted not only his lone extra-point try, but also a 29-yard field-goal attempt.

No wonder Pioli readily parted with second and seventh-round draft choices last March to get Welker from the Dolphins.

With most of the passes in the first two games going to Moss, Welker and tight end Ben Watson, Stallworth so far has just 3 receptions for 38 yards. But don’t doubt that the free-agent signee from the Eagles will have his share of big plays before long.

Thomas already has.

The Patriots couldn’t wait to sign him, luring him away from the Ravens at the outset of free agency with a lucrative contract that included a signing bonus of $12 million. He’s already paying dividends, intercepting a pass against the Chargers and then showing stunning speed for a 270-pound linebacker, returning it 65 yards for a touchdown.

It’s only right to point out that the NFL season is entering just its third week, and the Red Sox, who have faded down the stretch, got off to a hot start, too.

But it’s also fair to note that, despite working under a salary cap that makes it difficult to keep good teams together, the Patriots are overwhelming favorites to win a fifth straight AFC East title, their sixth in seven seasons. The Red Sox, even with an almost unlimited budget, haven’t won a division title since 1995. And while the Red Sox have won just one world championship in 88 years, the Patriots have won three in the last six, and are a popular pick to add another this season.

Much of the credit for that goes to Pioli, 42, who maintains a low profile for a man who has been so highly successful. He is as modest and unassuming as he is intelligent and perceptive. His ability to evaluate both college players and NFL players who’d be a good fit for New England has been demonstrated year after year, going back to 2000, when Bill Belichick brought him along from the Jets organization.

Among his other acquisitions have been such players as Mike Vrabel, Rodney Harrison, Rosevelt Colvin and Corey Dillon. And it was he who drafted not only first-rounders such as Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins and Laurence Maroney, but also fourth-rounder Asante Samuel, who tied for the NFL lead in interceptions last season, and Brady, who may be the best sixth-round pick in league history.

It says in the Patriots media guide that Pioli “is an avid baseball fan.”

You think, if he were running the Red Sox, he’d have brought in the likes of Drew, Lugo and Gagne?

jdonalds@projo.com