Sox Drawer: Mid Season Report Card II (Pitchers)

Okay, you've seen, critiqued and disagreed with my grades for the Boston batters. Now it's time to bash my grades for the Sox pitching staff.

Needless to say the grades are going to be a lot harsher than those for the offense.

BTW, I know at the end of yesterday's post I said I was also going to have my players and plays of the 1/2 season today, but I decided to drag that out til tomorrow. Gotta keep em coming back for more, ya know?

Anyway, on to the report card:
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STARTERS: 2nd in AL in ERA (3.75), 2nd in wins (42)
A Daisuke Matsuzaka 10-1, 2.65, 57BB, 77K, 1.38WHIP, 5HR in 88.1IP
He seems to do it with smoke and mirrors sometimes, but you can't get around the fact that Dice-K is 10-1 at the break, the 3rd most wins in the league despite missing a month with a sore shoulder. He can be infuriating at times with the way he nibbles, yet without his efforts the Sox would not be in first place

A Tim Wakefield 6-6, 3.60, 47BB, 84K, 1.18WHIP, 16HR in 122.1IP
For the past month and a half he not only has been the best pitcher on the Sox, but one of the best in the league. Since allowing 8 runs in 5 innings at Oakland on May 23, Wake has an ERA of 2.13 in 9 starts, and has pitched at least 7 innings and allowed 3ER or less in all but one of those starts. He's 10th in the league in WHIP, and he's a knuckelballer. Amazing. Probably the Sox pitching MVP of the 1st half

B+ Jon Lester 7-3, 3.38, 44BB, 82K, 1.33WHIP, 9HRs in 125IP
He's 8th in the AL in innings pitched and 9th in ERA, and that's remarkable when you remember a year and a half ago he was recovering from cancer. He's had a couple of rough starts recently, which knocked this grade down a bit, yet he still leads the team in ERA, and oh yeah, he threw a no hitter earlier this season.

B Josh Beckett 9-5, 3.94, 24BB, 107K, 1.15WHIP, 14HRs in 112IP
Has definitely pitched better than his record indicates, yet he still is nowhere near the dominating starter he was last season. Spent time on the DL early in the season, which probably contributed to his slow start, and has shown flashes of the Beckett brilliance (13Ks at TB), but has yet to prove he's still the ace of this staff. 6th in the AL in Ks, 8th in WHIP

B- Justin Masterson 4-3, 3.67, 28BB, 39K, 1.26WHIP, 8HR in 54IP
When he first came up and started out 3-0, he was the next big thing. The he stuck around for a while, and we realized he's still just a 23-year-old kid who started the season in Double A and is learning how to pitch in the big leagues. Still, the future is bright for the lanky Jamaican-born righty, either for Boston or whichever team trades for him

C Clay Buchholz 2-4, 5.70, 25BB, 49K, 1.67WHIP, 3 HR in 47.1IP (9G)
Hard to grade a guy who's spent the past 2 months in the minors/on the DL, but we expected more from the kid who threw a no hitter in his 2nd career start. Guess there's nowhere to go but down from there. Came back up last Friday and got shelled by Baltimore after being shelled in his previous start at Minnesota, when he suffered a torn fingernail and went on the DL

I Bartolo Colon 4-2, 4.09, 9BB, 26K, 1.39WHIP, 5HRs in 33IP
Can't really give the big guy a grade because he only pitched in 6 games before getting hurt and missing almost a month with a hip injury. Big Bart did provide a lift to the rotation when he started 3-0 filling in for Dice-K, but came back to earth after that, thus the incomplete. Could be a factor in the 2nd half, provided he stays healthy (big 'IF')

RELIEVERS: 10th in ERA (3.95) and WHIP (1.42), 2nd in BS (16)
B+ Jonathan Papelbon 3-3, 2.43, 28SVs, 4BS, 7BB, 51K, 0.96WHIP, 3HRs in 41G
Like Beckett, Paps hasn't been nearly as dominating as he has been in years past. His blown save total is just 2 off his career high, his ERA is the highest its been since his rookie season, and he's allowed almost as many homers as he did all last year. Still, he's the best reliever on the club and one of the best closers in the game

B David Aardsma 3-2, 2.77, 0SV, 0H, 4BS, 25BB, 41K, 1.36WHIP, 1HR in 37G
The hard-throwing righty has been a pleasant surprise for the Sox so far, proving to be another flamethrower out of the pen who can get out of jams (ahem, Manny D & Hansen). He's only allowed 4 of 16 inherited runners to score, and my question is, why doesn't Tito bring him in to more pressure-packed situations instead of those other guys?

B Javier Lopez 2-0, 2.19, 0SV, 9H, 1BS, 16BB, 21K, 1.38WHIP, 3HRs in 43G
The lefty specialist has done his job against lefties (.224BAA), but he's been hit pretty hard by righties (.294); he has been one of the more steady relievers this season. Allowed 9 of 33 IRs to score

C- Manny Delcarmen 0-2, 4.54, 0SV, 13H, 2BS, 15BB, 39K, 1.29WHIP, 3HRs in 43G
In 43 appearances, the former potential closer has allowed at least 1 base runner in 33 of them. Has allowed 11 of 34 IRs to score, because he's usually allowing his own runners to score. Either way you look at it, Mattapan Manny has been a major disappointment for the club, and don't be surprised if he's wearing another uniform after July 31st

C- Craig Hansen 1-3, 5.47, 1SV, 7H, 2BS, 18BB, 22K, 1.63WHIP, 2HRs in 27G
Another potential closer, the hard throwing former first round draft pick has also been a major disappointment for Boston. He might be more likely to switch teams than Delcarmen, if only because he's a little younger and cheaper. One of the two will definitely be gone by the trading deadline, in my estimation

C- Hideki Okajima 2-2, 2.82, 1SV, 17H, 6BS, 16BB, 37K, 1.41WHIP, 4HRs in 39G
Not only have his well-documented troubles caused Tito to lose confidence in him, he has obviously lost confidence in himself. And that's the kiss of death for any reliever, especially a setup man. Has bounced back recently from a horrid stretch, but leads the AL in blown saves and has allowed a staggering 12 of 17 IRs to score. And to think at this time last year, he was an All Star

D Mike Timlin 3-3, 6.31, 1SV, 0H, 0BS, 12BB, 15K, 1.71WHIP, 3HRs in 28G
It's not really his fault that he's older than dirt and has logged so many innings in his career (1,100+) that his arm is ready to fall off, but there's no way he should appear in any games other than blowouts on either side. Coincidentally, 2 of his last 3 apps have been in those types of games (12-1 and 18-5 Boston wins)

Okay, that's it for the report cards. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.

Tomorrow: Plays and Players of the First Half