Sox Drawer: Mid Season Report Card (batters)

For the 4th straight year the Red Sox are in first place at the break. Time to grade the team for the (unofficial) first half of the season.
As we finally hit the unofficial mid-season break (97 games in, or 16 games after the official midway point), the Red Sox have reclaimed first place in the AL East, thanks to a 7-3 stretch over the past 10 that, coupled with a seven game skid by the Rays, catapulted Boston back on top for the first time since June 28th.

So now it's time to do what we bloggers do at this point in the season - take three days off and binge drink to our hearts desire. Kidding, kidding. of course I mean we grade our team's performance through the first half of the season.

Without further adieu, here is my mid season wrap. Ready, set, go.
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Hard to find too much fault with a club that has been in first or second place in the toughest division in baseball for the entire first half of the season, especially when the team has been missing its most potent slugger, David Ortiz, for almost half of the games.

The most glaring weaknesses on this team are painfully obvious - bullpen and shortstop. But with guys like Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen finally settling down, and Julio Lugo now on the shelf for 4-6 weeks with a torn quad, even those sore spots seem to be taking care of themselves right now.

Even without Big Papi, the offense of this club has been the one constant so far this season. At the break Boston ranks 3rd in the majors in runs scored (495), 2nd in average (.282), 2nd in on base percentage (.356) and 6th in home runs (108).

It's not a stretch to think that if you put Papi in the lineup for the 43 games he's missed, the Sox lead the majors in every one of those offensive categories.

The pitching has been pretty decent as well. Daisuke Matsuzaka, for all his faults, totes a 10-1 mark into the break; Tim Wakefield has been spectacular for the last two months; Josh Beckett has been better than his record indicates; and Jon Lester threw a no hitter.

The bully has been the biggest concern of the first half. The pen is responsible for 16 losses so far, fourth most in the AL, and 16 blown saves, the second most in the league. Three relievers have an ERA of over 4 1/2, three have been let go already, and Hideki Okajima has allowed an atrocious 12 of 17 inherited runners to score.

That being said the Sox are still the best team in the East and are tied for the most wins in majors with 57 victories.

Like I said, hard to find too much fault with that.

Okay, it's time for the player grades.

STARTING LINEUP:
A+ Dustin Pedroia .314, 9HR, 47BI, 67R, 28 2B, .357OBP
What sophomore slump? Pedroia has followed up his ROY campaign with an All Star second season. He recently had a 17 game hitting streak, and has raised his average 54 points since June 14th. Currently 7th in the AL in average, 2nd in runs, and 2nd in hits (124), the Little Big Man is the spark that drives this offense

A+ J.D. Drew .302, 17HR, 55BI, 63R, 18 2B, 52BB, .412OBP
He has finally produced the way the Boston brass hoped he would when they inked him to a 70 million dollar pact prior to last season. His production, especially in June, has softened the blow of losing Ortiz; he ranks in the top 10 in walks, slugging, on base, OPS and is 12th in homers. Arguably the team's first half MVP.

A Kevin Youkilis .314, 15HR, 63BI, 56R, 25 2B, 4 3B, .381OBP
The chrome-domed slugger has been on a tear of late, coincidentally (or not) after he and Manny got into a shoving match in the dugout during a game against the Rays in early June. Since then Youk has raised his average 27 points, hit two game winning home runs, and just hit his first career grand slam yesterday. Currently 6th in average and 5th in SLG%, RBIs and OPS. Leads team in ribbies

A Mike Lowell .297, 13HR, 57BI, 43R, 22 2B, .360OBP, .867OPS
With the numbers the World Series MVP has put up, you'd never guess he missed 18 games with a thumb injury. Despite that lost time he is having an All Star caliber season, as he leads all AL third basemen in RBI and is 2nd in average, doubles and on base percentage, all while providing Gold Glove defense

B Manny Ramirez .293, 18HR, 60BI, 58R, 18 2B, 44BB, .389 OBP
Manny Being Manny has been taken to new highs (and lows) this year, from high-fiving fans during a play to body slamming 60-something team officials and bitchslapping Youk in the dugout. Through it all, and a major slump as well, ManRam continues to produce at a prodigious rate; he's 8th in the AL in homers and SLG%, 6th in RBI, and first in memorable moments, including his 500th home run on May 31st

B Jacoby Ellsbury .269, 5HR, 27BI, 60R, 11 2B, 4 3B, 32BB, 35SB, .340OBP
A little disappointing for the speedy outfielder, if only because after his spectacular 2007 postseason we expected so much from him. Sure he leads the league in steals and provides stellar defense no matter which OF position he plays, but after going 25 -25 in steals to start his career he has been thrown out 7 times in his last 17 attempts, and his OBP has plummeted from a season high of .416 in early
May to a "paltry" .340

B- Coco Crisp .259, 5HR, 22BI, 28R, 13 2B, 13SB, .309OBP
He gets points deducted for igniting a full scale brawl in the Rays series at Fenway in June, and for earning a suspension that forced him to miss the rematch at the Trop this month. But he earns points for handling the dawning of the Ellsbury era with class and going out and playing hard whenever Tito tells him to, proving to be a valuable outfield insurance policy/trade bait

C Jason Varitek .218, 7HR, 28BI, 20R, 14 2B, 27BB, .299OBP
Okay, so he's having the worst offensive season of his career. But if ever there was a player who shouldn't be judged by his stats, Tek is it. If any proof was needed as to how valuable and respected the Captain is to his teammates and around the league, look no further than his being selected to the All Star team by his peers despite his horrid numbers.

D- Julio Lugo .268, 1HR, 22BI, 27R, 13 2B, 34BB, 12SB, .355OBP, 16E
It's that last stat, combined with the anemic production, that makes Lugo the most reviled member of this team, especially when you factor in the team is paying him 8 million a year. You know things are bad for a player when the fans openly celebrate you going on the DL for at least a month. The curse of the Sox shortstops continues!

BENCH:
A+ Sean Casey .373, 0HR, 10BI, 12R, 13 2B, 12BB, .428OBP in 43G
The Mayor has been everything the Sox hoped he would be and more when they signed him in the off season: productive at the plate in spot duty, solid in the field at first base, and the kind of clubhouse guy who pulls a team together. A great signing.

A Brandon Moss .295, 2HR, 11BI, 7R, 5 2B, .337 OBP in 33G
He hit a homer on opening day, has been up and down from the minors more times than I can count, and had his appendix removed a couple of months ago. Through it all Moss has remained a valuable contributor, and even knocked in the game winning run against the Twins last week.

B Alex Cora .283, 0HR, 5BI, 3R, 5 2B, 0SB, .368OBP in 36G
Doesn't hit for power or average, has no speed and little range at short. Still he's a capable utility infielder who doesn't complain and embraces his role as a small cog on a championship club. Should see increase in PT now that Lugo is on the shelf

B Jed Lowrie .277, 1HR, 7BI, 6R, 4 2B, .308 OBP, 0E in 19G
He hasn't played much, but that's about to change with Lugo out. But when the youngster has played, like when he filled in for Lowell when he was hurt, he has proven to be a productive hitter and decent fielder. We'll find out more about his ability in the coming weeks

B- Kevin Cash .242, 2HR, 11BI, 7R, 6 2B, 31K, 11PB in 35G
He's proved to be a better caddy for Tim Wakefield than Doug Mirabelli and Josh Bard, but his recent slump (batted .115 in June) has dropped his average from .314 to where it is now, which also caused his grade to drop.

I Big Papi .252, 13HR, 43BI, 36R, 10 2B, 37BB, .354OBP, .486SLG% in 54G
Hard to grade a guy who's missed half the season and spent the better part of the half he did play in a major slump. But the numbers he put up, in a limited time and while battling injuries and ineffectiveness, prove that he is still a force to be reckoned with

Okay, this thing ran on a bit long, so I'm going to come back tomorrow with my pitching grades, as well as the top plays and players of the first half.