Sox Drawer: Mid Season Awards

We're going on Day 4 of no Red Sox baseball, and I've already started to get the shakes and I'm quickly heading towards heavy withdrawals.

Sure it was nice to watch six Sox play in the All Star Game the other night, and it was very rewarding to see a Red Sox player win the MVP award in the final ASG at Stankee Stadium, but that glorified dog-and-pony show is not going to satisfy my baseball jones, no matter how many innings they play or how important Bud Selig tries to make it.

So with another day and a half to go before the first place Sox take on the first place Halos in Orange County tomorrow night, I'm gonna fill time and space with my Red Sox mid season awards.

So what if we're three weeks and three days past the midway point. Humor me.

First Half MVP, Offense: J.D. Drew
Winning the All Star game MVP award, and homering in his first ASG at bat in his first ever appearance in the Mid Summers Classic, was like icing on the cake for the Sox right fielder, who is enjoying a renaissance season in Boston. Without his production, which conveniently coincided with the departure of Big Papi from the lineup, the Sox would be nowhere near first place at the break.

Runner(s) up: Pedroia/Youk key contributors in the field and at the plate

First Half MVP, Defense: Kevin Youkilis
He's made three errors all year, plays stellar D at first and/or third base, and is the only reason why Julio Lugo doesn't have 26 errors instead of 16. Another Gold Glove appears to be on the horizon for Yoooooooouuuuuk!

First Half MVP, Starter: Tim Wakefield
I know Dice-K is 10-1 and Wake is just 6-6, but his is a classic case of a guy not being judged by his won-loss record. The knuckleballer has been nails for the last month and a half, tossing 9 straight quality starts and posting an ERA of 2.13 in that time, and the only reason he's not 10-3 is because of shitty relief pitching and lack of run support.

Runner up: Dice-K hey, he's 10-1 - he deserves some credit, right?

First Half MVP, Reliever: Jonathan Papelbon
Though it's obvious that hanging around Schill the last few years has stared to rub off on the vocal closer, and he has been less sharp than in years past, Paps is still one of the best stoppers in baseball and the best reliever on this team BY FAR.

Runner up: David Aardsma the best of the rest

Top 5 Games of the Half Season:
5.) Opening Day, Part I March 25th in Tokyo vs. A's
The pomp, the pageantry, the frequent flier miles. The 2008 MLB season opener took place 6,000 miles away in a foreign country at 6:00 am EST, but it was still a memorable game for many reasons: Dice-K starting and Oki earning the win in their return to their homeland; Brandon Moss tying the game in the 9th with a clutch home run; and Boston winning it in the 10th on a 2-run double by Manny despite Paps allowing a run in the bottom of the inning

4.) Minnesota Beatdown July 9th @ Fenway vs. Twins
The Sox had 23 hits, 10 extra base hits, scored 14 runs in the final four innings and 18 runs total en route to their highest scoring game since 2003. The fact that it came in the final game of a three game sweep, the week before the All Star break, and helped the Sox gain ground on the first place Rays made the win all the more sweet

3.) Youk's Heroic Homecoming June 14th @ Cincy
The former Cincinnati Bearcat returned home for Boston's first series in the Queen City since the '75 World Series, and boy did the hometown kid make this game a memorable one. He had three hits, including an RBI single in the 6th and a double in the 8th, then provided the biggest blow when he hit a game-winning homer in the top of the 10th , to the delight of his conflicted 150 family and friends who were present

2.) Raysbrawl Game June 3rd @ Fenway vs TB
The latest, and bloodiest, installment in a simmering rivalry, Boston and Tampa Bay came to blows when Coco Crisp took exception for being hit in retaliation for him taking out Akinori Iwamura's package on a hard slide the night before. A punch that nearly shattered Coco's face, a pig pile filled with sucker punches, and Manny bitch-slapping Youk in the dugout after the melee are some of the memorable moments from this messy affair.

1.) Jon Lester's No Hitter May 19th @ Fenway vs. KC
The crowning achievement of a courageous kid's comeback from a life-threatening illness, and the most memorable moment in a first half full of them.

Well I think that about wraps up the first half wrap ups. Tomorrow we get back to real baseball, and I'll be back to posting on B&C about the upcoming series with the Angles, as well as contributing content here.

Until then - movie night!