The Midseason Report Card

The Sox are halfway done with the regular season and on a pace to win 98 games. Here is how I grade the team so far.

Starting Pitching: B+ Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, and Wake all have ERA's under 4. Masterson has pitched well in spot starts, Colon has shown he can be a good member of the rotation. Outlook for the second half: Buchholz looks like he is ready to rejoin the club, Lester has become an ace and other arms are recovering; look for even better pitching from the rotation.

Relief Pitching: C- The pen has lost a few games this season and cannot get any consistency. Okajima is not the pitcher he was last year and Timlin looks like he is ready for the retirement home. Aardsma has been pitching well and Lopez, Hansen, or Delcarmen look good occasionally. Papelbon had a few blown saves in the first half but he is still the best closer in baseball. Outlook for the second half: Look for Theo to try to get some bullpen help before the deadline (just hope it's not somebody like Gagne) The pen will continue to be the weak point on the team.

Offense: B The numbers are not there in the first half and you have to blame this on injuries. Only Drew and Youk are batting over .300 and nobody is on pace for 100 RBI's (Manny will get there if he stays healthy). The team has great speed and can manufacture runs and the lineup can produce top to bottom. Outlook for the second half: If Big Papi can return at full strength this team is going to get better at the plate. The average and power numbers will rise as the team sees pitchers for the second or third time.

Defense: A- The team has been very good defensively other than Julio Lugo. The platooning of Ellsbury and Crisp allows for late defensive replacements in the outfield. Cora has also been coming in late at short. Outlook for the second half: More of the same solid defense and Lugo will not be as bad; he is not a great defensive shortstop but he should not be leading the league in errors.

Bench: A+ The Red Sox have the best bench in baseball and have been able to overcome injuries to Ortiz, Manny, Youk, Coco, Drew, and the sickness that went through the team earlier in the season. Casey and Cora have both filled in well. Cash is a great backup catcher and the Sox usually have Coco or Ellsbury in reserve for the outfield. Outlook for the second half: there is still a chance that Coco gets traded but the Sox will be ok on the bench with Moss and possibly Kielty. The bench is going to keep the Sox at the top of the division and be the ace in the hole for the playoffs.

Coaching and Management: A Francona and Theo have done a tremendous job handling all of the injuries and egos. They had a good backup plan when Schilling went down, they made the right moves with Buchholz and Masterson and have made the Coco/Ellsbury thing a non issue. Outlook for the second half: Who else would you want steering the ship than a guy who has won 2 of the last 4 World Series. Tito will have the team ready and rested for the post season and Theo will make sure he has the players to get there.