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Red Sox midseason report card

By Boston.com Staff, 7/13/2004

With 86 games in the books and the team off for the All-Star break, we took out our red pens to evaluate the first half of the Red Sox' season.

Overall:

In many ways, this season has been like so many before it. We began it asserting "This is the year!" and we sit at the All-Star break asking "Is this the year?" Different year, same scenario: The Sox gear up for a run at the World Series in the off-season, but somewhere along the way something goes wrong. The difference is, there's still time to fix it this time around. After a blazing start, the Sox have gone just 33-32 since May 1. Along the way, Pedro's complained about his contract status, Derek Lowe has imploded, recovered, and imploded again, Terry Francona has made some baffling decisions (and been thrown to the wolves for it) and Manny Ramirez has suddenly developed into Mr. Personality. The Yankees, meanwhile, have methodically built a seven-game lead on the Sox and look to be cruising to another AL East title. The Sox hold a one-game edge in the wild-card race and have to be considered the favorite for that spot. They've shown signs of life in the last week, and could be ready to turn the corner. Now where have we heard that before? Grade: C-
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Hitting:

The Sox bats have been the biggest conundrum of the first half. Try this on for size: They're first in the American League in on-base percentage, second in slugging percentage, third in batting average, second in total bases and third in runs. Their 482 runs scored nearly puts them on pace to match last year's league-leading total of 961. So why is this team only 10 games above .500? It's simple, really: They've been unable to come through with men on base in the late innings of close games and are striking out at a far greater pace than last year. They've left about 100 more men on base than their opponents, and four Sox players are among the top 13 in the AL in strikeouts. Of course, we have only begun to see the real Sox lineup. Injuries to Nomar Garciaparra, Trot Nixon and Bill Mueller have left holes in the starting nine for the first three-and-a-half months, and if this past week was any indication, we've only begun to see what this lineup is capable of. Among the first-half successes and surprises:

Manny Ramirez: Citizen Manny is a serious contender for the Triple Crown with his .344 average (fourth in the AL), 26 homers (first) and 78 RBIs (second).

David Ortiz: Big Papi has showed his 2003 second half was no fluke. He leads the league in RBIs (78) and extra-base hits (56). Both he and Manny are MVP candidates.

Mark Bellhorn: He's been hit or miss -- literally. Bellhorn is second in the league in walks (61) and is first in strikeouts (96). Nevertheless, he's producing: If he keeps up his current pace, he'll drive in 94 runs and hit 21 homers. Not bad for a middle infielder. Grade: B
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Fielding:

The Red Sox have been nothing short of horrible in the field so far in 2004. They've made 72 errors in 86 games and have given up more unearned runs than anyone in the league. Nomar Garciaparra has showed some rust at shortstop (though he's improving) and the first-base position has been a big problem. Five different players have made a total of 12 errors at first, and the only one most fans feel comfortable with there (David McCarty) can't hit a lick. Mark Bellhorn leads the team with 11 errors. On the plus side, Pokey Reese has given Sox fans a season's worth of highlight-reel plays, and there's little doubt he'll walk away with another gold glove at the end of the year. Manny Ramirez has been absent-minded in the outfield at times, and Kevin Millar has looked overmatched. Things can only get better in the second half -- we hope. Grade: D

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Starting pitchers:

Boston's 3.89 ERA is the best in the American League. Here's an evaluation of the Red Sox' starting five.

Pedro Martinez (9-3, 3.67 ERA): For all the concerns about Pedro in spring training and the early going of the season (in early May he was just 4-3 with an ERA above four), declarations that he was finished were proven to be premature. Martinez is 9-3 at the break, second to Curt Schilling's 11 wins. Martinez didn't win his ninth game last season until Aug. 16, a clear indication that he is getting better run support in 2004, especially since his ERA (3.67) is more than a run higher than a season ago. There have been rough spots for sure, but Martinez is still near the top of his game.

Curt Schilling (11-4, 3.16 ERA): He has been exactly as advertised, with an 11-4 record his first season in Boston. An American League All-Star for the first time (not playing in the game), Schilling is second in the league in wins and strikeouts. He hasn't been quite the workhorse everybody expected (125 1/3 innings, just eight more than Martinez and fourth in the AL), but with the solid Boston bullpen, he doesn't have to be.

Derek Lowe (7-8, 5.57 ERA): He can kiss that three-year, $27 million contract goodbye. The 2004 season has been a disappointment for Lowe, who entered the season with more wins than anybody other than Roy Halladay (suffering his own difficult season) the last two years. Lowe is just 7-8, with a 5.57 ERA. Still, Lowe is just off a pace to win 15 games, remarkable for the kind of season he's had, and a testament to the kind of support he has gotten over the season. The bright spot? Lowe was 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA in June. The low spot? He was 1-4 with an 8.19 ERA in May.

Tim Wakefield (5-5, 4.17 ERA): He started off the season dominant and looking like it was 1995 all over again. But it has been most an inconsistent 2004 for the knuckleballer. His win last week against the A's was his first in more than a month, and just his fifth of the season. A rough June behind him (0-2, 5.70) behind him, Wakefield has pitched better as his win against Oakland would testify, but Sunday's loss to the Rangers hints that the worst may not be behind him just yet.

Bronson Arroyo (3-7, 4.09 ERA): The Rodney Dangerfield of the Red Sox staff, Arroyo has pitched extremely well as of late (0-5 with an OK 4.18 ERA in June, 1-0 with a sparkling 1.20 ERA in two July starts) but has just one win since May 15 to show for it. Overall, his 3-7 mark looks less than spectacular, but with all the talk of the Red Sox acquiring a pitcher at the trading deadline, they could do a lot worse than give Arroyo the benefit of the doubt for the way he has pitched since mid-June, when he has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last six starts.

(Record and ERA are through Monday.)

Grade: B
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Bullpen:

The addition of $24 million pitcher Keith Foulke automatically gave the Red Sox a proven closer, something badly needed on this team even without Grady Little at the helm. After the Curt Schilling addition to solidify the rotation, Foulke was the offseason's most important signing. Foulke struggled in spring training but recovered quickly to get off to a strong start in limited duty. He has only 13 saves because of the tendency of the Red Sox to win in blowouts, and fall short in comebacks. However, he's failed in his last three appearances and has struggled since late June, something he says happens every year right before the All-Star break. Foulke's 1.53 ERA and track record speak for themselves. Scott Williamson has a 1.25 ERA, but has only pitched in 21.2 innings and has been on the disabled list twice. Mike Timlin (3.57 ERA) has been hot and cold, always capable of giving up the long ball. As ESPN's Peter Gammons says, the Red Sox "have too many relievers whose balls find bats." His lefthanded counterpart Alan Embree (4.32 ERA) has appeared in a team high 41 games, but has also been uneven. Adding insult to injury, Ramiro Mendoza and Byung Hyun Kim, $13.6 million worth of bullpen, remains in Pawtucket with a variety of ailments, which caused Anastacio Martinez, Lenny DiNardo and Mark Malaska to be used in less-than-ideal situations for the first three months of the season. Curtis Leskanic has shown a nasty curve and Stadium stamina since being acquired. None of the other fill-ins has made a case for more innings. The potential of this bullpen remains limitless if Foulke regains his touch and Mendoza, Kim, and Williamson can find their way back to the big club. Grade: C+

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Coaching:

Despite never having a winning record in four seasons with the Phillies, Terry Francona was named as Grady Little's replacement in early December: "We're supposed to win here and that is wonderful pressure, believe me," Francona said when he signed. He understands that pressure first-hand now. Tito seemed to run a smooth spring training camp, but with the Red Sox second in the league with 72 errors and after displaying some ghastly base-running for most of the first half, one wonders if this team could have benefited from more fielding and running drills in Ft. Myers and before the games. Pedro was allowed to leave early before the first game of the season ended, and long before the last game of the first half began. Tito had the team flying by the end of June after back-to-back sweeps of the Yankees and Devil Rays, then the June swoon started in May, when the Red Sox played long stretches of lifeless, sloppy baseball. With a 5-1/2 game lead at one point, the Red Sox lacked the killer instinct to pull away from New York, which battled early-season injuries as well. The bats rarely got going until the middle innings in May and June, and the Red Sox looked like all they had to do was show up. The low point came at the hands of the Yankees (as it usually does), when the Sox walked into the Bronx a couple weeks ago and got swept in three games. Francona had Nomar Garciaparra for the finale of that series, though there are conflicting reports as to whether Nomar was actually available for that game.

Dave Wallace has failed to fix what ails Derek Lowe. Ron "Papa Jack" Jackson was questioned by some early on for the team's lackluster offense, but with the A-team back in place, the Sox are crushing the ball again. Dale Sveum showed poor judgment in holding and sending runners during the swoon, but made a great call sending Johnny Damon in last Friday to keep a winning streak alive. As for the other coaches, no news is good news. Grade: C-
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