
Before you grade...
Before we get to the voting, let's put the first half of the season in perspective. The Red Sox are 49-32, which is the third-best record in the majors and one game behind last year's pace (through 81 games in 2007, they held the second-best record in baseball at 50-31, en route to their second title in four seasons). They are 1 game ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East; last year, they were 10½ games ahead of the second-place Blue Jays and Yankees.

