By Chad Finn, Boston.com Columnist

Welcome to Volume 2, Edition 3 of Red Sox power rankings, a wide-ranging excuse to write about the best and worst performers of the previous month as a new one begins. The only rule of the power rankings is that there are no rules to the power rankings. Prospects, media members, Diego Segui, the cotton-candy vendor in section 4, Pat Dodson, front-office personnel -- anyone is fair game. It's a measure of the exceptional and the unacceptable, with the middle ground unacknowledged. The top five are ranked; the bottom five are not since our pool of candidates is innumerable. Enough ballpark chatter. Let's get to it ...

TOP FIVE
1. Jose Iglesias
A little love and luck

Wade Boggs and Nomar Garciaparra probably strung together a hellacious couple of weeks-into-months like this. Ted Williams hit .407 with 13 homers and a 1.410 OPS in 110 plate appearances in 1953. I can't recall seeing a Red Sox hitter hotter for a prolonged stretch than Manny Ramirez upon his arrival in Boston via Cleveland in 2001 – he went .408/.482/.735 in April and had 58 RBIs at the end of May. But I can't recall a Sox player going on such an unexpected torrid tear like Jose Iglesias has this season. In 91 plate appearances in June, he put up a .402/.462/.537 slash line. For now I'll forget the BABIP and any suggestions about how long it will last, because very time I expected it to end, it began again. Plus, you know, that defense. Exquisite.

2. John Lackey
Beloved fan-favorite? (and temporary staff ace)

He lights up Fenway with his smile ...

... OK, maybe not yet. And he's not really lighting up the radar gun, either. His average fastball velocity (91.4 miles per hour) is actually down a tick or two from his first two seasons in Boston, 2010-11. What he has done is rescue a rotation presumably left short by Clay Buchholz's injury and Jon Lester's recent ineffectiveness by pitching like the staff ace he was for so many years for the Angels. Lackey's 2.99 ERA would be the best of his career, and remember, this is a guy who once won an ERA crown (3.01 for the '07 Angels, when he won 19 games and finished third in the Cy Young voting). His 1.20 WHIP is the best of his career, as is his 4.29-1 K/BB ratio. And in 32.2 innings in June, he struck out 28 and walked 3. If only he'd been this healthy his entire time here.

3. David Ortiz
Doing it again

Going into this, I'd thought I'd have decision to make between Papi and Dustin Pedroia for this spot. But it was really no decision at all. Pedroia had a good month – he hit .293 with a .360 on-base percentage and a slightly-below-standard .784 OPS while playing his usual superb defense. Ortiz? He had a typical month – in other words, he was one of the best hitters in baseball. He batted .296 with a .415 on-base percentage and a .612 slugging percentage. That's a 1.027 OPS, folks. Papi just keeps chugging along, one smoked line drive at a time.

4. Koji Uehara
Leads the league in high-fives

Yeah, he gave up the lead Sunday and vultured a win. Tough to get mad at this guy after all he's done for the bullpen this season (1.91 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 35 appearances entering Saturday). Besides, can you think of a recent Sox player whose acquisition flew under the radar but who turned out to be essential to the team's success and an absolute blast to watch? Maybe Kevin Millar or Bill Mueller in '03, though the circumstances and personalities were quite different. I'm not sure there have been many who have provided as much unexpected fun as Uehara has this year.

5. Rubby De La Rosa
The next K-Rod? Wouldn't go that far, but ...

I'm not sure what the formula for creating a lights-out closer happens to be. Maybe it's something as simple as repertoire-plus-opportunity. But I do know that closers are made, not born (even the great Mariano Rivera is a converted starter), and there's a decent possibility that the relief ace the Red Sox seem to need right now is currently working as a starter in Pawtucket. In his last 10 games, all starts, De La Rosa has a 0.79 ERA. In 45.2 innings, he's allowed just 26 hits, walked 17, and whiffed 48. In June, he had a 1.01 ERA in five starts. The Red Sox are stretching out his arm, but his extraordinary fastball-changeup combo may lend itself to relief in the short term. He came up for a day in mid-June. The next time he comes up, it will be to perform in a role that matters.

BOTTOM FIVE
Will Middlebrooks
A step down the ladder

In retrospect, there should have been more concern about that 13/70 BB/K rate last year. But because he was one of the few salvations in a wretched '12 season – he did hit .288 with 15 home runs, an impressive debut by any measure – it was all too easy to overlook the fundamental flaws. I don't think we'll look back on his '12 season the way Braves fans look back on Jeff Francoeur's brilliant, misleading debut in 2005. Middlebrooks has confidence, a genuine work ethic, and the raw talent to be a middle-of-the-order hitter for the better part of a decade, a .270, 25-30-homer guy. He just needs to solve some things. He's not the first young player it happened to – heck, in Alex Rodriguez's first 208 big-league plate appearances over his first two seasons, he had nine walks and 62 strikeouts.

Andrew Bailey
Once there were two closers ...

Brutal. Just brutal. In eight innings over 10 games in June, Bailey walked seven while allowing 12 hits, including five home runs. In 40 plate appearances, hitters rapped him around for a .375/.487/.844 slash line, which means he essentially turned every batter he faced into (ahem) Jose Iglesias. Ramiro Mendoza never had a month that bad, and he was embedded.

Brian Butterfield
Never make Ortiz run hard. Ever.

As far as I can recall – and that's about 35 years now – DeMarlo Hale is the best third-base coach the Red Sox have had. The worst? Wendell Kim, whose wave-'em-in right arm was a perpetually malfunctioning propeller. After half a season, I'd say Butterfield falls toward the Hale side of things, with one caveat: Do not, under any circumstances, send David Ortiz home-bound unless it's a certainty that he's going to be safe. He missed half of last season and the first few weeks of this one with an Achilles' injury. He is crushing the baseball. He is, semi-miraculously, healthy and as good as ever. He cannot be replaced. It is foolish to put him at risk for a shot at a single run in the third inning of the 82d game of the season. Otherwise, keep up the good work.

No more grievances to air
I've got nothin' else

I suppose I could muster up a gripe for Shane Victorino's Trot-like, here-I-am-hustlin' self-inflicted collision with the wall Tuesday night against the Rockies ... but there he was winning the game Saturday, the Red Sox' seventh walk-off win of the season. It was the Red Sox' 50th win of the season in their 84th game. They end June with 19 fewer wins than they had all of last season. They went 17-11 in the month, lead the AL East by 2.5 games, and they're fun -- when one teammate falters, another steps up. There's really nothing to complain about, and there's certainly no need for false outrage. If only all bridge years were this enjoyable.

***
PREVIOUS 2013 POWER RANKINGS
April: Buchholz, Entire Cast of Veteran Newcomers, Farrell, Nava, Ortiz.

May: Pedroia, Buchholz, Saltalamacchia, Breslow, Bogaerts.

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Columnist

For those who called for this at various points the past couple of seasons, well, here you go. This is what blowing it up looks like.

It's messy, abrupt, uncertain, sad, jarring, final, and all of that wallops you before the most blunt realization of all: there's no guarantee whether or when it will actually pay off.

Did I mention sad? I mentioned sad, right? Well, excuse me while I mention it again.

The Celtics traded away a chunk of their rewarding recent history Thursday night, sending Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and chatty fading afterthought Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets.

In return, they get forward Gerald Wallace and his awful contract, power forward/punchline Kris Humphries, and three first-round picks (2014, '16, '18).

The deal won't be official until July 10, when the league's moratorium on trades and signings is lifted. But it's already bluntly final. Because it was the right thing to do -- and it absolutely was, which I'll elaborate on after the proper eulogy -- doesn't make it any easier to take.

Ray Allen took his sweet shot to Miami a year ago. Doc Rivers made his slippery exit west a few days ago. But the formal end of the new Big Three Era -- a franchise-reviving three-year plan that lasted six mostly rewarding and always entertaining seasons -- came with the news that Pierce and Garnett would no longer be wearing green and white.

It's hard to imagine Pierce wearing a jersey other than one that says CELTICS 34. He's been one of ours since June 24, 1998, when he slid down the draft all the way the Celtics at 10. It was such a gift -- I remember the headline read "Luck of the Irish'' the next day -- that not even Rick Pitino could mess it up.

Pierce's arrival and the thought of him joining forces with Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer brought hope, which tells you just how bleak it was prior. It felt like the first break they'd caught in years.

The 15 years weren't always smooth. There's still occasional retroactive finger-wagging about his ejection from Game 6 of the Indiana series in 2005 ...

... and the goofy sock chinstrap he wore to the postgame press conference afterward. But those growing pains made the reward all the more enjoyable, and it must be remembered that he had his moments of postseason brilliance long before Allen and Garnett arrived.

Pierce thrived here, literally survived here, using his old man's game and genius for basketball geometry to score the second-most points in franchise history. He's in the top five in franchise history in games, points, assists, threes, steals, blocks, pump-fakes and step-back jumpers, and while his jersey may say Nets for another season or three, you'd damn well better believe he's a Celtic lifer. Hey, Dave Cowens played for the Bucks, you know?

Garnett didn't begin his career a Celtic. But he was born one in spirit, a worthy descendant of Bill Russell, the rare modern player who prioritized winning and defense and all-out, on-the-fringe effort rather than getting his shots. KG changed the culture here, as the fulcrum of the defense and Ubuntu, and that 17th banner would not be hanging from the Garden rafters without him. It was a pleasure to watch him for these six years and you'd better believe his No. 5 belongs in the rafters.

Every Celtics fan is bummed to see Pierce and Garnett go. Their former teammates surely are as well -- I can just imagine Rajon Rondo heaving his Connect 4 game across the room upon hearing the news. But you can mourn their departure -- and I'm right there with you -- while still recognizing that hitting the reset button is the right thing to do.

Danny Ainge was true to his word, that he wouldn't let sentimentality decide the fate of the New Big Three as it had with his old buddies Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. I'm glad he didn't do this sooner, but make no mistake: he did have to do it. There are only a couple of paths to becoming a championship contender in the NBA.

-- Sign elite free agents.

-- Collect assets and trade them for disgruntled or no longer affordable stars who were established elsewhere.

-- Hit the jackpot in the lottery for a true franchise player and build around him.

The first route isn't happening here unless there's a sudden climate change. The second route is how they acquired Garnett and Allen, and they did that only after missing out on Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. The third route is what they are trying to do now, and it's the one that comes with the highest risk/reward. It's also the one that asks the most of the fanbase.

The Celtics are going to stink this year. They'll be brutal, and you'd better believe it is by design. And you know what? You should want them to be brutal, even if that means trading Rondo and anyone else who might "help" them end up in that 35-win purgatory. (This is also one more reason why you never, ever pursue Josh Smith, the ultimate stuck-in-the-middle-with-you player.) Heck, bring back M.L. Carr as coach, give Antoine Walker his dream job, whatever it takes.

Because the reward could be worth it.

The 2014 draft is potentially stacked. Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins -- get used to hearing that name -- is the best prospect since Kevin Durant, and Duke's Jabari Parker isn't far behind. It will not be a draft in which the team with the top pick shrugs, yawns, and takes an Anthony Bennett. Franchises will be rejuvenated and revived next season. And in case you were too busy mourning the end of an era to notice -- a totally justifiable defense -- Ainge has loaded up on assets, acquiring four first-round picks for Rivers, Garnett and Pierce. (Right ... and Terry.)

ESPN's Tom Haberstroh did a superb job in his column last night explaining how Ainge has deftly set the Celtics up to rebuild this thing faster than anyone might expect:

To recap, the Celtics ... have their own pick in 2014 -- which promises to be, at worst, in the top five (more on this later) -- and they would also have another likely non-lottery first-rounder, whichever is the worse pick between the Nets and the Hawks as a result of the Joe Johnson deal in 2012. Furthermore, the Celtics would have a pair of first-rounders in 2015 (their own and the Rivers pick) and a pair of first-rounders in 2016 and '18 (their own and Brooklyn's). If the deal gets done, the Celtics will have a pair of first-rounders in four of the next five drafts. I repeat: four of the next five drafts.

Nine first-rounders over five drafts -- and remember, there's no guarantee the aging Nets are going to be any good two years from now, let alone four. C'mon, you're intrigued and a little encouraged now, right? Again: They have stockpiled assets. It's going to be fascinating to see how Ainge cashes them in.

I know, it's not going to be easy watching this team this year, with Fab Melo playing the role of Brett Szabo and who knows which former Maine Red Claw starring as the new Nate Driggers. It'll be painful. There will be nights when we'd much rather watch our old friends in Brooklyn.

Emotionally, it hurts. But starting over, blowing it up, and moving on from two of the most admirable Celtics you'll ever see was the right thing to do.

Remember Pierce and Garnett for who they were and all that they meant. Of course. But amid all the appropriate tributes and warm flashbacks, try to judge this deal on what they are now, and what it means for the Celtics' future.

And should you need a reminder, or should you not be able to take loss after Celtics loss, a suggestion: there might be a lot of optimism to be found in watching Kansas games in the season ahead. Yes, sort of like when Pierce himself was a Jayhawk, 16 rewarding years ago.

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Columnist

It's not just a couple of popular players such as Andrew Ference who won't return to the Bruins next season.

NESN announced in a press release at 8:02 p.m. Thursday night that Naoko Funayama, the respected sideline reporter, will not have her contract renewed when it expires this summer.

Funayama worked at NESN since 2007. She was hired after covering Daisuke Matsuzaka's introductory press conference as a reporter for New Hampshire's WMUR during which she aided the Japanese pitcher's struggling translator.

Funayama joined the network full-time in August 2008 as the Bruins reporter.

In the release, NESN said it had "elected to go in a different direction'' and the search for her replacement is underway.

“I want to thank everyone at NESN for five fantastic years and to also thank all the wonderful people I met along the way.” she said, according to the release.

“To have witnessed and covered the Bruins' resurgence during this time has been a thrilling and unforgettable experience, and now I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter in my career."

Funayama was widely respected by players and media alike for her good nature, work ethic, and professionalism, and news of her departure was greeted with remarkable backlash on Twitter.

Naoko is pro at rink and better person. Type to keep, not let go. Genius move, NESN.

— Fluto Shinzawa (@GlobeFluto) June 28, 2013

Over the last several seasons, no one worked harder and was more under-used than @NaokoFunayama. Better things ahead for her, I'm certain.

— Matt Kalman (@TheBruinsBlog) June 28, 2013

Sad to hear about @NaokoFunayama. Showed up every day, worked as hard as anyone, and did it all with a smile. A rarity in the business.

— Dave Goucher (@DavidCGoucher) June 28, 2013

(3/343747) I can't imagine the last three years without her. NESN will not upgrade her position because there is no one better.

— DJ Bean (@DJ_Bean) June 28, 2013

As someone @NESN also chose not to keep, I only tell @NaokoFunayama: It. Gets. Better.

— Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) June 28, 2013

I leave you #BringBackNaoko zealots with this: Fighting the good fight is not only the right thing to do, it can be a heck of a lot of fun.

— Jack Edwards (@RealJackEdwards) June 28, 2013

@NaokoFunayama naoko .....:(

— Tyler Seguin (@tylerseguin92) June 28, 2013

And then there's the irony of Funayama's most recent tweet, regarding Ference's departure:

Sports can be cruel- give everything to the team, so much to the community, and still you're out. We'll all miss @Ferknuckle. One of a kind.

— Naoko Funayama (@NaokoFunayama) June 26, 2013

Be sure to join our always loyal Friday chat, during which we'll discuss the end of a Celtics era, salute the Bruins one more time, wonder where it all went wrong with Aaron Hernandez (or was it always all wrong?), and have lots of Red Sox and media talk too. Check in below to join the fun.

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Columnist

Weird season, eh?

Fun season. Fascinating season. But yes, a weird season so far for the Boston Red Sox, who halfway through the schedule finally seize their traditional summertime place as the center of the New England sports fan's consciousness now that those admirable Bruins have conducted their exit interviews.

A quick primer/status update, should you require one:

The Sox are in first place in the cramped and compelling AL East, holding a 3.5-game lead in the division despite all five teams being separated by just 6.5 games. They have the best record in the American League at 47-33, and trail only the St. Louis Cardinals and -- believe it -- Pittsburgh Pirates, both 48-30, for the best record in the majors.

Their pitching has been fine -- their 3.87 team ERA is slightly above the Major League average of 3.92. But their offense has been exceptional. The Sox are tops in baseball in runs scored (410) and runs per game (5.12).

They're first in team OPS (.793), second to the Baltimore Davises in slugging (.445), second to the Detroit Cabreras in on-base percentage, and -- didn't see this one coming -- have 21 triples, trailing only the Milwaukee Seguras (30).

That the Red Sox are vastly improved over last year is not a surprise. A competent manager, healthy (for the most part) stars, and a middle class of established, trustworthy newcomers has gone a long way toward their return to competence and beyond. Yet a lot of what has happened is -- well, if not weird, then certainly improbable and unpredictable.

David Ortiz is as good as he has ever been. Daniel Nava has played like a borderline All-Star. Beloved Fan-Favorite John Lackey has a sub-3.00 ERA. Clay Buchholz is undefeated and injured. (OK, the last part? Definitely foreseeable). Will Middlebrooks is batting fifth ... for the PawSox.

Oh, and the role of the young, productive third baseman is being played by ... Jose Iglesias? Yep, Jose Iglesias, with his extraordinary .419/.469/.556 slash line, .475 BABIP, and crazy knack for rapping out two hits just about every day.

Don't know about you, but I've abandoned questioning it for the sake of my own mental health if nothing else. It's been a blast to watch, and a reminder that embracing the inexplicable remains one of baseball's greatest charms.

If you've been away, focusing on the Bruins' run to the Stanley Cup Final or Doc Rivers's smooth escape or Aaron Hernandez's fall from grace, this is a pretty good time to re-board the bandwagon.

The Red Sox begin a four-game set Thursday with the Toronto Blue Jays, the last-place team in the AL East, but a heck of a lot closer than they were just a few weeks ago. Toronto, the consensus preseason favorite in the division after revamping its roster over the winter, has won 12 of its last 14 games, climbing back into the AL East race after being a dozen games back of the Sox less than three weeks ago.

Maybe this is the precise moment when it turned around for the Jays ...

... or at least when they became a team.

The Jays certainly have been an intriguing team all along. They don't have a starter with an ERA below 4.60 among their top-five in innings, yet they've received a boost from Esmil Rogers and an even unlikelier one from Yankees discard Chien-Ming Wang, who enters Thursday's start with a streak of 16.2 scoreless innings.

The bullpen has been exceptional, posting a 0.80 ERA over the past 14 games, led by Brett Cecil, who has allowed just 19 hits in 39.2 innings this season. Jose Reyes is back from a severe ankle injury to front the offense, and Adam Lind has been rejuvenated (.928 OPS).

And as usual, they can mash. Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are doing their junior varsity Manny/Papi thing, combining for 38 homers and 107 RBIs so far. Encarnacion, who has 22 of those homers, has rejuvenated his career in Toronto the same way Bautista did before him.

Almost three years ago to the day, Encarnacion was outrighted to the minors after being designated for assignment a couple of days earlier. How does it go? Sometimes the best transactions are the ones you don't make?

The Red Sox and Jays have already had a few sparks that suggest a genuinely contentious rivalry could be brewing this season. There was the Buchholz ball-doctoring accusation by Jays broadcasters Jack Morris and Dirk Hayhurst, and the less-than-friendly greeting Farrell received upon returning to Toronto, where he managed the previous two seasons. It's not Fisk vs. Munson stuff, but it's a start.

And it could last. The Red Sox' success should be sustainable -- they have far and away the best run-differential in the AL East at plus-78. But the Jays are surging, at last looking like the team they were supposed to be.

It's a fascinating four-game set in a division in which every win and loss matters. A good time, then, to catch up with the Sox, who thrived under the radar and now have our full and deserved attention.