All Star Break Down

Here we are at the All Star break. The Sox chances of making the playoffs boil down to two key points. But first let's look at what is going right in Red Soxland.

• Quality and depth of the starting pitching. Beckett, Dice K, Lester, and Wakefield collectively had a solid first half. With Buchholz and Colon added to the mix, the team's starting pitching (with apologies to the Angels) is the best in the league.
• Closer. Papelbon is one of the three best closers in all of baseball. There is definitely something special about his stuff. Although he is not automatic, he is pretty darn close.
• Ability to manufacture runs. The team's new found, in Johnny Damon's words, athleticism allows them to score runs without having to put three hits together. Ellsbury, Crisp and Lugo (when he returns) gives the Sox three guys that can steal a base. How great is it when Ellsbury leads off with a walk, steals second, Predroia hits behind the runner advancing him to third and Ellsbury scores on a hit, ground out or sacrifice fly? Francona also seems to be bunting more (18 sac bunts) than he has in the past (33 last year, 22 in 2006).
• Team defense. With Ellsbury, Drew, Crisp and Moss roaming the outfield, the Sox boast four above average defenders. Lowell, Predroia, Youkillis and Varitek are all solid defensive infielders also. Shortstop is another story.
• Offensive balance. As a whole the Sox have been pretty good offensively during the first half. Drew, Predroia and Youkillis have all had excellent starts. Lowell, Crisp, Manny and Ellsbury have given the team about what was expected.
• Dominance at home. The Sox are quite simply a different team at Fenway. Right now the team is eight games below .500 (21-29) on the road but 36-11 at home. We can only hope the struggles on the road, especially in one run games, turns around.

Two big question marks;

• Middle relief. Who will get the key outs in the seventh and eighth innings? The World Series runs in 2004 and 2007 had a common strength in this department. Oki's inconsistencies have been well documented. Delcarmen has also looked good in some spots but has struggled too. Hansen and Lopez will get their chances. What does Timlin have left? He was great for us in 2004 and did his job in the playoffs last year but has not shown too much this year. Masterson may be our best shot. That power sinker and slider gets right handers out consistently. He has not been as effective versus left handers though. Would love to see Colorado's Brian Fuentes with the Sox but I'm afraid the cost is going to be too high. Remember Eric Gagne?
• David Oritz. His minor league rehab begins after the break with July 25th targeted as his return date. Undoubtedly, the Sox miss his presence in the line up and it is a testament to the organization (Theo's J.D. Drew signing never looked so good) that the team has survived Ortiz's injury. If Ortiz cannot come back and be 100% healthy (this is significantly more troublesome than his knee last year), the team may not be able to keep pace. Also problematic is the upcoming trade deadline of July 31st. In 2005, Varitek was lost for the year around the deadline and the Sox were unable to trade for a reliable replacement (Javier Lopez!). Let's say Ortiz has a major setback on August 2nd, the management's ability to trade for a left handed DH (Griffey, Dunn, etc.) is greatly diminished.

Overall, the first half of the season went well for the Sox. They survived a brutal schedule and will now enjoy the same amount of off days (9) over the next sixty-five games than they had over the first ninety-seven. Red Sox Nation can expect to be in the middle of a playoff chase come September.