In right field batting seventh ...

Dwight Evans (1972 - 1990)

Home Run champion 1981

8 time Gold Glove Winner

3 time AL All star

Dewey's offensive numbers with the Sox were solid; 379 home runs, 1346 runs batted in and 2373 hits. I always enjoyed watching games day to day and checking to see how often he would change his batting stance. Evans become a good offensive player as he got older. He was versatile enough to bat anywhere in the line up including lead off. Evans ranks second all time in Sox history with 2505 games played and 8726 at bats. His home run, rbi and hit numbers are all fourth best in team history.

Let's not kid ourselves though, Dwight Evans is considered to be the franchise's greatest right fielder ever because of his defensive prowess. He is still the prototypical defensive corner outfielder that possesses great range and a rifle for an arm. Evans' reputation in the outfield kept many runners and third base coaches from attempting to take an extra base.

Batting 6th at shortstop ...

Nomar Garciaparra (1996-2004)

1997 AL Rookie of the Year

2 time AL Batting Champ (1999,2000)

5 time AL All Star

Let's get this out of the way, Nomar was my favorite Red Sox player during his tenure in Boston. Roger Clemens left at the end of 1996 and Nomar took his place as the player that was the most beloved in my eyes. This selection may be quite biased but after researching the candidates for the shortstop position only two other players that are worthy of even mentioning are Joe Cronin and Johnny Pesky. Nomar was (yes, I used past tense on purpose) better than both.

Nomar led the league in batting in 1999 (.357) and 2000 (.372) and was a five time All Star. His career numbers in what amounts to seven seasons with Boston are outstanding; 1281 hits, 178 home runs, 709 runs scored, 690 runs batted in and a batting average of .323 which is fourth best all time in Sox history. Defensively, Nomar was very athletic at shortstop getting to many balls that others did not. His defensive numbers compare favorably to both Cronin and Pesky. Nomar (named after his dad Ramon) was electric.

It was not that long ago when one of the great debates in these parts was who was the better shortstop Jeter or Nomar. My opinion was always that Alex Rodriguez was better than both of them but that Nomar had Jeter's number regardless of the rings that Jeter got seemingly every year. (Wow, that must seem like eons ago for Yankee fans. BTW -- Jeter isn't even the best shortstop on the Yankees right now.) That all changed in early July 2004.

Nomar started the season on the DL and was in a contract dispute with management. By July, he was back playing and hitting above three hundred. With the Red Sox needing to win a game at Yankee Stadium, Nomar for whatever reason was not in the line up. This is the one game I will watch on "Yankee Classics" because it was an all out battle. As the game wore on Nomar did not leave his spot on the bench. Meanwhile, Jeter made a catch I will never forget on Trot Nixon's flare down the left field line. Jeter caught the ball in full stride and went face first into the stands. He was removed from the game with a bruised face that was also bloodied. Moments later the camera showed Nomar still sitting in his spot. The Yankees went on to win the tense extra inning game and Nomar was traded two weeks later.

We all remember how that season ended. The time was right to get rid of Nomar and change the "culture" of the club. This did not diminish my memory of the best shortstop the Red Sox have ever had.

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.

Hitting 5th at 1B ...

Jimmie Foxx (1936 - 1942)

Home run champ 1939

Batting and RBI Champ 1938

AL MVP 1938

Baseball Hall of Fame 1951

Probably my most difficult decision to make was first base. Yaz (in 2 of his 23 seasons he played over 100 games at 1B) and Ortiz both played games there but not enough. When considering Red Sox careers, Mo Vaughn did have the numbers to match Foxx. The nod goes to Foxx because he was simply the better player.

Jimmie Foxx came to the Sox after playing for the Philadelphia A's for 11 years (2 AL MVP awards and a triple crown season in 1933). In six Beantown seasons he hit 222 homers, drove in 788 runs and batted .320. In his MVP season of 1938 he hit 50 homers, drove in 175 runs and batted .349. Foxx barely missed his second triple crown that year (Detroit's Hank Greenberg hit 58 homers).

Obviously, I never watched a game that Foxx played. His overall numbers dominate those of Mo Vaughn's. Foxx went on to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. This is a honor that Mo will never receive.

Batting clean up at DH ...

Manny Ramirez (2001 - present)

8 time AL All Star

2004 World Series MVP

2002 Batting Champ

6 Silver Slugger Awards

Many were considered for this spot but Manny wins out. In 7 1/2 seasons Manny has 271 home runs (5th best in team history), 859 runs batted in (6th) and has hit .311 (9th). This guy is the best right handed hitter of his era. His overall numbers (over 500 hr's and 1600 rbi) will eventually place him in the Hall of Fame.

While I will not condone some his on field and off field behaviors, Manny deserves this spot on my all time Red Sox team. I truly do not think he is a bad guy. He is still just a big kid. But what player would you rather have up in a game winning spot over the last seven years? Admittedly, Papi makes a good argument but Manny's numbers over a 7 year period trumps Ortiz's numbers over five years.

So here's the lineup so far;

3B Boggs

CF Speaker

LF Williams

DH Ramirez

Things get real interesting after these four. No clear cut choices at shortstop, catcher, first base, right field and in the bull pen.

Hitting third and playing leftfield ...

Ted Williams (1939-1942, 1946-1960)

2 time AL MVP 16 time AL All Star

6 time AL batting champ and 4 time AL rbi and home run champ

elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966

Although I admit that in the history of the franchise there are some great players at this position, there is no one as great as Ted Williams. 521 career home runs, 1839 rbi's (13th best in the history of the game), 2019 walks (4th best), .634 slugging percentage (2nd best) and a career batting average of .344 (5th best). "The Kid" was arguably the greatest hitter who ever lived. There are two great biographies that were written about Williams' life. Both delve into the complexities of his personality. Regardless of his character flaws, most notably his brashness, Teddy Ballgame was simply the best.

Like no other sport, baseball's history and the comparing of players is driven by statistics. Williams' stats as a hitter for average, power and driving in runs are better than anyone in the history of the game (Babe Ruth is the only other one in the discussion). When you take into account that Williams did not play in 1943-1945 and missed virtually all of the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to his commitment to the U.S. Navy as a pilot, it is easy to see his place in baseball history. That was five years in the prime of his career that he did not accumulate hits, runs, rbi or home runs. It is possible he could have been the all time leader in home runs and runs batted in when he retired.

Who makes out better?

Waking up this morning we find the Sox (with my boy Jon Lester) breathing a little easier after last night's win and fans with a smile on their faces.

Why the smiles? Not just from the impressive win.

Following the game the Yanks had a closed door meeting to "iron" somethings out. Joe Girardi got testy with the media when asked about the meeting. Dissension on the opposing side is always a good thing.

A new Quinnipac University poll says for the first time in five years Connecticut is a red state. No politics here. According to the poll, 41% of state residents are Sox fans as opposed to 40% Yankee fans and 9% Met fans. The tide is turning.

Best of all, NY newspapers are reporting a love quadrangle. Seems ARod has been getting cozy with another fake blonde. The ageless Madonna. The big shocker is that the Mrs. Cynthia Rodriguez has been returning the favor by hooking up with musician Lenny Kravitz. The question is who made out better? ARod or Cynthia? Let's see Madonna versus Lenny Kravitz.

Madonna has tons of money and fame. But didn't she date Jose Canseco back when both of them were really popular? Since then he has come out and admitted to using needles to increase his performance. While Madonna married a needle of an Englishman and continues to be a lackluster performer.

Lenny Kravitz has has less fame and money. But he did have a cool mother in Roxi Roker (Helen Willis from The Jeffersons) and Ricky Williams gave up playing for the Dolphins just to follow him on tour.

I'll let you decide but a man crush from Ricky Williams is pretty powerful. Plus if she becomes the former Mrs. Rodriguez, the alimony from $240 million won't be too bad. Looks like ARod is a loser again.