The Red Sox and the 1st half of the MLB Season

The All-Star Break for baseball fans has finally arrived and if you watched the Home Run Derby then we all know that Yankees fans have a lot to look forward to with this Aaron Judge. Wow what a display he put on! Anyways throughout the 1st half of the season we have seen so many young stars shine such as Judge and the emergence of Cody Bellinger who has helped lead the Dodgers to the best record in baseball. We have seen the best pitchers in baseball continue to shine as Clayton Kershaw continues to be one of the most dominant pitchers this game has ever seen. Chris Sale continues to also be one of the best lefties in the game as he has helped the Red Sox stay in 1st place in the AL East. Max Scherzer has not missed a beat either. He got the nod over Kershaw to start in the All-Star Game. How about Billy Hamilton of the Reds! Is he the fastest player to ever play the game of baseball? It has been an exciting 1st half of baseball with the teams such as the Astros, Indians, Red Sox, Nationals, and Dodgers looking like the real World Series threats right now, but do not sleep on the Rockies, Diamondbacks, or even the Brewers. Who would have thought that they are having great seasons and the Cubs are struggling to play 500 baseball. It has been a wacky year and the fun will continue with a big 4 game series between the Red Sox and Yankees coming up over the weekend.

Now it is time to get into the Boston Red Sox who come into the break with a record of 50 and 39 and a 3.5 game lead in the AL East over the Rays and Yankees. It definitely has been weird getting used to watching a game and not seeing David Ortiz anymore but so far I would give this team a B for the 1st half. They got off to a bit of a slow start and they are not hitting as many home runs as we would have liked but the bats have heated up and the starting pitching has been very good for the most part with a few bad starts here and there. Meanwhile the bullpen has been a major surprise as it has been one of the best baseball. It fell off a little towards the end of the 1st half but overall we have seen some very good things especially from Craig Kimbrel. The catching situation is obviously not one of the best in baseball but Vasquez and Leon continue to be good enough. Sandy has not been the player he was last year but he will remain a good backup to Vasquez who is one of the better defensive catchers in baseball. Mitch Moreland has showed off his great glove at 1st base while his power numbers do not look great, he will remain a reliable option and a good offseason addition to the team. Dustin Pedroia continues to flash his glove at 2nd base while he does not hit homers like he used to he still hits for average and that is what the Sox need. Bogey is an awesome young shortstop that should only continue to get better. He came up with questions about his defense but it has worked out fine so far this year. Xander will always hit for average but if we can only get his home run numbers to rise in the 2nd half of the season then things will look even better. 3rd base has obviously been a big issue with Pablo Sandoval being one of the worst signings that the Red Sox have ever made. Josh Rutledge is not a starter and Brock Holt has been hurt for the most part. With guys swapping in and out at the position, Devin Marrero and Tsu Wei Lin have been the top 2 options which sounds unbelievable but it has actually worked out with the defense of Marrero and Lin is doing a great job hitting the baseball. In the outfield the 3 Bees are doing lots of dancing and having lots of fun as all 3 have had very good years with Mookie Betts being named to the All-Star team.

Chris Sale has been as advertised and with David Price coming back from his injury smoothly and his pitching has been better as of late, this could be one of the top 1-2 punches in baseball. Drew Pomeranz has been a major story as he has been awesome for this team after a slow start. The Cy-Young winner from last year looks like one of the worst pitchers in baseball this year. I mean he has not been terrible but seriously are we ever going to know what we are going to get from this dude? Doug Fister is the 5th starter now and he has not been good at all and when E-Rod comes back from Pawtucket the Red Sox should have one of the better rotations in the game.

Craig Kimbrel has been the best closer in the game as he has basically been untouchable. Matt Barnes and Joe Kelly have been reliable bullpen pieces to put in at the end of games. Heath Hembree and Robby Scott have come up through the minors to be very good for the Sox this year. Robby Scott has not been as good lately but still they have both been better than expected. Fernando Abad has not even been (Bad) and after acquiring him last season he has improved a lot. Finally Blaine Boyer got called up and he has been really good. The story is the bullpen and if you look at the names in the bullpen then you would think that it would be terrible but without the performance from them so far then this team would not on top of the division. Hopefully the Red Sox come back from the break and take at least 3 out of 4 from the Yankees. It has been a good season so far and the hope is that this team can get back to the World Series and win another Championship.