The Sox finished the fourth month of the season 15-12 for an overall record of 64-42 through July. The month started off at home against Texas (1-1) and Tampa Bay (3-0). The Sox then headed out onto the road where they faced Detroit (0-3) prior to the All-Star break. Upon completion of the break the Sox opened the second half at home against division foe Toronto (2-2), Kansas City (1-2) and Chicago (3-1) for an 11 game homestand. The Sox then had their last road trip of the month against Cleveland (3-1) and Tampa (2-1) and had one game at home on the month’s final day against Baltimore (0-1). The Sox were 10-7 at home and 5-5 on the road in July.
Manager Terry Francona: The Sox seem to be treading some water in the last month or so but they still have a significant lead. So Tito keeps the same grade Grade: B (June Grade: B)
Starting Nine:
Julio Lugo: A significant improvement over June. Hit .313 for the month after snapping that dreadful 0 for 41 slump in the beginning of July. He hit 2 HRs and had 15 RBI was 6/8 in stolen base attempts. Grade: C+ (June Grade: F)
First Baseman Kevin Youkilis: Dropped off significantly in July hitting just .219 with a .348 OBP. He saw his overall BA drop 25 points. Hit 2 HRs with 12 RBI. His strikeouts continue to go up each month in July he whiffed 18 times. Grade: C- (June Grade: B)
Designated Hitter David Ortiz: Saw his BA go up to 7 points to .321 also had his best power numbers since April with 5 HRs and 15 RBI. Had 6 doubles and 17 walks as well. Grade: B (June Grade: B-)
Left Fielder Manny Ramirez: Hit 7 HRs and dove in 25 runs in July while hitting .340 for the month. Had a .660 slugging percentage for July Grade: B+ (June Grade: C-)
Right Fielder J.D. Drew: Hit a whopping .213 with 0 HRs and 8 RBI in July while striking out 19 times for the month. He also sat out 6 games for various reasons either his hammy or his family. Right now he is a $70 million bust. Thanks Uncle Theo. Grade: F (June Grade: C)
Third Baseman Mike Lowell: Came back to respectability in July driving his average from .292 to .306 by hitting .330 with 3 HRs and 18 RBI. He still leads the team in RBI and is currently in the top ten in the AL in the category. Grade: B+ (June Grade: B-)
Catcher/team captain Jason Varitek: Stayed steady in July by hitting .294 for the month. Had only 3 extra base hits all month in 68 ABs. Grade: C+ (June Grade: C+)
Center Fielder Coco Crisp: Took his average from .263 to .279 by hitting .323 in July. Had an OBP of .391 and .505 slugging percentage as he started to come around. Drove in 20 runs and had 5 doubles and 5 triples plus 1 HR. Grade: B+ (June Grade: B+)
Second Baseman Dustin Pedroia: Serious rookie of the year candidate along with team mates Okajima and Matsuzaka as well as Akinori Iwamura of Tampa Bay. Hit .299 in July as he finished the month at .313. Drove in 7 runs and had 8 walks and struck out only 10 times in 97 ABs. Grade: B (June Grade: A-)
The Bench:
Catcher Doug Mirabelli: Hit .208 for the month in limited action. 2 of his 5 hits were extra base hits and he drove in 5 runs. Batting a whopping .183 for the year at the end of July. Grade: C- (June Grade: C-)
Infielder Alex Cora: Had an off month batting only .152 with 1 RBI. Had no multi-hit games in July. Grade: C (June Grade: A)
Infielder/Outfielder Eric Hinske: 43 AB’s with 8 hits four were extra base hits 1 double, 2 triples and a HR. Drove in 6 runs but struck out 14 times. Grade: C (June Grade: C+)
Outfielder Wily Mo Pena: Hit .235 with 1 HR and 4RBI in July. His OBP was only .297 for the month as he struck out 15 times in 34 AB’s. Grade: D (June Grade: D)
The Pitching Staff:
The Starters:
Curt Schilling: Did not pitch on DL. Grade: NA (June Grade C+)
Josh Beckett: After losing two games in June, he lost 3 games in July but hey he did get the all-important All-Star Game victory. Also had 2 wins in the month but has lost two-in-a-row. Had 40 K’s while issuing only 7 walks. Grade: B+ (June Grade: B+)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: Was 3-3 with a 3.62 ERA in July. Gave up 6 HRs and walked 14 hitters while striking out 32 in 37.1 IP. Grade: B+ (June Grade: B+)
Tim Wakefield: Was 4-1 in July with a 5.52 ERA. Only gave up 3 HRs with 7 walks and 14 strikeouts in 31.0 IP. Grade B+ (June Grade A-)
Jon Lester: 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in return from cancer as he beat Cleveland and got a no-decision against Tampa Bay. Needs to cut down on the HRs. Grade: C (June Grade: NA)
Julian Tavarez: Had a tough month was 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA and lost his spot in the rotation to Jon Lester. Grade: D (June Grade: C+)
Kason Gabbard: Traded at the deadline to Texas for Eric Gagne. Was 3-0 with 3.03 ERA in July, I hope he does well with his new team he has potential. Grade: B (June Grade: D)
The Bullpen:
Jonathan Papelbon: Blew his second save on the year against Tampa Bay on July 28th. Was 0-1 with 4 saves in 5 chances and a 4.70 ERA in July. Grade: B+ (June Grade: A-)
Hideki “Darkman” Okajima: Had no record with no saves and miniscule 0.71 ERA in July. Gave up 1 ER in 12.2 IP. Grade: A (June Grade: A)
Mike Timlin: Had a great month pitching 14.2 innings and giving up no runs, allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks. Grade A (June Grade: C+)
Joel Piniero: Got Designated for assignment, accepted option to Pawtucket and then got traded at the deadline to St.Louis for a PTBNL. Was 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA in July allowing 2 ER in 3.2 IP. Grade: C- (June Grade: C-)
Brendan Donnelly: On DL did not pitch in July. Having Tommy John Surgery and is done for the year. Grade: NA (June Grade: C-)
Javier Lopez: No decisions with a 2.61 ERA in July in 10.1 IP. Hasn’t given up a run sincle July 17th. Grade: B- (June Grade: C+)
Manny DelCarmen: 0-0 with 2.40 ERA and his first MLB save in July. Pitched 15 innings allowing only 4 ER and 12 hits. Grade: B- (June Grade: B-)
Kyle Snyder: 1-1 with 3.72 ERA in 9.2 IP. Hasn’t allowed a run since July 13th. Had 15 base runners in the month, needs to cut down the walks (7). Grade: B- (June Grade: A-)
