Boston Red Sox: Who Is the Team MVP for the Month of July?

The Boston Red Sox enter their weekend visit to Chicago already assured of at least matching their winningest month in 2011, having stamped 18 victories in both July and May. Based on percentage, with three days left, July is guaranteed to be their best month this season, since they can finish it with nothing worse than an 18-8 record (they went 18-10 in May).

On the whole, July spoke for itself with the aforementioned record, seven double-digit run performances, three shutouts and the cumulative scoring differential of 155-102. (Yes, the recent schedule has mostly been a buffet of cupcakes, but wins are wins and to do the job is to do the job.)

But if one player were to be singled out for a virtual piece of individual hardware, who should be named the BoSox’ player of the month?

For the seventh month of the calendar year, this author offers the following seven candidates for Red Sox Nation to mull over while the team finishes out the month this weekend.

Dustin Pedroia

A leadoff home run in the eighth almost sparked a late rally in Thursday afternoon’s 4-3 loss to Kansas City. But if nothing else, Pedroia did prolong his hitting streak to 25 games, carrying over from June 29 and including all 23 games this month.

Since July 1, Pedroia has hit 41-for-100 overall. He has crossed the plate 26 times while driving in 19 runs, including an RBI single in the top of the 16th inning for his third hit of the night en route to a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Of the 26 runs Pedroia has scored in the last 23 games, six have proven to be game-winners. That equates his collection of six stolen bases in July so far.

Josh Beckett

With Thursday’s loss to the Royals, the ace hurler just barely missed out on an undefeated calendar month for the third time in as many tries. But throw away the decisive four-run, four-hit, two-walk fourth inning, and Beckett might have had a gem and a 4-0 record for July.

In five overall starts this month, Beckett went 3-1 and pitched a cumulative 35 innings. In three of those, he held the opposition to one run or less.

His three wins included an 11-strikeout performance in Houston, a 10-3 throttling of the Orioles and a victorious arm-wrestling match with Seattle’s Blake Beavan. Beckett also took a no-decision in Boston’s 16-inning, 1-0 win at Tampa Bay, pitching the first eight innings and only allowing one hit while whiffing six batters.

Jacoby Ellsbury

Since withdrawing from the lineup with an illness on July 1, Ellsbury has hit safely in all but two appearances this month, scoring at least one run in 14 of them and batting in a run in 14. He also has 13 multi-hit games in that span along with seven multi-RBI performances, including Thursday afternoon when he granted the Sox an initial lead on a two-run single.

Up to this point, Ellsbury’s July transcript reads as follows: 39-for-96 for a .406 batting average (sound familiar?), 23 runs scored, seven doubles, eight home runs and nine walks.

With two dingers in Chicago this weekend, Ellsbury would crack double-digits home runs in one month, which he had previously never done in one season.

Adrian Gonzalez

There isn’t a whole lot left for the prized offseason acquisition to leave a favorable first impression, except of course prove himself immune to post-Home Run Derby hangover.

Since finishing second at the midsummer slugfest behind Robinson Cano with 31 blasts, Gonzalez has hardly tapered off in the more vital competition. In fact, with two singles on Thursday, he now has five straight multi-hit games as part of a nine-game hitting streak.

In July, Gonzalez has totaled 33 hits, including 20 in 13 appearances since the All-Star Break. While he has not homered since July 7, he has knocked in a respectable 11 runs while scoring 14 in the interim.

Alfredo Aceves

The reliever has had a couple of recent blemishes, particularly July 19, when he surrendered three runs that swelled a 3-2 deficit into a 6-2 loss at Baltimore.

Other than that, Aceves has been quite reliable in nine appearances this month. Throwing at least two full innings each time he has been summoned, he has earned credit for three wins and one hold.

In a cumulative 21.2 innings, Aceves has only authorized six earned runs and four walks while racking up 13 strikeouts, 12 of which have come over his last six appearances.

In each of his last three wins, all falling within the past three weeks, Aceves has taken the mound for three scoreless innings and benched multiple batters on strikes.

Jonathan Papelbon

Putting in one inning―no more, no less―in each of his last 12 appearances, Papelbon has achieved eight saves while allowing a cumulative four runs.

Translation: Papelbon has saved just a little less than 50 percent of the Red Sox 18 victories this month while playing an uncredited role in the preservation of three others.

In addition, he has struck out at least one batter in each of his last 11 games for a total of 16.

David Ortiz

Since becoming a regular in the lineup again at the conclusion of interleague play, Ortiz has had only four non-consecutive hit-less outings. And much like Gonzalez, he has not fizzled since captaining the American League at the Home Run Derby, going on a six-game hitting streak that just ended Thursday afternoon.

Ortiz has also drawn 13 walks on the month to go along with an aggregate 20-for-66 success rate at the plate.