David Ortiz Moves to the Top of the Class as Red Sox Score a B+ for June

With final report cards nervously delivered to parents throughout the country, children everywhere breathe a collective sigh of relief as summer vacation is finally upon them.

Our Kaitlyn spent the last week convincing Kate and I that the teacher doesn't know his ass from his elbow, while Dakota has spent 24/7 telling us why he doesn't have to do his summer reading. Such is the life of the parent of school age kids.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, are just approaching mid-term and although they appear to be tops in the American League class, all students aren't honor students when graded by Professor Civin. Such is the life of the resident Red Sox writer.

The 2009 edition of the Sox is a tough class to grade as collectively they played .720 baseball for the month of June (18 wins and seven losses) with veteran John Smoltz looking to avenge his series opening loss tonight in the final game of the month versus the lowly Orioles.The pitchers grades seem to be primarily responsible for their sterling record though as many of the every day players struggled during June.

Last year on June 30, the Red Sox had a record of 50-35 and found themselves a game and a half behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox record for June, 2008 was only 16 wins and 11 losses

With a record of 47-29, the Red Sox are currently 3.5 games ahead of the second place Yankees and only a game and a half behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the Major Leagues.

Here's how the Red Sox Report Card looks for the month of June. (Note: This is not their cumulative grade for the season to date. That's what final grades are about.)

David Ortiz: A- (Last month: F)

Papi has moved from the remedial class to Valedictorian in one month. The rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated.

Within days of getting eye-drops for his slightly dry eyes, Ortiz has shown a month long glimpse of the Papi of old. Ortiz hit .310 with seven HR and 17 RBI and displayed the long ball pop of the pre-deceased Papi. 

Ortiz missed last June with a wrist injury and entered July of 2008 with 13 HR and 43 RBI vs. eight home runs and 35 RBI for 2009 season to date.

For the year, Ortiz is still only hitting .221 but this is a huge increase over the .185 with 1 home run and 18 RBI through the month of May.

Jacoby Ellsbury: A- (Last month: B)

Quickly becoming the real deal. Ellsbury hit .293 for the month with an OBP of .379. He has adjusted to being moved to the bottom of the order and has provided stability to the lower portion of the 1-9. Ellsbury has also stolen 33 bases and despite committing the first error of his major league career, he has added to the Sport-center Top Play portfolio on nearly a nightly basis. He was 12 for 12 in steal attempts for the month as well.

Nick Green: B+ (Last month, combined with Julio Lugo: C+)

I feel a wee bit dirty giving a .233 hitter a B+, but Green has so filled in admirably during Jed Lowrie's injury and Lugo's disappearance from relevance that I feel it is deserving. Green played a near error-less June (last error June 3) and made some truly remarkable plays in the field. Add his ninth inning game-winning wrap around home run vs. Atlanta and Green is quickly gaining the love and respect of teammates and fans throughout Boston.

His 26 RBI for the season is only three RBI shy of his career high in nearly twice as many AB with the Rays in 2005.

J.D. Drew: B (Last month: D)

My dislike of Drew is well documented, so when Drew performs in a positive manner, I truly think the success is short lived. However, Drew hit .292 with three HR and 12 RBI and even came within a double of the cycle in last night's game against the Orioles. Bottom line, Drew finally exhibited his first heart beat of the season by putting up a .433 OBP and a .961 OPS.

Jason Varitek: B- (Last month: B+)

Well, many have come to the realization that Varitek will hover around the .230-.240 mark for the entire season, but seemingly come up big when they need him to. I've been a proponent since the Sox resigned him, that with what he does for the pitching staff, a .240 average is the equivalent of .280. Though he hit only .242 with one HR and nine RBI in June, the results of the pitching staff have resulted in the .720 winning pct for the month. AS has been the case all season, Tek gets an A for effort, an A+ for handling the staff and a C- for what he brings to the plate. The results speak for themselves.

Jason Bay: C+ (Last month: A+)

For the season, Bay is among the league leaders with 19 home runs and 69 RBI and is on pace for 40 home runs and 147 RBI. Not bad for a contract season. These stats may make Bay the creme de la creme of this free agent class. Since joining the Sox last July 31, Bay has hit 28 home runs and 106 RBI in only 123 games. 

By itself however his month of June was nothing to brag about as he hit only .242 with four home runs and 20 RBI. On the season however, he has still been a pleasantly surprising replacement for Manny Ramirez, minus the use of PEDs.

Kevin Youkilis: C (Last month: A)

Youk struggled a bit in June as well after a very productive first two months of the campaign. He hit only .224 with three home runs and 11 RBI for June and struck out 25 times in 25 games. His OBP of .377 was by far his lowest of the season.

For the season, Youk is hitting .312 with 12 HR and 42 RBI. Last season through June he was hitting for exactly the same average with 13 HR and 50 RBI. We finished 2008 still at .312 with a consistent final three months and ended with 29 HR and 115 RBI.This is more than likely right where "Mr. Consistency" will finish up for 2009, as well.

Mike Lowell: C- (Last month: B+)

Well, it has recently been exposed that Lowell's hip is bothering him again and a cortisone shot was necessary. After an initial two months which saw him hitting .307 with eight home runs and 35 RBI, Lowell struggled mightily hitting .206 with two HR and six RBI for the month. A healthy Lowell is a must going into the next few months, though a move of Youk to third and Kotsay to first base may be imminent. This clearly weakens the Sox line-up though as a Kotsay for Lowell swap doesn't net equal results.

Last June, Lowell hit .351 with six HR and 25 RBI. His final three months while battling a hip injury he hit

Dustin Pedroia: C- (Last month: B)

Where has our little MVP gone? Pedroia struggled in June, like he normally reserves for April, batting .216 with 0 HR and 11 RBI. He heated up towards the end of the month but his average is at a season low of .288 with two HR and 31 RBI. Last June Pedroia hit .356 with 4 HR and 9 RBI, before hitting .350, .374 and .326 in the moths of July-September en-route to his being named MVP for the American League.   

Bench: B+ (Last month: C)

Mark Kotsay has finally started the season after missing the first two months with a back problem. Kotsay has filled in in all three outfield positions and at first base and has hit .310 in 17 games. With Lowell nursing his hip injury, Kotsay may see action three or four times a week at first base.

Rocco Baldelli continues to produce on the rare occasion that he pokes his head into the line-up. He is batting .286 with four HR and 11 RBI in only 70 plate appearances. Can't expect much more from a guy who only gets in their twice a week.

George Kottaras has been the back stop for Tim Wakefield who is amongst the league leaders with 10 wins. Kottaras hasn't provided the occasional pop of last Wakefield's previous personal back stop, Doug Mirabelli, but has made up for it on the defensive side of the ball.

Overall: B+

Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. You can't knock the final grade although Youk, Pedroia, Lowell, and Bay had sub par month of June. If all can get going during the next few months and the pitching remains solid, The Fenway Faithful are sure to enjoy Kaitlyn and Dakota's summer vacation.

Tomorrow: The Boston Red Sox pitchers

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Todd Civin is a freelance writer who writes for Bleacher Report. He is available for hire or comment at [e-mail].

He is also a supporter of A Glove of Their Own, the award-winning children's book that is capturing the heart of the nation. Visit www.agloveoftheirown.com to learn more about this exciting book that is being supported by Jason Grilli, Joe Torre, Ken Griffey, Craig Biggio, and Sean Casey, as well as the IBAF, Louisville Slugger, Rawlings, iFungo, Modell's Sporting Goods, and Upper Deck.