What Should We Expect In Second Half?

Now that the first half of the 2010 season is over and the NL beat the AL in the All-Star Game (finally!), Red Sox fans are wondering…what can we expect in the second half?

The way this season has gone…no one can say for certain.

The first half wasn’t exactly drawn up the way Epstein & Co. thought it would be.  From early season defensive problems to being swept by the lowly Baltimore Orioles, from injuries to Triple A call ups no one ever heard of, from the cries of an entire nation screaming for David Ortiz to be benched to the return of the real Big Papi, it certainly has been an entertaining first half.

A huge question lies with Big Papi.  After doing a 180 after a horrendous April, Ortiz completely turned his season around that saw him selected to another All-Star Game and participation in the Home Run Derby.  Ortiz beat out ex-Sox top prospect Hanley Ramirez to take home the hardware.

Those who have participated and either went to the later rounds or won, has had much difficulty in the second half in terms of offensive production.  Every single person in the Red Sox world is hoping that Big Papi’s power doesn’t decrease.  With all the injuries, the Sox need him more than ever and can’t afford for him to go back to the position he was in in April.  I was very surprised that Ortiz agreed to participate given the state that his team is in, but then I thought, his ego and pride should be as big as ever right now.  He was out to prove something.  By winning I guess he did.

How the Red Sox do in the second half clearly depends on what happens on the injury front.  As of right now, the Red Sox can field an All-Star team from the players they currently have on the DL, led by the teams Heart and Soul, Dustin Pedroia.

Check out this starting All-Injury Lineup:

C: Jason Varitek

1B: Victor Martinez

2B: Dustin Pedroia

SS: Jed Lowrie (remember him?)

3B: Mike Lowell

LF: Jacoby Ellsbury

CF: Mike Cameron (not on the DL but can’t play consecutive days that often)

RF: Jeremy Hermida

SP: Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz

RP: Manny Delcarmen

Don’t get me wrong, Daniel Nava, Bill Hall, and Darnell McDonald have done an outstanding job filling in for those out with injury, but they don’t exactly instill  the same fear in opposing pitchers as others do.  For the record, Kevin Cash and Gustavo Molina don’t instill any fear (no offense guys).

The Sox could start getting help back with Josh Beckett making another rehad start Saturday and possibly getting back on the mound for the Sox on July 22.  Clay Buchholz will make a rehab appearance tomorrow and will mostly likely rejoin the team in the middle of next week on the West Coast trip.  Manny Delcarmen will pitch an inning in Portland and most likely be activated on Saturday.  Dustin Pedroia, Jason Varitek, and Victor Martinez will all have CT scans in the next few days.

The more players the Sox get back, the better they’ll be.   Even with all the injuries they were as close as .5 game out of first place behind the Yankees until the injuries obviously really started playing a role.  With Tampa having been inconsistent and still with a possibility of catching the Yankees (who are 5 games ahead of the Sox), the AL East is still within reach.  Adding a pitcher like Beckett and adding Buchholz (who has been stellar) along with All-Star Jon Lester, that will certainly help the cause.  Manny Delcarmen will certainly help out a struggling bullpen whose only shutdown options are Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon (on certain days that is).

After those three return, the domino effect will trigger. If Pedroia can lose the crutches this weekend, he will start working out, which means it’s only a matter of time before The Laser Show returns.  With Martinez, if his thumb has healed the way they hope and he can get his hand in a glove, he should be back before any of the position players.

Lets hope the sake of this season, they start coming back sooner rather than later.  Always have hope and faith in the Sox.

It’s not over yet…