My apologies for the long time between posts, but – in order to make my mind off the atrocious state of the setup department in Boston’s bullpen – I will hopefully be the last writer/blogger/talking head to put together my observations at the mid-way mark. I’ll be posting these on my way down to New York on the limoliner, so check in periodically for an updated version.

Biggest Surprise: J.D. Drew. No question about this one. He finally silenced every last critic that questioned his toughness, his fire and his baseball ability, and stepped into the breach created by David Ortiz’s injured wrist. I’m pretty sure Bob Ryan now has his answer from Theo Epstein concerning the right fielder, and any potential fascinations therein.

Biggest Disappointment: Manny Ramirez. There could be a lot of different answers for this question (Hello Hideki Okajima), but I’ll reserve my disapproval for a player that’s undergone some alarming personality changes this year. Manny has gone from goofy, misunderstood-but-lovable baseball character to a declining player that’s picking fights with teammates, mistreating team employees and arguing with umps at a much higher rate than normal throughout his career. Methinks the pressure of contract uncertainty is beginning to get to the Dreadlocked One after living in complete contractual comfort during his first seven seasons in Boston.

Biggest Blowhard (I originally said biggest jerk, but maybe that was the wrong word choice): Curt Schilling has thrown his last pitch for the Boston Red Sox. I wonder why that came to mind when I was brainstorming for this category. Hmmm. I’m going to ponder that one for a while.

Best Guy in the Clubhouse: David Aardsma. This is probably the question I get more than any other about my time in the clubhouse, and the Sox locker room is filled with good guys. Alex Cora, Javy Lopez, Kevin Youkilis and Julio Lugo are all among the most engaging in the Sox locker room, but Aardsma is at a different level. Not every ballplayer can quote lines from Sideways as if they’ve seen it six or seven times.

‘I told you so’ Award: Hideki Okajima. I remember a conversation I had with A-Rod last season that was punctuated with the mention of Oki-Doke as a novelty act. While A-Rod may be many things – including the latest in a long line of ridiculous suitors for the services of Madonna (is it bad to be part of the same group that also included Jose Canseco? Just asking?) – I think he’s also pretty right on about big league hitters catching on to Okajima in his second season with the Sox. They’re laying off the split/change and making him throw strikes with a batting practice fastball. Just be thankful for the 2007 World Series he helped win while only costing the Sox $3 million over these two seasons.

Primed for the Biggest Second Half: Josh Beckett. He’s struggled at times in the first half as the Sox have brought him along slowly since his…cough, cough…back injury that prevented him from taking the trip to Japan. I think Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield have been the two most consistent, and best, starters during the first half of the year (more on that later), but Beckett will take them where they need to go down the stretch. It would be good if the Sox could start scoring him a few runs along the way, as the offense has been shut out twice during his starts and scored a grand total of nine runs in his five losses on the season.

Primed for a Second Half Fall: Julio Lugo. Yes, his OBP is passable and he hasn’t as bad offensively this season as he was last year, but his days manning the shortstop position are numbered. I’m not sure that Jed Lowrie is the “answer” at shortstop or that his arm strength is good enough to regularly play the position, but he would bring a lot of offense to the table and would make the routine plays. Count me in the growing legion of people that would like to see Lowrie get a shot at short in the second half of the season.

The Bob “Fireman that can’t put out a fire” Stanley Award: Manny Delcarmen. I keep singing your praises, and then you go out and fire complete dud like the Wednesday night debacle in Tampa Bay. The stuff is all there and everyone within that organization wants Delcarmen to seize control of the eighth inning job, but he continues to show moments where the eyes get too wide and the moment gets too big. The shame of it is, there is nothing even remotely close to as good as Delcarmen on the trade market. Guys like 41-year-old Doug Brocail are not the answer. His ERA during his last go-round in the American League: 5.52 in 2005.

Favorite Moment from the First Half: Jon Lester’s no-hitter. There were some snapshots during the first half of the Sox season, but the emotions stirring from Lester’s accomplishment transcend the game in so many ways. There weren’t many dry eyes anywhere when Lester and Sox Manager Terry Francona lingered in embrace following the big game. The performance also seemed to give Lester some much-needed confidence that has allowed him to establish himself as a big league starter.

Worst moment from the First Half: Sweep in Tampa Bay. It was the Manny/Youkilis brawl in the dugout until that complete and utter bullpen implosion on Wednesday night. The days have truly turned dark in Red Sox Nation with David Ortiz still hurt, Jason Varitek completely lost at the plate, human sparkplug Jacoby Ellsbury struggling to get on base from the leadoff spot and the bullpen alternating between boom and bust. Theo Epstein has some work to do if this season is going to end with another champagne shower.

Team MVP: Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield. Both starters didn’t miss a turn in the rotation and gave the Sox 200 plus innings (217 2/3 to be exact) at a 3.50 ERA during the first half of the season. Combined they easily could have won another 5-10 games with a little more offensive support, but they did everything asked and allowed every other starter to take a breather during the season.

Sox Starter Most Likely to take the next 15-day DL vacation: Jon Lester. The 24-year-old was finally passed by Tim Wakefield in terms of the team-lead in innings pitched, but is still on pace for a 200 innings season-total that he’ll simply never approach. As was first noticed by Art Martone in his excellent ProJo Sox blog, there are a slew of Thursday off-days in the second half of the season and there will be at least one skipped start in Lester’s future, but don’t be surprised to see a twinge in Lester’s back that lands him on the DL for two weeks.

Most likely to be wearing a different uniform next month: Justin Masterson. The 6-foot-6 righty sinkerballer has been better than anyone could have expected after being thrust into the Sox starting rotation, and has raised his value all around baseball. It could be that his value will never be higher and the Sox would be wise to sell off an asset at its highest point. Masterson and some fellow prospects could yield some very big fish in July’s trade market. I think it’s already been determined that Masterson would be the surplus pitching available if a deal is made.

Most Likely Trade Acquisition that Red Sox Nation hopes turns out better than Eric Gagne: Brian Fuentes. A lot is dependent on David Ortiz’s return from a balky left wrist, but the bullpen seems to be the biggest need without a lot of quality supply to choose from on the market. Fuentes has saved at least 20 games over the last three seasons for the Sox, is left-handed and has the stuff to fill something similar to the Okajima role from a season ago – something the Sox sorely need right now. If Ortiz is down, I would love to see the Sox pursue Mark Teixeira as the Atlanta Braves fade off into the sunset and it becomes more apparent that the switch-hitting first baseman ain’t coming back to Hotlanta.