Chad Finn’s Red Sox midseason superlatives

The 2013 Red Sox have 58 victories at the All-Star break. The 2012 Red Sox had 69 victories at the season’s merciful end. Is it any wonder that our best and worst superlatives from the first half have many more of the former than the latter? Let’s get right to saluting those who have made baseball in Boston fun again for the first time since August 2011 …

Best pleasant surprise: Jose Iglesias

We knew the defense would be sensational, and it has been, at both shortstop and third base. Offensively, it was said that if he hit .260 – heck, even .240 – he could play every day. His batting average at the break? A mere .375. Yep, that’s a pleasant surprise all right.

Best pleasant surprise, runner-up: Daniel Nava

The perennially underestimated Nava has had prolonged stretches of high-quality play before. Last May he hit .277/.424/.477 and followed that up with a .324/.419/.473 June. But this year he’s taken it to an entirely different level, becoming essential to the Red Sox’ first-half offensive success. He enters the break with an .810 OPS, 10 homers, 52 RBIs, and the most job security he’s had as a big leaguer.

Best pleasant surprise, second-runner up: Mike Carp

Acquired from offensively-challenged Seattle in late February, Carp won a spring battle with veteran Lyle Overbay for a roster spot. Ever since he has hit like he’s obsessed with proving the Mariners wrong. In 155 plate appearances, he has 8 homers and 27 RBIs with a .977 OPS.

Worst recent reversion to 2012 form: Jon Lester

Guess we were premature with all of those stories about John Farrell recognizing a mechanical flaw in Lester’s delivery that would make him as good as new again. Lester, coming off a dismal ’12 season (9-14, 4.82 ERA), started brilliantly this April under his new manager and former pitching coach (4-0, 3.11), but he had a 7.62 ERA in June, and he’s a 4.42 so far in July. At least he ended the first half on a decent note, allowing three earned runs in 6.1 innings against the A’s Friday.

Best discovery of 2009 form: Jacoby Ellsbury

In ’09, Ellsbury hit .301/.355/.415 with 70 stolen bases and 45 extra-base hits. Halfway through this season, the center fielder is on a similar pace: .301/.365/.419, with 36 steals and 31 extra-base hits. The power of two years ago (32 homers) hasn’t been there, and maybe it won’t be again, but Ellsbury has proven again to be an excellent catalyst for the Red Sox offense.

Best improbable emergence as a Beloved Fan-Favorite™: John Lackey

With Clay Buchholz injured and Jon Lester struggling for consistency, the ace of the Red Sox staff at the moment is Lackey. Yeah, let that one sink in for a minute. Lackey, who was on no one’s list of the most popular Red Sox players after his role in the ’11 collapse followed by his absence a year ago after undergoing Tommy John surgery, is in the midst of a remarkable second act with the Red Sox. Lackey has won respect for his performance – he’s 6-6, but fifth in the AL with a 2.80 ERA – and, in retrospect, for taking the ball every fifth day with a damaged elbow before this season.

Best free-agent signing: Koji Uehara

I think we all knew he was pretty good – he’d had some exceptional full and partial seasons with the Rangers and Orioles since coming to the big leagues from Japan in 2009. But did you know he was this good or this fun? Amid all of the attrition in the Red Sox bullpen this season, Uehara has been the savior (1.70 ERA, 8 saves, .756 WHIP), first in the setup role and then most recently as the closer after Joel Hanrahan got hurt and Andrew Bailey faltered. And with his ferocious high-fives after getting out of an inning, he’s become one of the key chemistry guys on a team that jelled almost from the beginning.

Best Ben Cherington decision: Hiring John Farrell

It’s a matter of debate how much a manager actually impacts winning on a day-to-day basis – after all, it’s the players who have to perform, and even if they don’t like their manager, they have professional and financial motivations to succeed. But it’s also apparent that Farrell fits in all the ways that Bobby Valentine did not – starting with being an adult who is fair-minded and prepared and will hold his players accountable. No wonder Toronto was so mad he left.

Best unsung contributor: Felix Doubront

The 25-year-old lefty can be frustrating from time to time with his high pitch counts and inconsistency, but he’s quietly become a staple of the rotation this season. He’s 6-3 with a 3.91 ERA, striking out 93 batters in 99 innings. He’s having a better season than that other lefty in the rotation, Lester. And he’s pitched better as the season has gone on, with a 2.75 ERA in June and 1.98 through two starts in July.

Worst disappointment: Will Middlebrooks

After an impressive if abbreviated rookie season in which he hit .288 with 15 homers in 76 games, the 23-year-old third baseman looked like the No. 5 hitter of the the future. He still may be, but his ’13 season has epitomized the concept of the sophomore slump. Middlebrooks is back in Pawtucket after struggling for much of the first half, putting up a .192/.228/.389 line with nine homers (three in one game) in the big leagues. His BB/K rate is alarming (24/130 in the majors) and reveals how much room he has left to improve.

Worst way to suffer an injury: Clay Buchholz

Buchholz is having a sensational season, winning all nine of his decisions in 12 starts and posting a 1.71 ERA. Unfortunately, that sensational season has been on hold since June 8, which happens to be the last time he pitched. Who knew that falling asleep while holding your toddler could be detrimental to a pitcher’s arm?

Worst reminder of the fate of “Spinal Tap” drummers: The closer situation

Quick recap: Joel Hanrahan was awful, then got hurt and was lost for the year. Andrew Bailey was excellent, got hurt, returned and was brutal, and is battling his way back. Junichi Tazawa held the role for about five minutes. Koji Uehara has been very good in what probably is not his ideal role. Heathcliff Slocumb may have been in there for an inning or two. No, there hasn’t been a lot of stability in the ninth inning this season. But trading for Jonathan Papelbon is no solution, either.

Best reminder that you never doubt Dustin Pedroia’s intentions, ever

Dustin Pedroia is having a typical Dustin Pedroia season. He’s hitting .316/.396/.436 with 32 extra-base hits, 13 steals, and the usual excellent defense. What makes it all the more impressive is that he’s doing it while playing with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb suffered during the first game of the season. Those of you who thought he was part of the problem last year should be sentenced to watching an endless loop of Wil Cordero defensive “highlights” until the remorse sets in.

Best ever at his “position”: David Ortiz

Big Papi surpassed Harold Baines to become the all-time leader in hits as a designated hitter (1,689) when he laced a second-inning double last Wednesday against Seattle. He’s since added to that total in a first half that has exceeded all logical expectations. Ortiz, who missed almost all of the second half last season with an Achilles’ injury that was a concern through spring training, has been as good as ever in ’13. In the 77 games he’s played, he has a 1.001 OPS, 19 homers, and 65 RBIs.

Best thing about the season so far: Everything

Or if you really want to narrow it down, that it’s not last season. This as been as fun as last year was miserable. Here’s to a second half as enjoyable as the first.