The grades are in: Sox get A- for May

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

W'sup teach?! The grades are in people, that's w'sup – and the Sox recouped after a lackluster D+ of an April to an impressive comeback A- for the month of May.

I'll get to individual and department grades later in my post, but for now here's some stats from the month that was May my argument to why you can never, ever count out the mighty Red Sox of Boston, Mass.

Sox completed May with an 18-11 record for the month and 29-23 overall – now 5-1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Rays. Yes, they're still in 4th in the division but the red-hot start of the Toronto Blue Jays is sure to cool off in June – as it always does.

Then it will be just the Rays, Yanks and Sox left to duke out the rest of the season for two postseason spots. Despite their recent slump to finish May, I still see the Rays taking the division this year – their youth and talent should ride on out well. If you think the Yankees will simply take the 2nd spot without a fight, you are sorely mislead.

Remember, the Sox were 9-0 against the Yankees to start the year in 2009 – then what happened? The Sox pitching rotation and lineup are just as talented as the Yankees championship team of last season, if not more, and when playing well

Adrian Beltre in May: A
- Beltre proved to be the Sox's most valuable off-season pickup in May, hitting 25 RBIs -- the 4th best in the majors for the month.

David Ortiz in May: B+
- David Ortiz had one of his best months in years in May, batting .363 with 10 homers and 27 RBIs.
- After hitting .143 with a homer in four RBIs in April
- 7 homers in last 15 games on an 8-game hitting streak
- Mike Cameron has been quoted saying "He looks dangerous" -- the threat Papi used to pose everytime he approached the plate.

J.D. Drew in May: B
- JD improved from a .181 average in April to an overall .270 after May
- He was also 8th in the majors in doubles for the month of May.

Bullpen in May: B-
- The Sox starters (other than Beckett) had a prolific month, but I can remember only one occasion where the pen blew a win for them -- and that was Papelbon's walk-off homerun to the Yankees' Marcus Thames in New York. Over all I say the pen looked strong and would give special nods to relievers Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Martinez, setup man Daniel Bard, and Paps (who has 12 saves through May).

Starting rotation: A-
- Clay Bucholz and Jon Lester looked ready to takeover the world in May. Lester is expected, but it appears Clay finally has the command to add to his filthy talent and that is a deadly combo. Then we had Dice-K throw a couple decent games -- 1 of which was a 1-hitter and a no-no through 8-2/3 innings.

Josh Beckett in May: F+
- Beck has been downright terrrrrible! He's been hit hard or shelled by the end of at least 80% of his starts. To add to his heaping pile that was the first 2 months of the season, he now is on the DL with no timetable set, experiencing lower back pains. Oh boy...sigh. Well let's hope he's well and ripping in August and there on because we'll need him.

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