Midseason meter on the league leaders

And that’ll be all of the annoying forced rhymes we use in this edition of grading. Here’s a look at how the Red Sox pitchers looked at the end of the first half, or first half plus a handful. Considering the fact that they only have 22 more games against teams above .500, they’ve put all these stats up against good competition, too. Bodes well, doesn’t it?

STARTING PITCHING STAFF — A-
(All entries in order of rotation/traditional appearance)

Curt is looking for more consistency in the second half.

Curt Schilling — B
If he finished off the no-hitter in Oakland, he’s probably a B+, and maybe higher. That’s because if he finished off the no-hitter, he might have been able to ride that momentum to another couple wins, instead of collapsing for his two worst starts of the season. Instead, Schilling took a hit at McAfee Coluiseum, then took a hit himself less than two weeks later, heading to the shelf for shoulder strengthening after he fastball dipped off into the 80’s. He started with a discouraging loss in Kansas City, bounced back to build up a 6-2 record and the Sox hopes in turn. But with his health (and ERA, which is currently 4.20) a question, Theo Epstein is suddenly out shopping for pitchers again, which is not exactly the kind of stability you look for froma staff ace.

Josh Beckett — A+
The guy who the Sox traded two top prospects for is finally pitching like a guy worth trading two top prospects for. The fact that the rangy Texan is less than a year removed from a 5.01 ERA and 36 home runs is almost dizzying. With the help of new pitching coach John Farrell and better health — despite the “avulsion” in his right middle finger, he’s shown more willingness to throw breaking stuff instead of worry about blisters — Beckett has mixed off-speed pitches with blazing fastballs, crossing batters up with good location and mowing down hitters, sometimes three at-a-time. What about homers, you ask? This year he only had four at the break, to go with 12 wins and a 3.44 ERA. He has to be the leader in any Cy Young discussion.

Daisuke Matsuzaka — A-
The gun from the rising sun has 10 wins in the first half, not to mention the second-most strikeouts in the AL (123), combining dizzying stuff with good moxie. Sporadic losses of control have been his bugaboo, but he’s shown signs of adapting to his new conditions and larger baseballs, and with the hot weather - he played almost entirely in domes in Japan - his second half looks as bright as any other player in baseball’s.

Tim Wakefield — B+
What else did you expect from old reliable. In fact, the concept of calling Wakefield old reliable is almost ludicrous itself, considering that his effectiveness depends entirely on a pitch which is anything but reliable itself. Still, the knuckleballer continues to leave hitters speechless, at 40 years-old. He went 9-8 in the first half, with a 4.39 ERA, but at one point had the lowest ERA in the bigs. His 106.2 innings are second only to Matsuzaka, and he’s yet to miss a start. Remember, the wheels truly fell off the Sox bus last year when Wakefield and Jason Varitek went down with injuries, so his improved health is a harbinger of good things to come.

Julian Tavarez — B
He looks like Bugs Bunny, he rolls the ball to first base like the Big Lebowski and he should probably be in the bullpen. But somehow, against all odds, Julian Tavarez keeps plugging along, keeping Jon Lester in Pawtucket with his continued success. He’s the only member of the starting staff with a losing record - 5-7 - but he’s made all 16 of his starts, has eaten up 88.2 innings in his starts and continues to do everything you want a fifth starter to do, not to mention befriending Dice-K and taking Manny Ramirez’s head patting in stride. Will he still be in the rotation in September? Odds are against it. Then again, odds were against him still being here now, so I’m not counting it out.

Kason Gabbard — B+
When Curt Schilling went down, everyone expected Jon Lester to finally get the call. Didn’t happen. Instead, Gabbard came up for the second time this season, got shelled in Seattle then looked terrific against Tampa Bay and Detroit. All of sudden, because of his 2-0 record and a 4.87 ERA which is inflated from the one Seattle setback, it looks like it’ll be hard to get him out of the rotation, too. Go figure, the scrapheap savior may sneak his way into stardom.

BULLPEN — A

Kyle Snyder – A
They didn’t want to give him up for nothing, so they turned him into the team’s long man out of the pen. Talk about a good move. Snyder racked up a 2.81 ERA in the first half, was a reliable man to keep the team in games in middle innings, and even stole a win out of a comeback. Now he’s not going anywhere, for the first time in his career.

Mike Timlin — C+
He started out looking like himself, then immediately collapsed into injury, a 4.38 ERA and eventually the disabled list. The highlight of Timlin’s first half was clearly his early-season work in Toronto, but since coming back he’s lost his setup job to Hideki Okajima and is suddenly more of an innings-eater and fill-in man than a real role player. It’ll be interesting to see what role the intensely-loyal Terry Francona choses for him down the stretch.

The man who could be your Rookie of the Year.

Joel Pineiro — C
For a guy who was targeted as a closer prospect, Pineiro has been a bust. He’s had stretches of reliable appearances, but also stretches of maddening wildness and gopher balls, eventually landing him on the DL, too. His 5.04 ERA is disconcerting, though not as troubling as his contract, which makes him almost untradeable. Clearly, Pineiro is not looking like one of Theo’s better moves.

Javier Lopez — B
After toiling through more AAA seasoning in Pawtucket - and he’s had his share with three teams - Lopez finally broke through when Timlin hit the DL, eventually forcing Epstein’s hand into pushing the more established JC Romero aside. Lopez has started to allow more inherited runners to score (he has a 3.00 ERA himself, too), but for the most part he’s been remarkably reliable, and he plays a key role in the pen, since Francona is overly reliant on lefty set-up men.

Brendan Donnelly — A-
He’s had 27 appearances spanning all different types of roles, but the former replacement player turned right-handed power pitcher has come through in most of them. That’s saying something for a guy who will tell you he hates bouncing between roles. His current DL stint is a bit troubling, but his ERA was inflated by his last couple outings with a hurt shoulder (he currently boasts a 3.05), which speaks to how low it was originally. If he returns rejuvenated, he should be a key asset in the second half.

Hideki Okajima — A+
Matsuzaka’s countryman has been nothing short of a revelation, combining one of the major’s strangest deliveries — he releases the ball staring straight at the ground - and strong location and speed to emerge as one of the premier set-up men in the bigs. His 0.83 ERA is best in the AL, and he continues to dazzle hitters, even those who have seen him multiple times (just ask Alex Rodriguez). If he doesn’t tire from overuse - he will almost certainly log the most innings of his career this year - Okajima may challenge two teammates (Matsuzaka and second baseman Dustin Pedroia) for Rookie of the Year.

Jonathan Papelbon – A+
Paps’ return to the closer role may be the watershed moment in the team’s season, and it happened before the Sox even left spring training. The second-year stud has had a couple more rocky spots than in last year’s first half, but the team continues to guard his health like Fort Knox, making it harder for him to get into a rhythm. Still, he remains one of the best closers in the game, and unquestionably on the short list of anyone any team would want on the mound to close it out. In fact, if Jim Leyland could have managed the All-Star Game over again, Paps clearly would have been the closer … and there would have been a lot less drama