Carl Crawford entered the 2011 season with a .296 average in nearly 5,000 at-bats. That's not exactly a small sample size. That means that it'd be hard to believe Crawford's average will go anywhere but up from its current mark of .243. He was on the right path, hitting .295 in May and June, before making a trip to the DL.
Across the outfield, J.D. Drew's numbers have been a bit off from his career marks. He's hitting just .229 and doesn't look like the J.D. Drew who hit .270 with an .853 OPS in his first four seasons in Boston. Unlike Crawford, who's in the first year of a big deal, Drew is in the final year of his own. Still, fans are expecting more out of the 35-year-old.
In the bullpen, Bobby Jenks has had trouble getting going. He's appeared in just 19 games, pitching just 15 2/3 innings. In those innings, he's posted a 2.234 WHIP and 6.32 ERA. He's been on the disabled list twice, and in just the first year of a two-year deal, he's going to have to turn things around in the second half.
Then there is John Lackey. He entered the year with a 3.84 career ERA, but his mark this season is 6.84. Most puzzling is how he's looked very strong in some starts but can't string a streak together. The Red Sox have a lot of years and money committed to the big righty, and this could just be a rough patch, but how much can Lackey turn things around in the next three months?
Which Red Sox player is under the most pressure to bounce back in the second half?
