The Boston Red Sox took the semester off. Or so it seems.
The Red Sox passed with flying colors in 2013, winning a World Series title after one of the most consistent seasons in franchise history. This season has been a different story, though, as Boston struggled for much of the first half en route to entering the All-Star break nine games under .500 (43-52).
The Red Sox are 9 1/2 games back in the American League East. They soon will be forced to decide between becoming buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. Overall, the Red Sox are better off turning the page on their tumultuous first half, especially since they won four of their last five games and finally appear to be trending in the right direction after being stuck in the mud for three and a half months.
A number of things have gone wrong for the Red Sox in 2014, and the midseason report card offers an opportunity to identify those pain points while also giving credit where it’s due. After all, while the Red Sox had a forgettable first half, there still were some encouraging signs.
The 2014 midseason report card features position-by-position grades. The Red Sox probably won’t want to hang this particular report card on the refrigerator, but again, not every single area graded poorly.
