Welcome to the first ever Red Sox Dirt Dog quarterly report card.

As the weather begins to turn from cold to only a little unpleasant in New England, the Red Sox season is about to hit the first turn. Believe it or not as I write this, the 2009 season is about a quarter over. The Sox are showing themselves to be one of the better teams in baseball, but one with flaws. They are able to go toe to toe with the best in the league and take advantage of the lesser teams when the opportunity is presented. Let’s take a review of the hitters today and the pitching staff and manager tomorrow.

1B Kevin Youkillis. All he has done is hit near .400 (.393) with a OBP over .500 to go with 6 HR and 20 RBI, and his always stellar fielding. With numbers like that, he won’t have to settle for third place in the MVP voting. Barring injury, expect to hear those MVP chants around Fenway again this September. If anything injury is the only concern with Youk this year, the time off from the WBC as well as this recent stint on the DL — Sox fans better hope its not a season of nagging injuries, I don’t see them recovering from something like that. Grade A+

Back up Jeff Bailey, last years AAA MVP and a 12 year veteran of pro baseball. Bailey has just finished enjoying his longest stint starting in the bigs. With only 55 AB his grade really is an incomplete BUT, we’ll make note of this, he’s only produced a .182 AVG 2HR and a .318 OBP so while its an INCOMPLETE, we might see more of Chris Carter later in the season.

2B Dustin Pedroia, the little engine that could, keeps going. He, like Youk, has spent time on the DL and his power numbers are WAY down, but he’s been solid in the field (one of only two Sox infielders that can say that) and is hitting for a good average . 318. His 11 Doubles place him second on the team and his .418 OBP is very solid. Grade B

SS Julio Lugo: UGGG…what can we say…reports out of spring training were this was going to be Lugo’s year. This Dirt Dog had him pegged for beating out Lowrie for the starting job coming into the season. What a BAD time for an injury. While Nick Green started well enough, as he faltered, there was hope in the Nation for improved SS play to go along with Lugo’s return. Lugo came back rusty in the field and at the plate. He’s come around a bit of late so let’s just hope he holds down the fort as we wait for Lowrie’s return. Grade C

Nick Green back up SS. The journey man infielder came into the spring hoping to win a job but he ended up with more then that. While he’s been more then Ok at the plate. .302 AVG and .368 OBP, he has struggled in the field. Including a couple errors that have been very costly the Sox. I’ll give him a C only because how much do you really expect from your third shortstop?

3B Mike Lowell. Wow, Tex who?? Here he comes again. While his fielding has been off, perhaps due to his injury, he’s lost nothing at the plate. .289 AVG, .321 OBP, 6 HR, 28 RBI are more then the Sox were expecting. Not to mention in the club house, where he’s always been an asset to the team. He put the off season trade reports in the past and moved on as the true pro all of baseball knows him to be. Could a change be underway if Ortiz’s struggles continue? Lowell at DH, Youk at third and Bailey and Carter at first??? His fielding keep this grade from being higher but Lowell fans should be happy with a solid B+. I know the Sox front office is.

RF JD Drew: Well, who would have thought, Youkillis, Pedroia would have spent time on the DL and NOT Drew. Welcome to 2009. His .261 average is well bellow where we would like it but .384 OBP and 6 HR to go with 20 RBI show he’s been consistent. Drew has not had a break out streak yet and had been getting his production in spurts. If he stays healthy (always a big question) and hits one of his hot steaks, the Sox might finally have the season that hoped he’d have when they signed him. He’s been solid in the field as well but his average is going to cost him in his grade. Lets go with a B- and let him know we’re looking forward to the rest of the year seeing that improvement we know he can have.

CF Jacoby Ellisbury: Ah the enigma of the Red Sox; Jacoby what do we do with you? Your steal of home against the Yanks might turn out to be the defining moment of the season for this year’s team. We’ve had some stolen base attempts that are a bit ill timed and Sox fans would love to see you try some more bunts for base hits. The .300 AVG seems more then respectable but a .331 OBP for a lead off hitter is not what the Sox are looking for. The lack of HR, while not a prerequisite, is something else that needs to be improved. It’s still early and hopefully as more AB get under your belt as the full time CF we’ll iron out some of the rough spots. Let’s call it a C+ but its a C without the steal of home.

LF Jason Bay: WOW — talk about a curve killer. In his first full season with the Sox Bay has been just amazing, he is currently producing better power numbers then he did for Pittsburgh. The .295 AVG is nothing out of line BUT 11 HR and 40 RBI with a .629 SLG are what you’d see from Ortiz in a good year. 4 SB and a .434 OBP round out an MVP first quarter. Not to mention the fact that he’s not Manny! Every HR or timely hit seems like its going to cost Theo more money come October. No grade other then A + is even worth debating. Maybe he’ll end up splitting MVP cheers with Youk?

Back ups outfielders : Both Rocco Baldelli and Van Every get incompletes.

C Jason Varitek: Ok let’s get out of the way that we all love ‘Tek and he means the world to the pitching staff and the locker room. His hitting has pretty much been bellow average for even a catcher for about a year now, so it seems he’s going to be a hitter in the .225 range with a OBP in the low .300.  IF he stays on his current pace he will have 20 HR and a SLG of .330, no one expects that though. Worse then all that, is the struggles to throw out base runners. The TB game was an embarrassment. Not sure how to grade here since I am not a pitcher on the staff. Lets just give a C-, and I reserve the right to change it to a D next quarter. Plus, he has made his hits very timely.

C George Karatos back up catcher: He’s not hitting even Lugo’s weight and no HR seem to be a little bit less production then I’d like to see.. Grade D

DH David Ortiz: There is nothing to say here. We love him and he’s done SO much for the Red Sox Nation and we NEED him to produce this year but MAN 12 runners left on base in a one run game…Grade D-

Overall grade B- for the offense.