We are 20 games into the season, so it's time to look at who's hot, who's not, and who's just getting by as luke warm.
The Hot:
Johnny Damon
You can't get any hotter than the icon known as Johnny. Damon is going into tonight's game batting .358, a .404 on-base percentage and is 4/4 in stolen base opportunities so far this season.
Jason Varitek
Captain Varitek is batting .328 so far this season and leads the team in slugging (.625) and on-base plus slugging (.983). Tek has hit five home runs this season which is third to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.
Manny Ramirez
Manny is being Manny with six home runs, a .368 on-base percentage, and 20 runs batted in (22 if you count what he has hit in tonight's, 4/25, game versus the Orioles). Manny is struggling with the batting average, though, hitting only .250.
David Ortiz
Ortiz barely sneaks into "the hot" category by going 3-4 last night against the O's, and now he's hitting .282 on the season with seven homers, which leads the team.
Matt Clement
Clement had a couple of rough outings, but has been pretty automatic since his first start of the season in which he lasted only 4.1 innings against the Yankees. Clement is second on the team in ERA with an impressive 2.13 mark.
Tim Wakefield
The older, the better I guess. Wake has been great in every start this season resulting in a 1.75 ERA and a 2-0 record on the season.
Mike Timlin
He just keeps on doing his job and getting results. Timlin has a 2.25 ERA in relief this season.
The Luke Warm:
Kevin Millar
Millar has the averaging going his way (.290) but he hasn't hit a single home run yet this season and has only tallied nine RBI's. He has had a great eye, though, resulting in an extremely impressive .438 on-base percentage.
Trot Nixon
It's the same story for Nixon as it is for Millar. Decent average, low home run total (2), but a terrific on-base percentage (team leading 14 walks and a .422 OBP).
Jay Payton
Payton has been a great player to watch when coming off the bench for Trot Nixon. Payton has a poor batting average (.242), but has hit two home runs, including a grand slam a few nights back.
Keith Foulke
4.00 ERA. He should be better than this.
Bronson Arroyo/David Wells
Both have had their games, and both have had their OFF games. Now Wells has landed himself on the disabled list for a month, while Arroyo looks to be on the upside as his stay in the rotation will last even longer.
Mike Myers/John Halama/Curt Schilling/Matt Mantei
A small sample size for all these pitchers, but they've been decent. Schilling has a high ERA, but we should expect that after coming off his injury. Schilling is striking out a lot though, with a team leading 10.19 K/9. Myers has pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, and Halama and Mantei seem to be improving as the season goes on.
Alan Embree
Started the season hot, but since then has cooled down. He does have an impressive 9.00 K/9, though.
The Not so Hot:
Edgar Renteria
A .238 batting average has made a few errors in the field, and not working for many walks. He does have two home runs on the season, though.
Mark Bellhorn
It will be another season for Bellhorn in which he strikes out a ridiculous number of times and also walks a ridiculous number of times. So far Bellhorn has struck out 26 times on the season, and hasn't hit any homers as of yet.
Bill Mueller
He's been sick, so we'll just need to give him some more time.
Ramon Vazquez/Doug Mirabelli/David McCarty
They've all been average and nothing special. Vazquez has been valuable coming off the bench for a sick Bill Mueller, though.
Blaine Neal
Slowly, but surely, improving.