Here are my first half grades for the Buccos. These grades are based on pre-season expectations and in season performance.

Catchers

Ryan Doumit  A-

Has been outstanding offensively, and his defense is improving. He would be an all-star candidate if not for injury.  Speaking of injuries, hopefully he will stay healthy.

Raul Chavez C+

Has played well defensively, and he hit his first homerun in three years. A little more O would be nice.

Ronny Paulino F

Bad D, bad with the stick, and he appears to have lost the confidence of the pitching staff. He's now playing in Indy.

Infield

Adam LaRoche D

Paul Maholm has a better on base percentage .303 to .299. Only has 7 homeruns.

Freddy Sanchez D+

He is not the same player he was the last two seasons. Is the shoulder to blame? At .233 maybe he should batting 8th and not 2nd.

Jack Wilson B+

How much did we miss him when he was injured? Has played nice D, hopefully we will see a little more pop from him in the second half (0 homeruns).

Jose Bautista B-

Started off slow, but has been hitting the ball hard of late. Defense has been spotty .958 fielding percentage.

Doug Mientkiewicz B

He has been a solid bench player, and contributed some key hits off the bench. His presence has been good for the club.

Luis Rivas C

Luis played some dreadful defense during Jack's absence, and he started off slow offensively. He has played better of late, had a two homerun game.

Chris Gomez B

He's hitting .318, what else can you ask of a utility infielder? Well, you probably could ask him to field better then .959.

Outfield

Xavier Nady A-

He's on pace for 20 homeruns and almost 100 RBI's, but he has cooled off some after his hot start. Spent time on the DL again.

Nate McClouth A

Excellent first half, though he has slumped a bit lately. Easily can be called the MVP of the first half. He has contributed timely offense and superior defense.

Jason Bay A-

He has answered the questions surrounding him coming into the season. Bay has stayed healthy, and productive. He's getting better as the season progresses.

Jason Michaels B

Jason has had some big hits, and his aquisition has helped solidify the bench. Having him will probably make it easier it trade Bay and/or Nady.

Nyjer Morgan F

His .143 batting average landed him in Indy. It's hard to believe he had a chance to start in Spring Training.