In the first of the Quarterly Reports, the Red Sox are showing that 2004 may not have been a fluke, but may be the start of a trend. Has the curse been forever reversed?

Boston Red Sox (29-13, 1st Place).

Starting Pitching: (A). Josh Beckett (7-0, 2.66 ERA) is the early season favorite for the AL Cy Young award, provided that he returns quickly and in good shape from his finger injury. Curt Schilling (4-1, 3.57 ERA) has proven there is still a lot left in the tank. Japanese newcomer Dice-K (6-2, 4.06, 58 Ks) had a few rocky starts but is showing that he is the real deal. Finally, Tim Wakefield, who only seems to have been pitching since the Dead Ball Era, has the lowest ERA among starters at 2.41.

Hitting: (B+). The team would have scored even higher in this category if their best hitter, Manny Ramirez (.252, 5 HR, 26 RBI), had gotten off to a quicker start. Based on Manuelo's history, however, he will pour it on soon.

David Ortiz is proving that he is no flash in the pan: Big Papi is well on his way to his fifth straight Hall of Fame level season, already hitting .314 with 9 home runs and 33 RBI. Supporting Big Papi in grand style are Mike Lowell (.333, 8 HR, 35 RBI), Kevin Youkilis (.327, 5 HR, 22 RBI), Julio Lugo (23 Runs, 26 RBI, 12 SB), and ultility man Alex Cora (.355 BA).

Bullpen: (A). Jonathan Papelbon (1.26 ERA, 11 Saves), Hideki Okajima (0.44 ERA and 23 Ks in 20 IP), Kyle Snider (1-0 and 1.84 ERA), and J.C. Romero (1-0. 2.63 ERA). Enough said.

Management: (B+). Theo Epstein outbid Brian Casman in the Dice-K stakes, leaving the Bombers with also-ran Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa. Over the past few years, they also made the smart moves in signing Beckett, letting Damon go to the Yankees, sticking with Curt Schilling after his awful 2005 season, and seeing the potential in clutch-hitting Kevin Youkilis. On the field, Terry Francona has looked a lot like Joe Torre -- the Joe Torre from 1996-2001.

Overall Grade: A. What else can you give the best team in baseball?

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Baltimore Orioles (20-23; Second Place)

Starting Pitching: (B-). Considering this team wheels out a starting rotation of Erik Bedard, Steve Trachsel, Daniel Cabrera, and Adam Loewen, it is saying a lot that the Orioles have the 4th most wins, 4th best ERA, and 4th most innings pitched from their starting rotation.

Hitting: (C). The team is ranked sixth in the American League in hits, eighth in batting average and seventh in OBP. Not bad. But they are also 11th in runs scored, 12th in home runs and 12th in slugging. Like the Yankees, they will need to start hitting int he clutch or be rendered irrelevant by the All-Star break.

Bullpen: (C). The O's have gotten a strong first quarter from Chad Bradford, whose ERA is below 3.00 in 23 appearances. Everything else is pretty dismal. Even Chris Ray, who saved 33 games last year and looked to be developing into a solid closer, is struggling with a 4.35 ERA and 3 blown saves.

Management: (C). Everything is mediocre about this team.

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Toronto Blue Jays (19-23. 3rd Place)

Starting Pitching: (C+): Roy Halladay has been good (4-2, 4.37 ERA), but needs to be great for this team to compete for the Wild Card. After years of hoopla and great promise, A.J. Burnett is showing himself to be an avergae, inconsisten and oft-injured pitcher.

Hitting: (C). Vernon Wells has been an early season dissappointment, hitting .279 with 4 homers and 20 RBI. Thats not good enough for the centerpiece of a Major League lineup. Frank Thomas is not the resurgent slugger who played for the A's last year. Although Alex Rios, Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay are all hitting fine, they still need to do better: the Jays are 10th in batting average, 10th in hits, and 10th in runs scored.

Bullpen (C): B.J. Ryan has been on the Disabled List since April 15th with a torn tendon in his left elbow, and is out for the season. Prior to that, he was a disaster, blowing 3 saves in 6 appearances and posting an ERA over 12.00. Jeremy Accardo is filling the gap, saving three games and logging an ERA of 0.00 in 18 innings.

Management: (C): John Gibbons stinks, and he should go. If this team isn't over .500 by the All-Start break, he will be gone.

Overall Grade: C

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New York Yankees (18-23; 4th Place)

Starting Pitching: (C-). Some would argue that this should be lower, maybe even much lower. But considering that the team has lost Pettitte, Wang, Pavano,and Mike Mussina for extended periods, they have fared pretty well. To cut the team even more slack, one must factor in that they lost the back-ups for those injured pitchers: Phil Hughes pitched a near no hitter in his second career start but pulled a hamstring and is out 4-6 weeks. Jeff Karsten and Darrell Rasner both broke bones and will be out for a long time. It's a sad, sad situation.

Hitting: (D+). Although A-Rod had an amazing April, and Jeter and Posada are both hitting over .360 as of May 19, the rest of the team is in a horrendous hitting funk, especially in clutch situations. They have left more runners on base that any other team in the majors, and the lineup is hitting just above .200 with runners in scoring poistion.

Bullpen: (D). When Mariano Rivera has an ERA approaching 7.00 and only 3 saves on May 19th, things cannot be going well. They aren't. Others who have struggled out of the bullpen are Chase Wright (he gave up four straight homers to four straight Red Sox), Carl Farnsworth (4.67 ERA) and Luiz Vizcaino (6.85 ERA).

Management: (D). Too many pitching changes by Torre. Too much riding on Clemens, who, even if he became the Clemens of '86, or '98 or '04, can still only have an impact on 24 games. The huge dollars given to Igawa and Clemens could have been better used.

Overall Grade: D+

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Tampa Bay Devil Rays (18-24, 5th Place).

Every year this team rolls out one or two new phenoms. Every one of the these players shows promise, but team never climbs out of the cellar. This year is more of the same: B.J. Upton seems to have finally come of age (at 23), with a .309 BA, 7 HR, 25 Runs, 25 RBI and 11 SB. Young Eljah Dukes is showing an ability to hit the long ball in his first year in the big show. Delmon Young is off to a respectable start, and would probably doa bit better if some of the team's veterans such as Jorge Cantu, Jonny Gomes and Carl Crawford would play up to their abilities.

One bright light on the pitching staff is James Shields, a 25 year old righty who is 3-0 with a 3.13 and a WHIP of 0.90. He is doing his best to prop up the putrid pitching of Casey Fossum (7.90 ERA, 1.62 ERA despit a 3-3 record) and Jae Seo (2-4, 7.80 ERA).

Overall, the Rays get a solid D+ for overall performance. One wonders if the majors really needs this team in baseball.