As we embark on the second half of the major-league baseball season, with the Red Sox where they belong atop the American League East standings, let's pause to recognize one of the great feel-good stories of 2008.
In fact, J.D. Drew began his turnaround at the end of the 2007 season, following a slow start that had fans wondering why the team had paid so much money to lure him from the Los Angeles Dodgers the previous winter. But the Georgia native has been on an absolute tear this year, and his offensive contributions have been particularly critical with the absence of slugger David Ortiz for much of the season's first half.
Capping the spectacular comeback was Drew's winning the MVP trophy (named after Sox icon Ted Williams) at Tuesday's All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. His game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning had even the Sox-hating New Yorkers cheering as he rounded the bases.
And there was more good news from the Bronx for Red Sox fans. In addition to Drew's heroics in the main event, 19-year-old Che-Hsuan Lin, who plays in the team's minor-league organization, took MVP honors with a two-run homer of his own in the Futures Game that preceded it.
