I don't think any of the Red Sox folks critiqued in my report card are going to be relegated to my tactic at the end of eighth grade - hiding the evidence at the bottom of my closet. But some comments might hit home, just the same.

For weeks now, the players' mantra has been that of looking forward, whether it be the season's final month or its last few days. Now, as we sit here counting the final few hours of the 2006 season, it is fair to reflect by issuing letter grades.

And, in the spirit of fairness, if any of these participants want to submit a grade for myself, or the media as a whole, the invitation is open.

So here they are, the player (main performers only), the grade, and my most lasting image of each:

Pitchers

Jonathan Papelbon (A) - Saying at the end of spring training via a phone interview that he was told he would be pitching "innings that mattered." Sure enough.

Curt Schilling (B) - Walking in and out of the clubhouse with a suitcase bursting at the seams with various forms of pitching "intelligence."

Josh Beckett (C-plus) - Trying to decide what movie line he was going to say to Will Ferrell after catching the actor's first pitch.

Tim Wakefield (C) - Quietly taking in the clubhouse scene while doing crossword puzzles in front of a corner locker.

Matt Clement (Incomplete due to injury) - Weathering some dark times with the help of his ever-present two young sons.

Jon Lester (C) - Displaying an unfathomable amount of poise while addressing the media regarding being diagnosed with cancer.

David Wells (C) - The lefty talking about his immersion in the surfing community, and how he wanted to get his knee better to hit the waves once again.

Julian Tavarez (C) - Complete game, blown games, innings eating. Sorry, it has to be his creative punch of Joey Gathright in spring training.

Keith Foulke (C-minus) - Passing by the Fort Myers video room to see the image of him as a White Sox throwing 90 mph just minutes after barely cracking 84 in a spring training game.

Mike Timlin (C) - His explanation of how he pitched in a game with his camouflage glove without anybody noticing. Oh, and the camouflage cowboy boots he had to match the glove.

Manny Delcarmen (C) - The haircut he gave himself for half a day, shaving just the top while leaving the rest regular length.

Kyle Snyder (C-minus) - The tears he shed after pitching four scoreless innings of relief on the final day of June, punctuating his comeback.

Designated hitter

David Ortiz (A) - Running out to race his remote control cars in the players' parking lot just before playing in the game in which he broke the record for most home runs in a season by a Red Sox player.

Outfielders

Manny Ramirez (B) - Giving a clubhouse attendant a playful donkey kick with his right leg just moments after the media was told how that leg was going to keep him from playing once again.

Coco Crisp (C) - Answering questions following his 0 for 19 Yankees series, looking like he was doing so while simultaneously chewing glass and walking on hot coals.

Trot Nixon (C) - Reflecting on his time in Boston while sitting in front of his locker last Wednesday.

Wily Mo Pena (C) - Hitting a line-drive home run which almost killed a Green Monster patron, while the ball subsequently ricocheted back toward the infield.

Gabe Kapler (C-minus) - His love for being around the ballpark, injured Achilles' tendon or not.

Eric Hinske (Incomplete) - How right-on he was in opening his Red Sox career with three doubles off Chien-Ming Wang, and then how off he was for the next few weeks.

Infielders

Mark Loretta (B) - Displaying the mammoth bruise on his thigh after being hit by a pitch in Chicago during the last game before the All-Star break. It was so bad that the bruise remained for the rest of the season.

Mike Lowell (B) - The intelligence in which he talked baseball, and his mastery of the short hops.

Alex Gonzalez (B) - The story he told regarding his father buying a catcher's mask for him when he was a kid so that the young shortstop wouldn't be afraid of bad hops.

Kevin Youkilis (B) - The evolution of his self control after each of his outs.

Alex Cora (B-minus) - How he (more than most) consistently found the leather reclining chairs (or couches) before and after games. It seemed to exemplify his calm approach, both on and off the field.

Dustin Pedroia (Incomplete) - Watching him hit against Randy Johnson.

Carlos Pena (Incomplete) - The utter joy and excitement he had after hitting a walk-homer at Fenway Park, and how that euphoria seemed to stretch for days.

Catchers

Jason Varitek (B-minus) - The story Papelbon told describing the one time he shook off Varitek all season, resulting in a Chase Utley home run.

Doug Mirabelli (D-plus) - Having to defend himself from a story in which Padres general manager Kevin Towers said some disparaging things about his brief stint in San Diego.

Javy Lopez (F) - How much his defensive skills had disintegrated.

Manager

Terry Francona (B) - His patience with campers at Eric Wedge's Baseball Clinic at Merrimack College despite having virtually no sleep and facing a full day of baseball a few hours later.

Front office

Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer/Ben Cherington/Ect. (C-minus) - How few images there were of them compared to previous seasons.

WHO COULD REPLACE MANNY?

What if the Red Sox are able to pull off a trade involving Manny Ramirez? The obvious subsequent question revolves around who could possibly replace him.

Assuming you aren't getting back even 75 cents on the dollar in a Manny trade (which is a fair assumption), there must be a viable replacement in Boston's batting order. If not, you will surely see a different David Ortiz next year.

When looking at the free-agent class, the two names that jump out are Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano. Ideally, both would be perfect fits in the Sox's problematic No. 5 hole in the lineup, but that would mean that Ramirez was still playing left field, leaving both candidates without a logical position in the Boston batting order.

"He's a pretty decent hitter, but I don't think he's going to hit for Manny's average," Red Sox reliever Keith Foulke said of his former teammate with the White Sox, Lee. "He's not playing right field, especially this right field. That's my opinion. It would make me nervous watching him play out there. That's a lot of room to cover without very much speed."

If Ramirez does get dealt, a possibility might be to play Coco Crisp where many in baseball figure he rightly belongs, left field, take a run at center fielder Torii Hunter (who, as reported previously, is already eyeing the possibility of playing in Boston), and go from there.

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE STEAL

When Carl Crawford stole home earlier this season against Red Sox pitcher Jason Johnson, it was a plan set forth way back in the mid-90s, according to Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon.

"There's a benchmark for stealing home," Maddon explained. "It came to my attention in '95 with Rex Hudler. I'm coaching first base and he steals home against David Wells. That made me break down the whole thing. Before that Rod Carew used to steal home and he used to talk about his keys for stealing home, what he would look for."

According to Maddon, despite the fact that Johnson was a right-hander and faced the third baseline in his delivery, the pitcher was a prime candidate for steal of home. Not only was he slow to the plate, but the Devil Rays scouting reports showed that he didn't watch the runner at third when executing his motion.

The last thing on the checklist for Maddon was watching where the third baseman, in this case Mike Lowell, was playing.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Crawford has been timed at an eye-popping 3.7 seconds down the line. For a point of reference, 4.2 is average for left-handed batters, while 4.3 is the norm for righties.

"I tell you what, his closing speed is ridiculous," Maddon said of his outfielder. "He just runs so strong. You have some gliders, but he runs strong."

OFFSEASON PLANS

It's time for the second season.

Four Sox players - Curt Schilling, Kyle Snyder, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis - will be heading to work out at the renowned Athetes Performance Institute in Arizona.

Jason Varitek won't be spending more than a week or two at API, but will be extracting guidance from the institute while working out near his Atlanta-area home. Mark Verstegen, the founder of the facility, used to be the strength and conditioning coach at Georgia Tech when the catcher played for the Yellow Jackets.

David Murphy will be working out a similar facility in the Houston area, which had been recommended to him by Josh Beckett. Beckett will spend much of his time near his ranch, a few miles from San Antonio.

Players such as Mike Lowell and Mark Loretta conduct their offseason regimens near their homes, in Miami and San Diego, respectively. Loretta partakes in squash as a big part of his routine.

Gabe Kapler will head to Los Angeles, where he will be able to concentrate on baseball-related activities exclusively instead of worrying about rehabbing his Achilles' tendon. Trot Nixon and his wife Kathryn will spend the first part of their offseason moving into the house they just had built in North Carolina.

Jonathan Papelbon will also be moving into a new home in Mississippi, where he will spend much of his time working out with his twin brothers, Joshua and Jeremy, and former Sox reliever Chad Bradford.