We’re right at the halfway point of the season, and all things considered, the Red Sox are fortunate to be in first place.I say this not to ridicule, because I think it’s pretty impressive that this team – with perhaps its most deadly clutch hitter being effectively hors de combat until the middle of last month – has overachieved.If anyone told you in April that David Ortiz would live in Mendoza City beyond Memorial Day, and that both Josh Beckett and Jon Lester would struggle into May, you certainly wouldn’t have pegged them for first place.There are, of course, a couple of reasons. One is that the New York Yankees also struggled early (but aren’t struggling now). The other is that the Tampa Bay Rays are finding out what it’s like to have everyone gunning for them.Whatever, the Sox are in first, and there has to be a reason. So here they are ? the indispensable players on the Boston Red Sox for the first half.Jason Bay: He’s not Manny Ramirez, but then again, who is (steroids notwithstanding) ? but his 20 homers and 71 RBI for the first half play out favorably to Manny in the power department. And with Ortiz in the funk of all funks, those power numbers are doubly crucial.Jacoby Ellsbury: He has quietly become a vital member of this offense. He’s flirting with the .300 mark, is a threat to steal whenever he gets on base, and will run down any fly ball in the his time zone. And don’t you think his steal of home plate during that Yankee series in April helped kick this season into overdrive? I do.Nick Green: Mainly because he’s the only thing that stands between a professional shortstop and Julio Lugo. Speaking of which, there is a new term that describes pitchers victimized by horrible defense by their shortstop: Getting Lugoed. As in, “Lester was Lugoed in the fifth inning, allowing the Rangers to score all their runs.”Jonathan Papelbon: It hasn’t always been pretty, or clean. He seems to like to create challenges for himself, and then turn on the afterburners to meet them. I wish he wouldn’t. We could use a few more outings like last night. Still, with most games being pitched by committee these days, having a shutdown closer is essential. And these days, Papelbon is IT.Tim Wakefield: This is sure to aggravate somebody, but I don’t care. While Beckett and Lester struggled to find themselves in the early part of the season, and while the other pitchers had their struggles, Wakefield just went merrily along, pitching deep into games and winning 10 of them. I don’t care what his ERA is. I’ll take the 10 wins, thank you very much.Kevin Youkilis: Like Bay, he started off like a house on fire, and, like Bay, he’s tailed off somewhat in the average department. But, then, there’s that walkoff home run against the Yankees in a game that was absolutely LOST a couple of innings earlier. And he’s shuffled back and forth from first to third seamlessly ? something he’ll probably have to do for the rest of the season. Whatever they’re paying him, it’s not enough.Those are my big six. It’s hard to leave a guy like Dustin Pedroia off this list. He’s still important, and the team will need him even more as it struggles to find offense while Mike Lowell copes with his hip situation. But there is a discernable dropoff after Youkilis in just how effective – and how steady – some of these players have been.And you can say that Jason Varitek, just by the nature of what he does, is indispensable, too. But the aforementioned six have really, really carried this team thus far.Now, we come to the disappointments.To say Daisuke Matsuzaka is a disappointment is to say the pope is Catholic. But what’s maddening about it is that it appears as if Dice-K’s arrogance has caused his setback. He simply didn’t think he needed to take part in the same shoulder-strengthening program as the rest of the pitchers ? even though, as a staff, the Sox are remarkably free of arm woes. Except, of course, for Daisuke.His loss.And I know he’s an easy target, but Lugo ? my g