Mound presents
Back on the train.
Well, to be realistic, he never really got off it to begin with. For all the concern surrounding this Red Sox starting staff, from Josh Beckett right up until Brad Penny and Tim Wakefield, perhaps the least of the worry should have been reserved for the staff ace.
Save it for Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka. But Beckett? Uh-uh.
Last night, Beckett tossed a gem in Detroit, not allowing a hit to the Tigers until the seventh inning of Boston’s 10-5 win, a victory that assures the Sox of returning to Fenway tomorrow night with at least a .500 road trip under their belt. Beckett didn’t allow an earned run, gave up just two hits over 7 2/3, walked a pair, and struck out nine. It was his sixth win of the season, tying him with Wakefield for the team lead and putting to rest any lingering doubts that he’s an ace to reckon with.
Since allowing eight earned to the Yankees on April 25, and seven to Tampa in his very next start, Beckett is 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA. In his last three starts, he’s allowed just one earned run over 22 2/3 innings. Over his last five starts, he’s surrendered just 20 hits total over 35 2/3 innings.
To put that into some perspective, here’s what the two American League pitchers most discussed in the early talk for Cy Young have done over the same period. Zack Greinke has allowed six earned runs over his last three starts. Roy Halladay has allowed seven. Over his last five starts, Greinke has allowed 32 total hits over 37 innings. Halladay has also given up 32 over 39 innings pitched.
A small sample size obviously isn’t the end-all in any pitching comparison, and Beckett’s 4.09 ERA hurts his case in the discussion. After all, we can’t take away those two ugly outings in April. But consider that Beckett allowed almost half of the earned runs on his resume this entire season over a two-start stretch (15 of 32). Opponents are hitting him this season at a .244 clip; Halladay, .243.
Yet you simply don’t hear Beckett’s name come up in the early Cy Young talk, which is fine really. After all, would you rather be in the mix on June 4 or September 29? Here’s one fan’s take, mentioning Mark Buehrle, Jered Weaver, and Edwin Jackson as candidates. Beckett has pitched as well or better than all them lately.
But if that sort of thing doesn’t necessarily fire up the ornery Beckett (who seems to pitch best when he’s angry as opposed to his childhood hero, Roger Clemens, who would seemingly melt down in similar situations), then there’s this lament courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times’ John Romano, who concedes that while Beckett was the better draft pick in 1999, he wonders if Josh Hamilton will be the better of the two over the next decade.
Ten years later, it is obvious Tampa Bay drafted the wrong player in Hamilton. But 10 years from now, will that be true?
…Beckett has fought his share of minor injuries and has not been a dominant pitcher for a couple of seasons. Hamilton, meanwhile, emerged last year as one of the most exciting players in the big leagues.
There’s a key word phrase there in last year, when Hamilton’s gripping story overtook baseball fans across the country. This season, injuries have brought him back to earth somewhat for the first-place Rangers. He’s batting just .240 with six home runs and a .746 OPS.
As for Beckett not being a dominant pitcher for some time…well, I guess. For 12 hours, at least.
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