Will Josh Beckett Make a Difference?
Josh Beckett was absent for more than two months from the Red Sox lineup. Much happened in those two months, but the Red Sox have only gotten a game and a half closer to first place in that time.
Beckett’s return is probably what Boston needs to finally start competing for first place again. Beckett returning is the equivalent to landing an ace at the trading deadline.
There are many reasons other than the fact that he’s a dominant pitcher as to why he is so valuable to the Red Sox and why he is such an ace.
For one thing, Beckett has shown that he can snap his team out of a losing streak. Beckett was 8-1 in 2009 in games where the Sox were coming off a loss. As a team, the Red Sox were 12-3 when Beckett took the mound after a loss, the best team winning percentage for any AL starter in those situations. In all other such games, the Sox were only 25-27. Beckett is a winner and he’s proven time and time again that he’s the man the Red Sox want on the mound to snap his team out of any funk.
A healthy Beckett may be what the team needs to drive them forward and lead the team back in the hunt for first place in the AL East.
The Red Sox also don’t have quite the success their division rivals have on the road. The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are separated from the Sox by their superior road records. The Rays are the best road team in baseball, while the Yankees are a close second. If we were to just take into account home games, the Sox would be in front of the Rays and right up the Yankees’ tails.
With the most road games remaining of any AL team on their schedule, the Red Sox will have to turn around their injury-riddled season fast. That’s where Beckett comes in.
Beckett has always been a better pitcher on the road, posting a 34-17 record with a 3.61 ERA in his years with Boston. That includes a 10-1 road record last year.
Heading into the season, the Red Sox arguably had the best starting rotation in baseball with Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, and Clay Buchholz, but injuries to Buchholz and Beckett broke the fantastic four up. On top of that, Lackey has been inconsistent and Lester has basically had to fend for himself with Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield trying to fill the holes.
While replacing Beckett in the rotation, Wakefield was 3-6 with a 5.75 ERA. In his 11 starts, the Red Sox were just 4-7.
Yes Beckett did struggle early this season as he posted a 7.29 ERA through eight starts, but rest assured, that’s not the real Josh Beckett. The real Josh Beckett will be the one with the quiet confidence, the one who’s dominant and who's ready to turn the season around for Boston.
Some of Beckett’s slow starts may have been due to injury, but he struggled early last season too as he held a 7.22 ERA through five starts. Beckett though always seems to play his best late in the season and is almost unbeatable come playoff time, which makes it so important for the Red Sox to get to October.
Now Beckett will come back and will be very important in the Red Sox's hopes of turning the season around and catching the Yankees, or at least grabbing the wild card spot. He’ll get a chance to prove once again why he is so valuable to the Red Sox, and he will strengthen the pitching rotation that has been wounded badly so far this season.
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