Archive for Josh Beckett
Update: Dodgers and Red Sox complete blockbuster trade
Posted by: | CommentsSaturday: It’s a done deal. The Sox are sending Beckett, Gonzalez, Crawford, and Punto to the Dodgers for James Loney and four prospects — RHP Allen Webster, RHP Rubby De La Rosa, IF Ivan DeJesus, and OF/1B Jerry Sands. Boston is paying just $12M of the $270M+ they’re dumping. Pretty crazy. I’ll have some more analysis on how this indirectly impacts the Yankees sometime this weekend.
Friday: Via Gordon Edes, the Dodgers and Red Sox are working on a blockbuster trade that would send Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to Los Angeles. Both Beckett and Gonzalez were claimed off trade waivers by the Dodgers earlier today while Crawford and Punto cleared earlier this month. For what it’s worth, Edes says the two sides are “closing in” on a deal.
First of all: holy crap. Second of all: why couldn’t it be Pedro Ciriaco instead of Punto? Third of all: Boston clearing that much money would be bad for the Yankees, at least in the sense that the Sawx could theoretically spend the savings elsewhere to improve the team. That’s much easier said than done, of course. Either way, this would be some kind of trade, potentially the largest of my lifetime considering the caliber of players and the size of the contracts involved.
Indians hitting Beckett where it hurts
Posted by: | CommentsThe Cleveland Indians, in an effort to one-up Manny Ramirez in the showmanship department, have asked one of Josh Beckett’s ex-girlfriends to sing the National Anthem tonight. If that isn’t distracting enough, Cleveland will then drop nests of little mosquitoes all over the pitcher’s mound in the bottom of the first.
Who could have foreseen this?
Posted by: | CommentsJosh Beckett having trouble with the skin on his finger? You don’t say.
Josh Beckett sucks at something else besides pitching
Posted by: | CommentsSeriously, how many people are going to keep calling this guy an ace before they open their eyes? Anyways…
And speaking of the Reebok party, Red Sox hurler Josh Beckett had eight strikeouts earlier in the day at Fenway. But unfortunately his K-streak continued at Underbar, where one striking young redhead didn’t buy his pitch!
We hear Beckett homed in on the party gal and opened with his best line: “Hey, you.†Blown away by his sparkling repartee, Big Red responded by saying “hi,†and then walked away.
“She knew who he was, but she’s from Michigan and doesn’t have the hero worship for the Red Sox,†said our spy on the scene. “Plus she doesn’t care about him being a pro athlete.â€
“He then comes up to her again – now on the other side of the bar – and starts whispering sweet nothings into her ear,†said our source. “She can’t really figure out what he’s saying, so she says, ‘Great game today. Congratulations.â€
He responds with “Huh?†So she repeats it. And receives yet another, “Huh?â€
“You. Pitched. A. Great. Game,†she said.
His response: “Are you wasted?†Her response: “No, I just got here.â€
“He then looked at her funny and wandered off,†said our source.
“Hey baby, are your parents retarded? Cause you’re a pretty special girl” might have worked better. Maybe Beckett should stick to what David Ortiz does best and…ahem…bring men home.
(hat tip to The Feed)
The art of deception, by Josh Beckett
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Since there was no Yankees game yesterday — much to my rain-soaked chagrin — it seems appropriate to rag on the Red Sox, and Josh Beckett specifically.
I had planned to watch the Sox/Royals game last night, but a few tasks kept me from tuning in until the second inning, when it was already 3-0 Sox. Great. But, since Josh Beckett was on the mound, I figured it was still worth a watch. I flipped it off after the third, when Mark Teahen and Mike Sweeney blew a first and second, one out situation. I was disheartened once again in the fourth, after watching the Royals score a run, followed by Beckett finishing off the side.
The Red Sox increasing their lead kept me from flipping back to the game. So, in my ignorance, I believed that Josh Beckett pitched a good game. Boy, was I wrong.
First, he only ended up pitching five innings, leaving things to the bullpen for four. They ended up pitching well, but if they end up pitching four innings a game a couple times a week (and they’ve pitched nine so far in two games), they’re screwed. That’s a lot of strain on a bunch of mediocre or sub-mediocre arms.
The next stat that stands out is his strike total. 94 pitches, 46 strikes. Yes, folks, Josh Beckett threw more balls than strikes last night. That was reflected in his four walks, though he did strike out five and only surrender two hits.
It’s that kind of wildness that has many believing that Beckett is not one of the “aces” that were heralded on ESPN in February and March. He may have walked away looking decent last night, but if you’re walking four in five innings, you’re going to give up a few more runs on most nights.
If Beckett doesn’t improve significantly on this wildness (he surely won’t throw 51 percent of his pitches for balls every night), he’s going to run into a familiar problem: taters. Wildness can mean leaving pitches out of the zone and issuing a lot of walks, but it can also mean missing in the zone. And when you miss out over the plate, guys are going to take you deep, especially hitters in the AL East.
Of course, it is the first start of the season, and I may be jumping the gun a bit. However, it’s not like he pitched lights out last year and had an off game yesterday. In fact, yesterday seemed like a mere extension of last season. Here’s to hoping it’s another long one for Beckett and the Sox.
Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
