Josh Beckett

A lot of people have their proverbial panties in a bunch over Josh Beckett’s high-and-tight pitch in the first inning of Boston’s game against Los Angeles on Easter Sunday. Pundits, fans of other Major League clubs and even some who root for the Red Sox have labeled Beckett’s "misfire" as dirty, dangerous and suspension worthy. I say, relax people, stop being so sensitive. Boston’s ace was doing what his pitching brethren have taught him through the decades. Beckett was sending a message. You can call it archaic, but it’s part of America’s pastime.

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esterday?  I’ll answer that for you.  He was video game good!!  I may refer to Josh Beckett as “Becks” in the future, so bear with me on that.  The only issue, I thought, was the 3rd inning.  Becks got into a bases-loaded jam but got out of it with only one run coming in on the sac fly by Crawford.  He then goes into cruise control and ends up with seven K’s after retiring eight in a row through five innings. 

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Baseball is an amazing game: You spend six months falling in love with 25 guys you've never met, spend almost 200 nights tuning in to see how they do, and then with one half-swing by J.D. Drew it's all over.

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here they have only won two of eleven games this season? It will all be decided by the right arm of Josh Beckett. He is the epicenter of what will be a season changing game for the Boston Red Sox. When you compare these two teams position by position, it is a wash. Tampa does have a slight edge based on the current effectiveness of their bats, but Boston’s experience and the after effects of game five make it a wash. Beckett is the difference maker. If he is able to round back into form, you have to remember that this guy has been one of the best post-season pitchers in recent history, he will put the Sox over the top. I know Beckett has not pitched well this post-season, but the Red Sox have had some real post-season magic in recent years. Whether it be Curt Schilling and the bloody sock, or Dave Roberts stolen base, or even the way David Ortiz always seems to put this team on his back and carry them when it seems improbable, the Red Sox seem to find a hero when they need to, regardless of that players’ previous performances, role or injuries. Now, Beckett does not need to be dominant, he just needs to be good. If

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was simply bested by the Red Sox pitchers.  Last year, Lackey had the dubious honor of facing Josh Beckett in game one of the ALDS, who pitched a complete game, four hit shutout in front of a raucous Fenway Park crowd.

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e mid-August and with Mike Lowell looking like he needs a walker to get around, not to mention with Josh Beckett battling what can become one of the most nagging and lingering injuries in sports (the dreaded oblique). And yet my feelings of doom are assuaged slightly by the fact that the big man has been tearing the cover off the ball lately.

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Lost in the shuffle of Matt Cassel beating Brett Favre in the most hyped Week 2 game in years around these parts on Sunday afternoon, Jon Lester continued his march toward becoming a truly elite pitcher by outdueling a man largely respected as perhaps the best hurler in the AL, in a game the Sox needed to have. Any question marks that surrounded Lester at the All-Star break have been officially converted into exclamation points. In fact, pencil him in for Game 2 right now - it doesn't matter who we are playing or what Daisuke's record ends up being ... Lester's earned the spot right behind Beckett in the playoff rotation.

Continue reading "Q & A ... well, at least some Qs"

eal that brought him here? Wait, we already gave the Braves someone? And it wasn't Julio Lugo?

6) Josh Beckett's X-ray came back clean. I am now going to step down from the Tobin Bridge.

7)

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Remember last postseason when Josh Beckett was making three of the best teams in Major League Baseball look like the Bad News Bears? It was right about then everyone anointed him the anchor of the Boston pitching staff and forecasted a shelf or two full of Cy Young trophies.

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So can we please talk about Jason Giambi's mustache for a second? First the guy admits to wearing a gold thong when he needs to break out of a slump (it's hard to imagine that's all he's "breaking out of" in that kind of attire). And now he goes ahead and grows a full-out, mid-80s, Magnum PI mustache. Add these two nuggets to the fact that he's one of the 3 sweatiest humans on the planet, and that he's a New York Yankee, and you have the grossest person in America. Ever. Period.

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it at this point in the season, which hasn’t actually started yet.

 

21-game winner Josh Beckett is the obvious ace of the staff, but his recent back injury aggravation is going to take him out of the entire trip to the far east. This isn’t exactly the best news we’ve heard since his (second) breakout season last year. Beckett’s injury issues, usually attributed to blisters on his finger, have been a red flag for him for most of his career.

Continue reading "Chewbacca to Start Opening Game in Japan"