Lackey is Not Getting the Job Done

John Lackey was acquired by the Red Sox this off-season to provide a strong veteran arm in key games down the stretch. He has a toughness and grit that the Sox management liked and his post-season experience was certainly a selling point at the time of the contract. So far in 2010, Lackey has had his ups and downs, but has not gotten the job done in key games. After Saturday night’s loss to the Yankees, the Sox are 4-7 when Lackey pitches against other AL East opponents.

When breaking down Lackey’s stats, his performances since the beginning of July have been less than impressive. Since his start on July 4th, Lackey is 1-4 in 7 starts with an era of 4.93 and a .271 batting average against over that span. During that span, Lackey is 0-3 against AL East opponents with a 7.50 era, which included 1 game against the Orioles, Blue Jays and Yankees. The AL East is a tough division to pitch in, arguably the toughest, but Lackey’s numbers are just not going to get it done.

I jumped on the John Lackey bandwagon when the Sox signed him and drank the cool aid about Lackey being a big-game pitcher, but now think I should have given more credit to the critics. Lackey was pitching in the less powerful AL West for all of his career, posting a 3.81 career era with a 102-71 record while having a decent 2.72 strikeout to walk ratio. This season however, every single stat category has seen a decline and have turned Lackey into an okay end of the rotation starter at best.

Lackey’s 4.60 era in 2010 is just .07 points behind his career high and this is the 1st year of his career he does not have a complete game, so far. Lackey’s strikeout per 9 innings ratio (5.8) is the worst he has posted since his MLB debut season in 2002. Luckily for Lackey and the Sox, he still will have a few more chances to prove himself this season, but will his remaining starts even matter or has the damage already been done? He certainly hasn’t proven recently that he can keep the Sox in the playoffs hunt.

I don’t envy any pitcher that has to start against the lineup the Yankees throw on the field, but isn’t that why the Sox paid Lackey$82.5 million over 5 years, to win the tough games against top tier opponents? I certainly hope Lackey can pull it together and raise his game when the Sox need him the most, especially considering we have 4 more years of him on toeing Fenway rubber, but it will take some adjustments, which the Sox can’t afford to wait for in 2010, because every game is critical.

Maybe I am bitter because of the tough loss to the Yankees on Saturday night when the Sox needed a win so badly after the Tampa Bay Rays got clobbered by the Toronto Blue Jays. Ultimately, the loss may mean nothing, but every game feels like the season at this point for the Sox, especially against a heated rival like the Yankees. All losses are tough to swallow, but it seems to hurt worse when the opponent is in pinstripes.