No one batted an eye when Jon Lester was chosen to be the opening day starter. Today a different story, when it was announced that Josh Beckett is going to be the #4 starter in the rotation.
I thought the rotation was going to fall in this order: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Today it was announced that Lackey would be the #2 starter followed by Buchholz, Beckett and Dice-K. I didn’t see that coming, did you? I don’t know which is more startling, the upgrade of Lackey or the demotion of Beckett. The saying “The mighty have fallen” comes to mind immediately with this news.
It seems like only yesterday that Beckett was mowing down opponents with ease, resulting in a World Championship in 2007. Since those glory days, Beckett has struggled with his health and more alarming, his control. Beckett signed a four year/$68 million dollar extension, which keeps him in a Red Sox uniform until 2014. Maybe this is the right move at the right time. Let Josh work on his mechanics and let him get his confidence back without the pressure of facing opposing teams aces. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see him recoup some of the swagger that has been lacking the last couple of years?
This spring we have seen flashes of the old Beckett as well as the struggles of recent years. Will the real Josh Beckett please stand up? Regardless who pitches where and when, this is a team with a deep rotation. I can name quite a few teams that would love to have Beckett as their #1 or #2 starter. On the positive side, Beckett will now be dueling head to head with other team’s fourth starters and this definitely falls in Beckett’s favor.
Now the question that comes to my mind is: does this move reflect more on Beckett, or how strong the Red sox rotation is?
Update: Beckett said he will support Francona’s decision. “I’ll let him [Francona] make those decisions and I’ll go out and do the best I can to put us in the best postition to win.” Beckett then went on and congratulated Lester for the opening day nod. Very classy on Beckett’s behalf.
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