It would have been very easy to put almost everyone in the “HOT” seat this week. But, the weekend series was redeeming to a few. Let’s start off with who’s “HOT.” Without a doubt , Dustin Pedroia is on fire. This week though, I am going to award it to Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon.
Not that Pedroia isn’t worthy. He only did what we believe he should always do, change the momentum of the game. Don’t worry, I’m sure he will be a weekly winner numerous times this season. My reason behind Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon is simple. They both exceeded our expectations and have all of us salivating for more.
What a performance by Josh Beckett last night! Vintage Beckett and it couldn’t have come at a better time or opponent. That’s the shot in the arm we needed. With Clay Buchholz struggling, all of us were wondering who was going to compliment Jon Lester. What was most impressive was he was smooth and in command of all of his pitches. Something we haven’t seen since 2009. I am going to give an assist to Jason Varitek. I have been saying that Varitek should be Beckett’s personal catcher ever since he lost the starting catcher’s position. They are comfortable with each, more important there is a trust and bond between the two. I don’t know if Beckett can duplicate this kind of dominating performance every time out, but it is sure good to know that he can still deliver.
Talk about waking from the dead. How many times has Jonathan Papelbon been written off since last year? Too many to count. Just like vintage Beckett, this weekend was vintage Papelbon. He mowed the Yankees down on Friday and Sunday like the good old days. Both times getting Brett Gardner, Derek Jeterand Mark Teixeira to end the games. We didn’t see him struggle with his command. No long pitch counts. Just three up and three down, drama free. The Red Sox version of Mariano Rivera. When Paps is on he is one of the best closers in the game.
This week the honor of sitting in the “HOT” seat is John Lackey. Carl Crawford may be in a horrific slump but Lackey has been down right awful. Worst of all, he is painful to watch. Like I said the other day, he and Daisuke Matsuzaka look like they were seperated at birth. Seems like every batter works their way into a 3 ball count. His 8.2 innings pitched with 17 hits, 15 earned runs and a ERA of 15.58 is not what a top of the rotation pitcher should be. Keep this pace up Mr. Lackey and you will work you way into the number 5 slot in the rotation before you know it.
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