Mr. Lucchino: “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ ”
By Earl Nash
So, Red Sox fans, apparently “Lucky Larry” Lucchino believed he would pick up your spirits by reassuring you that his man, Bobby, will be back again next year! WOOT !
So, Red Sox fan, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel better?
And, Red Sox fans, you’ve got to ask yourself, when Larry told the good news to his friend Mr. Valentine:
Did Bobby feel better?
We bet Bobby was [wait for it…] speechless.
Mr. Lucchino also revealed that it is not his failure as a CEO, or the failure of his GM, his manager, or his players; the problem with the Red Sox is—[wait for it…] the media.
“Lucchino believes there’s a disconnect between what’s written and said about the team, and how the paying customers actually feel.
“We have to be sure we remember the cynical jaded media does not speak for . . . they don’t necessarily capture the voice of the fanbase,” he said.
[http://www.bostonherald.com//sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1061153818&utm_source=Enews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SECTION_sports_DATE_08-17-2012–07.08]
If we are going to play [metaphorically] a game of “Shoot the Messenger,” let’s have “Lucky” Larry Lucchino stand on the mound at Fenway and repeat his announcement about the return of Bobby V next season. Instead of real ammunition, let’s ask the crowd to respond with cheers or boos.
But, before you head out to the mound, Mr. Lucchio:
"“You‘ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ ”"
So, Red Sox fans, now that you know that the real problem with the Red Sox is the media, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel better?
Then Mr. Lucchino blames the injuries.
Sure, the team has had a historic streak of bad luck with injuries.
So, Larry, if the team had an average number of injuries this year, where would they be in the standings today?
Would they be a full seven games better?
Let’s see how a real #1 starter would make up seven games:
Josh Beckett, 2011: 13-7
Josh Beckett, 2012: 5-10
Let’s give Mr. Beckett another 5 starts to equal the 2011 total; at his current .333 W%, he would get 1.67 more wins out of 5. We will give him 2 Ws and 3 Ls. He finishes with 7-13; the reverse of his 2012 record; that makes a 6 game difference.
Adding those six Ws, the Sox would be 64-55, still in 4th place, but just ½ game out of the AL East WC chase.
Conclusion: If you and Ben had noticed that Beckett was not an ace anymore and traded for a real ace, you wouldn’t be shucking the blame and pointing your finger in all directions.
But you and your Genius GM failed to notice the early warnings, over 100 days ago, that your team lacked an Ace.
You failed to notice what most of MLB scouts, MLB batters and Red Sox fans saw plainly: Josh Beckett had “lost it” and was now, at best a #4, maybe just a #5 pitcher.
All that time you spent searching for a #5 pitcher; one was right under your nose; you should have noticed the smell.
Listen:
“Grading Out Beckett
Rather than concluding with this information, we thought we’d give you the new scouting grades of Beckett’s stuff up front. These grades were compiled after discussions with Kevin Goldstein.
Goldstein says that Beckett’s 70 fastball has turned into a 55/60. His once-biting curve has lost a similar amount of stuff: Goldstein reports that he would be “leery” of putting a 60 rating on it and might call it a 50-plus. His cutter, he explains, is at best a 40. Given how often he throws it, the cutter could be something of an Achilles’ heel for Beckett going forward.
Goldstein is not terribly optimistic about Beckett’s performance going forward and grades him as a no. 4 or no. 5 starter going forward.
What has changed to warrant these downgrades in Beckett’s stuff? A loss of velocity and a change in the usage pattern of the cut fastball, along with what appears to a problem with missing location.” [http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18006&nocache=1344970371&sessionstatus=notloggedin&mode=login]
Way back on May 8th, did you, Mr. Lucchino, notice when Mr. Beckett said on WEEI radio that, with the arrival of his baby, his first priority was no longer baseball; it was his family.
"Josh Beckett said: “Baseball isn’t my No. 1 priority anymore.”"
“Everybody goes through that change. Some people might go through that change before that even happens, but I definitely find myself thinking about [Holly and the baby] whereas a lot of times I used to be thinking about how I was going to get this guy out, or what I needed to do that day. They’re my central focus.” [http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/rob-bradford/2011/08/29/look-making-new-josh-beckett]
Oh, we forgot, Josh Beckett would have had a great year, if the media hadn’t spoiled things in 2011 with all that “Pitchers of Beer” nonsense.
At what point did you and Ben realize that Beckett was “not himself” anymore?
May 10th?
Ben to Beckett: Where are you willing to go?
Let’s talk…
It doesn’t matter if Josh Beckett is pitching like sh*t intentionally or unconsciously—either way, he’s got to go.
With Valentine manning the rudder, the Sox boat needs the entire team rowing to have a chance for the playoffs, but, as long as Beckett is rowing in the opposite direction, the team will remain in a circle pattern and last place.
Beckett can’t even see that, if he wants out of Boston, pitching badly runs his trade value down and makes it less likely he will be traded.
It is past time for this meeting to happen:
[https://bosoxinjection.com/2012/05/11/ben-to-beckett-where-are-you-willing-to-go-lets-talk/]
May 8th?
How To Fix the Sox, Before Ben Commits
Bloody Valentine’s Day Massacre
Erstwhile Texas Aggie Frat Boy, Josh Beckett, is 2-3 with a 4.45 ERA and his good, but declining 2.67 K/W ratio is undermined by his awful 1.9 HR/9 average; strikeouts are thrilling, but, if you are surrendering almost 2 HRs per game, you are no ace, and he is on his way to becoming a Joker.
Adding to his “poor me, they won’t let me drink beer during games” attitude is his fragile physical condition from blisters to lower back strain, stiff lat muscles, and his
Little Jack Horner Syndrome; symptoms: thumb stuck up bum with head, but no plum.
In May, 2010 Beckett injured himself before the start of May 10th’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays by taking practice swings.
If we apply the term “consistent” to Beckett, he is not an ace; since his best season [20070, when he went 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA, from 16-11, 5.01 ERA in 2006, he dropped to 12-10, 4.03 ERA in 2008. He was up again in 2009 at 17-6, 3.86 ERA, but he has yet to win more than 13 games since that season.
Beckett has fallen from potential ace to a #3 in a good MLB rotation.
[https://bosoxinjection.com/2012/05/08/how-to-fix-the-sox-before-ben-fires-bobby/]
April 13th?
Six Moves the Sox Must Make NOW
to Save their Season
- Send catcher Kelly “Shipwreck” to the Pawsox [or trade him] and bring Lavarnway back.
- Trade Youkilis to an AL Central team.
- Send Beckett, “The Josher” to any team that will give back a #2 or #3 rotation starter.
- Put Jon Middlebrooks at 3b.
- Make Bard the closer.
- Make a trade with the White Sox for Gavin Floyd.
[https://bosoxinjection.com/2012/04/13/six-moves-the-sox-must-make-now-to-save-their-season/]
April 10th?
PANIC NOW !!!
Unless the Beckett Problem is solved
[https://bosoxinjection.com/2012/04/10/panic-now-unless-the-beckett-problem-is-solved/]
April 8th?
Hatred of Valentine explains Beckett’s Epic FAIL: 5 pitches “down the middle of the plate”?
[https://bosoxinjection.com/2012/04/08/hatred-of-valentine-explains-becketts-epic-fail-5-pitches-down-the-middle-of-the-plate/]
April 3rd?
Beckett must go, now! Too late to
“clear the air”–so, let’s make a deal
[https://bosoxinjection.com/2012/04/03/beckett-must-go-now-too-late-to-clear-the-air-so-lets-make-a-deal/]
Larry, maybe you had it backwards:
"the media wasn’t causing your problems; it was offering solutions to them."
Maybe your pal Bobby, who is intelligent and well-read, will play Cassius to your Brutus and say:
"“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”–Julius Caesar (I, ii, 140-141)"
Mr. Lucchino, here is your last chance to solve your problem; your last chance to be a hero; your last chance to listen to the media:
"apply your legal acumen to drafting a legal document that will allow the fans to buy the Red Sox."
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