Beckett Lester | Boston Red Sox Fan Blog

When Do The Red Sox Start To Panic?

As the Boston Red Sox continue to struggle early in the season, one has to wonder, when does the front office begin to panic? The most publicized issue that the team faces is what to do with designated hitter David Ortiz, who has been awful in the first month of the season. Ortiz is hitting just .158 with no homeruns and 2 RBI while striking out in 40% of his at bats. If Ortiz continues to struggle, the Red Sox will be forced to sit him down and go out and somehow acquire a bat. There were rumors all winter that the club was trying to trade for Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez who would provide a much needed boost to the middle of the Red Sox lineup.

While Ortiz’s struggles were somewhat expected, the Red Sox did not anticipate that their starting rotation would have issues as well. Josh Beckett has recovered from a tough first outing against the Yankees, but Jon Lester and prized free agent acquisition John Lackey have struggled. Entering the season, many experts pegged the Red Sox starting rotation to be the deepest and best in baseball, but they have not come through for the team in the early goings. In order for the Red Sox to stay in contention in the toughest division in baseball, their starting pitching must carry the team until the front office goes out and upgrades the lineup.

by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network

April 20, 2010 Posted by jmw24 | Beckett Lester, Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Josh Weiner, Original Content | | 1 Comment

Lester, Beckett provide new 1-2 punch

Throughout much of the season – with the exception of the seven-out start in which he got nailed by a line drive against the Yankees – Jon Lester has been the ace of the Red Sox staff. More than that, Lester has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, author of a brilliant stretch beginning at the end of May that solidified a standing made clear by a dominant 2008.

That position was made official yesterday as the Red Sox announced their postseason rotation for the first three games of the American League Division Series against the Angels.

Lester will start Game 1, ahead of Josh Beckett, in a move that has much to do with his ability to bounce back if needed, but also much to do with the way he is pitching. Clay Buchholz will start Game 3 at Fenway Park.

In a span of 22 starts since May 31, he has a 2.31 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 114 innings, while opponents have .213 against him.

“What it really came down to is the fact that when you look at how our rotation was set up – and Beckett knows we feel this way – because for us to get where we want to go we’re going to have to lean on both of them,’’ manager Terry Francona said after the Sox’ 12-7 win over the Indians in the regular-season finale. “To flip-flop them around would have one guy on normal rest, another guy on [seven days’ rest]. That doesn’t make sense to any of us, including Beckett and Lester.

“As we go forward . . . we think Lester is situated where he can come back on short rest and that would have, say, Beckett if there’s a Game 5 on regular rest. There’s a lot of options that are open to us that we’re interested in exploring.’’

So even though Beckett’s performances and numbers verge on incredible in the postseason (7-2, 2.90 ERA in 87 innings), he will not pick up the ball until Game 2 Friday. Although Beckett has had an up-and-down season, he has a 3.67 ERA since June 10, and has allowed a .243 batting average against.

Click here to read the full article – By Amalie Benjamin of Boston.com

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