Josh Beckett
And Red was loving it yesterday:
... That guy we saw in last year's ALCS? Apparently wedgied to death and stuffed in a clubhouse hamper. The guy on the mound yesterday was the real deal, besting Small Game James, striking out 10 and giving up a mere two hits en route to his first opening day win in a Boston uniform. It was a performance he'd no doubt been dreaming of since last October, and it was staggeringly beautiful, executed with precision and passion and at least one F-bomb as he stormed off the mound after the top of the sixth. ...
We went down to New York for a family gathering this weekend. With some time to kill, I walked through Times Square and was quite heartened to see a four-story tall billboard (advertising TBS's post-season coverage) featuring Josh Beckett (and some Mets guy) lording it over the Square. Still it was kind of surprising to see - it even managed to divert my attention from the five-story billboard right next to it highlighting Jenna Jameson's assets.
I also saw one guy walking up Seventh Avenue wearing a David Ortiz jersey.
Red explains - has to do with a time machine and Julio Lugo.
Some alternate explanations.
With sports reporters now providing hourly updates on Josh Beckett's back and overall mood, Kristen and Amy have put together a color-coded Josh Beckett Mood-o-Meter.
The Onion reports:
Terry Francona Announces Josh Beckett Will Start Games 1, 4, 7, 2, 6, 3, 5
Also, the paper of record adds:
Chaos and destruction marred the opening of the World Series when Air Force B-52 bombers scheduled to make a ceremonial flight over the stadium before the start of Game 1 instead executed a series of low-level carpet-bombing runs and dropped an estimated 500 tons of incendiary and high-explosive munitions, utterly destroying Boston's historic Fenway Park. ...
Props to Youk and Big Papi, of course, but, oooh, that Beckett!
Papel-blog: Can Josh Beckett just pitch all the games? I hear he likes pitching on short rest.
Jeff Louderbeck: Post-season still agrees with Josh Beckett.
Teddy Kokoros: Beckett was amazing tonight:
As for the Sox batters, it was a good night, but they left a few too many runners on base for my liking. In their defense, some of those called strike 3 calls especially to Youk and Manny where bullshit. ...
Beth: Josh Beckett has succeeded in momentarily rendering me speechless:
... One of the things I've been most relishing when I've looked forward to this postseason is the chance to see the kind of f-bombing, fist-pumping freakout awesomeness I could only imagine would come along with October Josh. Instead, he actually looked like he was reining himself in a little. Which is a scary thought when you think about the wicked heat he was unleashing on the Angels all night long. ...
Kristen: Josh Beckett would like you to know that those 20 games were no fluke:
That was, without a doubt, the most mellow, least stressful playoff game I've ever witnessed. ...
Jere: That game went just like I hoped and thought it would. How often can you say that?
Game photos.
Ben Ostrander seems to have had enough of Dane Cook:
As I watch the first game of the ALDS, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Dane Cook for reminding me that there is only one October. Thank you, Dane Cook.
Way more Sox comments.
Rob appreciates the 2007 Josh Beckett:
... One thing that impresses me a lot about Becks is that he is keeping his pitch count down. He only threw 103 pitches tonight. If we had needed him to, he could have easily started the 8th inning. But, we have Okajima, who got his 7th Hold of the season with a hitless inning. What a find he's been. What makes Okajima even more enjoyable to watch is the fact that the Yankees could have had bought him from Yomiuri before us, but didn't. ...
Zach Hayes, meanwhile, tries to make sense of the Dustin Pedroia situation.
Beth is happier this morning:
... There were a few mishaps early, many of them revolving around Manny playing left field like he was blindfolded--but in the end, the Sox finally seemed to stop hitting the snooze button and finally started playing some good baseball. ...
Red: Suddenly, everything is right again in the universe.
At least, for the two remaining games in the current series. It's so bad Ben Ostrander doesn't even want to go downtown because:
Taking the D Line takes me too close to Fenway for comfort. ...
Nothing would surprise Red anymore:
Each subsequent game has brought horrors more ghastly and inexplicable than the previous, to the point that if Abreau and Damon simply drove a pick-up truck around the bases, mowing our players down one-by-one, I probably wouldn't flinch. ...
Beth: Josh Beckett is fast becoming my new Derek Lowe: the man I love to hate:
... The worst part is that we can still vividly remember when the Red Sox played like the Yankees are right now--taking pitches, patient at the plate, slugging when they have to, playing station-to-station on the basepaths, hitting one-through-nine, and holding the line on the mound. ...
Mats: Blech. Blech. Blech.
How bad is it? Kristin agrees with Tim McCarver on the Sox collapse.
Dan Kennedy: Boston Massacre, 2006.
Papel-blog: At least I got to hear the five most beautiful words in the English language: Rudy Seanez designated for assignment.
Redsock: What the fuck is wrong with these underachieving assholes?
... I hate Josh Beckett. Stupid asshole moron no-balls shithead. He's supposed to be an ace. Some fucking ace. Keep milking that 2003 World Series complete game, you asstard. ...
The Couch Potato: I am disgusted with [Beckett] because a pitcher with his talent has no business sucking this bad:
... Perhaps the Sox should start fining Beckett for every trip to the mound his catcher has to make to "get on the same page" with him. If Beckett thinks he can call a better game than his veteran catchers, maybe he should consider becoming one himself. Someone who throws a fastball that hard with no movement could probably really gun 'em down at second.
Jose Melendez keys in on Beckett's performance to date:
... Beckett was supposed to be the Golden Boy, the successor to Clemens and Pedro, or at least the successor to Curt Euro. Instead, he's looked more like the successor to John Wasdin. Actually, that comparison may be unfair ... to Wasdin.
Kristen: Jesus. He seriously hasn't won a game since Dave Matthews played Fenway:
... Mike Lowell, however, can stay. ...
Red discusses the decision to send Manny home in the eighth and sees a pattern in Rudy Seanez's outings:
... Where Rudy Seanez is concerned, is the standard operating procedure to simply let him stay in the game until he gives up a couple runs, then take him out? It has to be. Seriously, his appearances have become as predicatble as an episode of Charles in Charge. ...
Kristen takes Josh Beckett aside:
... I don't know if they taught you this in pitching school, but if you're gonna give up a grand slam in addition to two other home runs, you're probably not going to win the game. Just a refresher. I'm just sayin', maybe in the future, LESS time snorting MetRx protein powder off BU undergrads, MORE time working with the catchers on scouting reports. ...
On the plus side, she says All Your Javy Lopez Are Belong to Us.
Ben Ostrander took in last night's game, where he witnessed a serious case of Coco Crisp mancrush:
... Every minute or so that Coco was in the outfield he yelled, "I love you Coco!" Or "Coco you're the best!" When a ball landed for a hit and was no where near the centerfielder, the guy reassured him that everything was okay by yelling, "It's okay, Coco, it's not your fault!" Long story short, everyone now knows he has a man crush on Coco Crisp and I think that Crisp himself knows because he looked a little irritated. ...
Kristen posts a photo of two girls throwing balls:
... OH LOOK IT IS TWO GIRLS WHO APPEAR TO BE THROWING BETTER THAN MATT CLEMENT AND JOSH BECKETT WHO ARE, IN POINT OF FACT, ACTUAL MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS HMMMM THAT IS INTERESTING.
Look what you did? You made me yell.
Sigh. Listen, boys. I don't like to have to resort to the "throws like a girl" insults for three reasons: 1) I am a girl. And I can actually throw, 2) I tend to reserve such truths for insulting Johnny Damon, and 3) it's weak, easy and obvious. MUCH LIKE THE WAY YOU HAVE BEEN PITCHING. ...
Beth, meanwhile, wanted to hurl, both because of Beckett's performance and because Gustavo Chacin simply showed up:
... The discussion about [Chacin]'s fragrance on NESN, complete with background soundtrack of "Sexual Healing", was enough to make me feel like vomiting.
It wasn't until I saw Freddy Krueger up in our bullpen, though, that I thought I actually might. ...
ESPN reports the Sox will send shortstop Hanley Ramirez and a couple of minor leaguers to Florida for starter Josh Beckett and third baseman Mike Lowell.
Seat 21: This is huge.
Sox1Fan: THIS IS A MISTAKE:
... [Beckett] has been placed o the DL on seven separate occasions IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS! Yikes! He has won more than ten games a grand total of ONCE in his career (15 W in 2005)… he has NEVER pitched 200 innings in one season… and he hasn’t averaged a strikeout per inning pitched since 2003. Furthermore, and most disturbing, his pitching splits are VERY problematic: 10-2, 2.47 at pitcher-friendly Pro Player Stadium and 5-6, 4.31 on the road —- in the National League (tantamount to 4-A ball)! ...
Freddy acknowledges that, but says:
... In exchange (for hot prospect Ramirez) they receive a player who if nothing else should provide more offense than Kevin Millar last year and a pitcher who may be on the verge of breaking loose as a star. I need to think more on this but for now, I like this deal a LOT.
More