Beckett Pushed Back by Jared Carrabis
Lester To Take The Ball In Game One

Whether or not you've heard the rumors or not, they are true. The original rumor was that Josh Beckett was going to miss the American League Division Series all together but in a press conference last night, manager Terry Francona announced that Josh Beckett will be pushed back from starting game one in Anaheim to game three in Boston. In a bullpen session on Friday in Boston, Josh Beckett was throwing in the bullpen and in doing so he strained his oblique. Why they would have Josh Beckett out there throwing a bullpen session in the rain to begin with is anyone's guess but certainly not a wise move on the Red Sox part.


Josh Beckett was hands down going to start game one of the playoffs for the Boston Red Sox until the oblique strain but after suffering his minor injury, the Red Sox are taking the precaution of moving him to start this Sunday as opposed to this Wednesday. Jon Lester instead will be taking the ball as Boston's game one starter against the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim on Wednesday night. Daisuke Matsuzaka who was supposed to be third in the Red Sox three-man rotation will now move up to the two slot and instead of pitching at home in Boston he will pitch game two on the west coast.


On the bright side, if you look at it this way: this series has to go a minimum of three games. Josh Beckett's oblique injury did not push him out of the chance of being guaranteed a start in this best of five series. Either way you mix the rotation up, Boston's rotation matches up with any other three-man rotation out of all eight teams in October. Of course you want Josh Beckett setting the tone in game one of the series because we have all seen what this guy can do in October, but let's not forget that Jon Lester has had a phenomenal season.


As a matter of fact, Jon Lester was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for the month of September going 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Still feeling iffy about Beckett not making the game one start? I know I'm not. Jon Lester has only made one start against the Angels in 2008 and it came back on April 23. The left-hander went five innings and gave up four runs but since that time has gotten stronger as the season has gone longer and the Angels should expect to see a whole new Jon Lester come Wednesday.


Statistically, both Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka had better seasons than Josh Beckett but since returning from the disabled list, Beckett has been in October mode posting a 2.16 record in 25 innings while striking out 27 batters. Beckett will fully rested come Sunday when he is called upon to take the ball in game three of the ALDS at Fenway Park. Coincidentally, Beckett is a better pitcher on the road than he is at home compared to Jon Lester who is a better pitcher at home than he is on the road. Regardless, both pitchers have turned it on in the month of September and have pitched lights out no matter what city the mound they are standing on is positioned.


It's preached every single October: pitching and defense. The Angels can brag about their 100 wins in a weak division all they want. The numbers don't lie. The Red Sox have scored almost 100 more runs than the Angels in the regular season (80 to be exact) and when it comes down to pitching and defense, the Red Sox rank neck and neck with the Angels. Boston's team ERA sits at 4.01 while the LA Angels capped off their season with a team ERA of 3.99. But in a short series the Angels won't be seeing any inexperienced starters in October so don't you worry about that ERA indifference.


As for my favorite stat and arguably the most underrated and near the top of importance in stats is the Red Sox league leading .986 fielding percentage. Only the Houston Astros stand in the way of Boston finishing the regular season with the best fielding percentage in all of baseball (just three points better at .989). You show me the best defense in the league behind a rotation of Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett along with an offense that includes arguably the top two potential vote-getters for the American League MVP and I'll show you another World Series ring if all of the above lives up to the talent that they possess.

Published on September 29, 2008

---

Tweet