by Gabe Souza
Starting pitching in baseball can be elusive.
Just when you think you have it, it’s gone.
Flash back to last year at this team when things seemed honky-dory in the bullpens of Fort Myers. Theo Epstein admired his offseason handiwork, which had landed two veteran righties, completing what looked to be a daunting rotation.
In addition to the regulars of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield, the wonder-boy general manager had high hopes for his foreign acquisition, Daisuke Matsuzaka who was coming off an 18 win sophomore season. And the addition of veteran hurlers Brad Penny and John Smoltz excited not only the front office, but also many across Red Sox Nation.
Heck, they had so much pitching that young fireballer Clay Bucholz was relegated to twiddling his thumbs at Triple-A Pawtucket.
Early predictions pegged the Sox as having the best rotation in baseball, even edging out the evil empire, despite its catch of ex-Blue Jay A.J. Burnett.
With the exception of Matsuzaka – whose catastrophic collapse following the World Baseball Classic is still being analyzed – the majority of Sox starters showed early promise.
Beckett and Lester breezed through the first few months and even veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield slid onto the American League All-star roster. Penny wasn’t anything special, but could bear down on most lineups through at least five innings.
But then the holes developed and the rotation began to sink.
Fast.
Penny started giving out walks and hits like candy, Smoltz’s fastball resembled that of an adult league softballer’s toss and Wakefield’s back knuckled more than his pitches.
Despite Big Papi’s improved second half production and former leftfielder Jason Bay’s ridiculous RBI tear, no amount of offense could offset continual shortcomings from the Sox starters.
It was bad. So bad, the BoSox had to turn to the rubber arm of Paul Byrd for help.
Fast-forward to October and the Sox watched Burnett carry his new team to its 27th world championship in franchise history while Epstein was left scratching his head.
While only one year removed from these nightmares, they seem to be forgotten by most in this year’s camp. Theo and Tito can be seen smiling and laughing among the palm trees as they face another “manager’s dream dilemma” of six starting-quality pitchers.
But if the Sox don’t play their cards right, that promising rotation could elude them again in the future.
To prevent this, they must sign Beckett to a contract extension before his current deal expires after this season.
Down the stretch last year, the only two constants on the mound were Beckett and Lester. And while Lester had the better numbers, and I’m sure some of you will comment on Beckett’s seven outings in which he allowed five earned runs or more, he was still one of the more dominant pitchers in the AL.
The nine-year veteran finished second in the AL in win-loss percentage, third in complete games, fourth in wins and sixth in strikeouts.
When it comes to the postseason, Beckett is the Tom Brady of baseball. He is 7-3 lifetime with a 3.07 ERA and 99 strikeouts through 14 games in the playoffs.
But most important to Sox fans, Beckett has proved he can shut down the Yankees. He did it twice against Brian Cashman’s squad in the 2003 World Series as a young stud for the Marlins, including a clinching game six victory in the Bronx. To top it off, he compiled a miniscule 2.08 ERA last year at the new hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium against a modern day version of murderer’s row.
Beckett is set to make just over $11 million this season. With fellow Texan John Lackey earning a cool $15.25 million per year in his new deal with the hometown team, some argue Beckett isn’t worth that kind of cash when the Sox have other free agents to handle.
But let’s face it. Papelbon is going to walk for big money and the aging David Ortiz will gracefully exit the scene at Fenway. The only other notable free agent after 2010 is Victor Martinez, who, even if he commands a slight bump in pay over his current $7 million salary, is obtainable with John Henry’s relatively deep pockets.
It’s time to throw some money Beckett’s way. He’s earned it with his performance in a Sox uniform and if nothing else, let’s learn from history. The last time Boston let a big name pitcher walk in his contract year, Roger Clemens didn’t let the door hit him on the way out.
“Rocket” compiled 162 wins, four Cy Young awards and two world series rings in his post-Sox years after former GM Dan Duquette declared the future hall-of-famer was “in the twilight of his career” after the 1996 season.
Beckett certainly isn’t in the twilight of his career. Neither is Lester. Neither is Lackey and neither is Bucholz.
If the Sox lock up the guy who has been one of their best pitchers in recent memory, those wins, Cy Young awards, and dare I say world series rings that Clemens managed elsewhere, could stay in Beantown with Beckett.
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