Kuzul

The funny thing about the end of the 2011 Red Sox season is that there’s never really been any sort of settled story about what exactly transpired as the Red Sox stumbled to a third place American League East finish. 

Beer? Chicken? A lack of conditioning? Discord in the clubhouse? Anger at the owner? All have been discussed in various formats and forums.

We know there was a mix of all of these aspects that probably contributed in some way to the team’s poor performance. We don’t know what that mix was though. 

We don’t know if things would have turned out differently had one, two or all of these things not transpired. 

When Josh Beckett, a player whose name seemed to surface when any and all of these transgressions were brought up in the press, took to the airwaves earlier in the week to finally voice his own opinion on the accusations. There were plenty of people waiting eagerly to hear what he had to say

Apparently many were not pleased.

The Boston Globe seems to think he “missed the point.”

In Western Massachusetts, the major sports columnists also seem troubled.

To quote Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friends.”

Maybe Josh Beckett slacked off, ate bad food, got hammered and then showed up 10 minutes before first pitch with bloodshot eyes and got blitzed on the mound? I doubt it though. At this point none of it matters that much.

Players make mistakes, people make mistakes and in the end as Beckett put it, “The biggest key was—we stunk on the field. That was the bottom line. If we would have pitched better, none of that stuff would have been an issue.” 

On this point, Beckett is 100 percent right. No one would have cared if the Sox were all needing designated drivers to get home after games if they had gone 16-5 in September. In fact, if they had won the World Series there would probably be people debating the merits of excessive alcohol consumption all over New England.

Not too many people look back on David Wells’ perfect game and think he was a bad teammate because he was apparently hungover or possibly still drunk that day.

Dock Ellis has chapters of books dedicated to reliving the no-hitter he threw in 1970, while under the influence of LSD.

The 2004 Red Sox, men who are basically heroes in the eyes of nearly every Red Sox fan, apparently did shots of Jack Daniels before games. Not just pitchers who were on their off days. Players who were playing baseball, big meaningful, historically relevant baseball games were doing pregame shots of whiskey in an effort to bond as a team.

It worked and they won and thus the story works too. It’s a story of team closeness and companionship. It practically adds to the already legendary relevance of the story.

Not in 2011 though. 

No, in 2011 the drinking was bad and the fact that Beckett won’t come on television and basically tell everyone what a bad teammate he was, as well as what a bad leader he was, just isn’t acceptable. 

What’s even more interesting is that Beckett is known as a player who does step up and take responsibility. 

“Love Beckett or hate him, he has generally been accountable during his time in Boston. Nobody beats himself up more after losses. Particularly during the early part of his tenure with the Red Sox, Beckett took credit for nothing, blame for everything. He embraced the responsibility that came along with his talent. Privately, Beckett spoke of his desire to win 300 games and treated his job with the utmost professionalism, an approach that earned him the respect of his teammates, coaches and bosses.” – Boston Globe 2/10/12

So with that type of reputation, along with almost zero primary source confirmed information regarding what exactly went on behind the scenes and who it involved, then maybe Beckett is being made into a bit of a scapegoat? 

The odds are that a lot of whatever exactly was going on was going on before September. The Red Sox were doing pretty well up until that point. It might be a bit of a stretch to suggest that pitchers drinking in the clubhouse on off days automatically equals lots of losses. 

It also might be a bit of a stretch to suggest that Josh Beckett, all of a sudden, became a bad clubhouse presence, or that because he’s recently married his ability to maintain his competitive edge has been compromised.

Josh Beckett was supposed to be a positive clubhouse presence last season, but he wasn’t the only veteran presence there. There were managers, coaches,  former MVP award winners and a number of players who had been there in 2004—possibly drinking in the clubhouse, while winning the franchise’s first World Series in 86 years.

Beckett is also correct to be concerned with clubhouse leaks. The clubhouse is supposed be one of the few places that baseball players can chat and interact without the media, or cameras, constantly following them around.

Baseball players live most of their lives in the public spotlight. It’s one of the things they sign up for when they become baseball players. The players are all very well compensated and in all likelihood realize that the constant media scrutiny is just part of the deal. No job is perfect—even professional baseball. Yet the clubhouse should allow for some modicum of privacy. There’s nothing wrong with Beckett being concerned about leaks within it’s confines.

Perhaps Red Sox fans should at least wait to see what happens in the upcoming season before declaring Beckett to be a negative influence or presence?

It’s Truck Day so fans won’t have to wait that much longer.  

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1. Josh Beckett

Josh Beckett has been a fantastic pitcher for the Boston Red Sox since joining the team in 2006.

Unfortunately, he’s also been somewhat of an enigma. He has almost ritualistically followed up a stellar season with a lackluster one (often due to injury). Since his first season in Boston, his stats have resembled a typical roller-coaster ride:

2006: 16-11, 5.01 ERA

2007: 20-7, 3.27 ERA

2008: 12-10, 4.03 ERA

2009: 17-6, 3.86 ERA

2010: 6-6, 5.78 ERA

2011: 13-7, 2.89 ERA

So in 2012, will Beckett have another 17- to 20-win season? Or regress and have one of his notorious off years? Only time will tell, but he has been a staple for this Red Sox rotation for a long time, and it’s safe to say he’ll be one the Red Sox’s top starters next season.  

Beckett also made an effort to address last season’s issues of drinking in the clubhouse, which can be taken as a good omen.

I’ll look for Beckett to have a bounce-back season and play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after all of the negative attention he garnered last season.

Is he a lock to be the Opening Day starter? No. But it will likely be either Beckett or Jon Lester.

2. Jon Lester

One of the most consistent pitchers in all of baseball, Lester will once again anchor the Red Sox rotation during the 2012 season.

Consistently good for over 200 innings, an ERA under 4.00 and double-digit wins, Lester is as close to a sure thing next season as the Red Sox are likely to see.

3. Clay Buchholz

Buchholz pitched well last season before going down with a stress fracture in his back, which ended his 2011 season.

The Red Sox will rely heavily on Buchholz next season if they want to compete with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

His injury last season was a major reason why the Red Sox collapsed in September and missed the playoffs. Their starting pitchers slumped in a big way (and to be honest, the entire team did as well).

If they still had Buchholz making starts late last season, maybe they would have made the playoffs. He had been one of the best pitchers in the majors up until his injury, sporting a 17-7 record to go with an astounding 2.33 ERA.

Hindsight aside, Buchholz will be a huge X-factor regarding Boston’s success moving forward.

4. Daniel Bard

All signs seem to point to Bard converting to a starter this season.

With the bulk of the moves this offseason going toward fixing the bullpen, adding Mark Melancon and Andrew Bailey, it seems that Bard’s move to the starting rotation is evident.

There’s always a chance that Bard could revert back to his role as setup man (or even switch to closer), but I don’t see that happening barring an injury or setback. If the Red Sox can get Bobby Jenks back to full strength this season as well (after the disastrous injury-ridden season last year, followed by news of a pulmonary embolism), that would further improve their already deep bullpen.

It will be very interesting to see how Bard’s talents translate into becoming a starting pitcher, especially when you think about how his arm will hold up with a huge increase in innings.

5. Bring on the Competition

I use the term “competition” loosely here. The fifth starter spot for the Red Sox is a giant question mark. The only positive Red Sox fans should find with this slot is that it won’t be filled by John Lackey’s underbite next season.

Moving Alfredo Aceves from the bullpen to the fifth starter spot I think hurts the team’s great bullpen depth too much to be considered an option. Also, I think if the Red Sox had plans to move Aceves into the rotation, they would have done it last year in an attempt to right the ship.

Andrew Miller could be seen as an option, but after a solid start to his 2011 campaign, Miller was very inconsistent and struggled with command.

At 45 years old, Tim Wakefield may opt to retire instead of sticking around as the Red Sox’s security blanket for another season, but could still be a viable option.

As for Daisuke Matsuzaka, well, I’ll leave that explanation up to Peter Gammons. It’s hard to believe that this is the same pitcher who went 18-3 with a 2.80 ERA for the Red Sox in 2008. Injuries have derailed Dice-K’s MLB career, which showed so much promise just three years ago. I’d be surprised if Matsuzaka made any appearances this year even if he gets healthy before the end of the season.

There’s also what my friend Asher and I refer to sarcastically as “The Trifecta”—also known as the trio of pitchers the Sox acquired in the offseason to compete for this final slot (or even a spot on the roster): Vicente Padilla, Carlos Silva and Aaron Cook.

I suppose now with the signing of John Maine, fans can switch this to “The Quad.” Regardless of what fans call it, the pitcher who makes this slot will likely need a lot of run support to be successful.

There’s still an off chance that the Red Sox will sign free-agent starter Roy Oswalt, but I honestly don’t think it will happen. 

The Sox were also rumored to have offered Edwin Jackson a contract, but the Washington Nationals signed him for $11 million for next season. Personally, I think that $11 million is an absurd amount of money to pay a pitcher who has a career ERA of 4.46, but the Nationals have gained a reputation for overpaying players.

Point being, if Jackson can get $11 million for one season, I bet Oswalt’s agent is watching. He may not get that kind of money, but he’ll probably hold out for more money than the Red Sox can offer.

So again, let the competition for the fifth starter position begin. Maybe spring training will lend itself to stiff competition between a group of guys vying for an important spot on Boston’s roster.

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It’s not that there aren’t some legitimate questions about the Red Sox and their rotation heading into the 2012 season. 

It’s not that the two pitchers who eventually end up getting the bulk of the starts out of the number four and number five slots in the rotation won’t have a dramatic impact on how the upcoming season pans out. 

It’s just that it’s also important to remember that the first three slots in the starting pitching rotation otherwise known as “the heart of the rotation” for the bulk of major league teams is or could be pretty darned good.

Yes, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka are hurt, and no, the Sox never did land any of the high profile starting pitchers that dotted the free-agent landscape for just over three months.

John Maine, Vicente Padilla and Aaron Cook are on the list of potential back-of-the-rotation starters. It’s the type of list that might elicit one of those “Who the heck are these guys??” types of statements as seen in the movie Major League.

There are three guys who will definitely start this season. In fact they’re going to be called the “number one, number two and number three starters.” They’re pretty good too. Who are they? Well in case you forgot…. 

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Country music singer Kevin Fowler released a music video for his single “Hell Yeah, I Like Beer” back on July 22.

The entire Red Sox starting rotation makes cameos in the video.

Yup…Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey and Tim Wakefield—all five of them sing their praises to booze.

Fowler’s video created a little buzz in Red Sox Nation when it was released.

However, it’s really now over two months down the road that Fowler’s video is really gaining press and momentum.

Look here. And here. And here. And here.

“I Like Beer” is getting all of the press it’s getting now, of course, with the infamous and now well documented revelation that all of these guys, save Wakefield, routinely retreated to the clubhouse during games in off days to throw back beers, chow down on fried chicken and play video games.

The irony is terrible and also way too easy. 

How can any Red Sox journalist resist the urge to reference Fowler’s video in any column about the alcohol-aided shortcomings of Boston’s starting pitching?

That Lackey and Beckett get the bulk of the screen time among the pitchers just adds fuel to the fire.

It’s truly all too perfect.

That said, I, and probably many other Sox fans, do think the beer-chicken-video-games story has become more than a bit overblown.

That said, Lackey, Beckett and Lester going lax on their conditioning probably did contribute to their personal and the team’s overall September shortcomings.

Point is, these guys’ clubhouse antics is just too good of a story to pass up.

And any good story needs a good name. 

A buddy and I have decided to forever call this incident “The Curse of the KFC.” 

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You’ll notice I said “largely”. Of course, it’s not totally meaningless but as the season winds down there’s going to be a ton of attention focused on the American League East. Two regular season series match-ups remain between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox and I think everyone reading knows they will receive no shortage of media attention and hype. 

In some ways, that makes sense. After all, they really are one of sports’ greatest rivalries. Two franchises who have now been linked for nearly 100 years by an ill advised trade that sent Babe Ruth who would go on to become arguably the most important baseball player in the history of the sport from Boston to New York for nothing more than a bag of cash. It’s a cautionary tale for anyone looking at a short-term gain over a long term investment. 

This season once again finds the old rivals neck-and-neck as the regular season winds down. New York has a division lead of merely a half-game over Boston as of this weekend. The two teams are one and two for best record in the American League and two and three for best record in baseball, trailing only the Major League leading Philadelphia Phillies for best overall record. 

Two old rivals locked in a race for a division title that only one of them can have. Sounds like a big deal right? Well not so fast. This isn’t 1978 when the team crowned American League East Champ moves onto the post-season while the second place finisher slumps off into the sunset waiting for spring training to start and another chance at a run for World Series glory. No, this is 2011 and the loser of the American League East will in all likelihood simply move onto the playoffs as the American League Wildcard entry to the playoffs. 

The Boston Red Sox are currently 8.5 games ahead of division rivals Tampa for the AL Wildcard slot and that’s following a week when the Rays managed to take two of three from the Sox in Boston. Tampa still has seven games against the Red Sox and six against the Yankees.  That might give Rays fans some hope but the Rays just don’t appear to have the offense needed in spite of their solid pitching to go on a run against either of their division rivals.

Meanwhile the Yankees and Red Sox trade spots in the standings almost weekly. Both Boston and New York are very good but both teams also have some weaknesses. The Yankees have relied on a collection of largely veteran pitchers who could falter at any moment. Guys like Freddy Garcia and 2005 Cy Young award winner Bartolo Colon both of whom are having much better seasons than even the most optimistic Yankee fans could have predicted back in April. Meanwhile AJ Burnett continues to be a mystery and Phil Hughes has been plagued by injuries. 

The Red Sox are battling some injuries to middle of the order bats such as Kevin Youklis and David Ortiz. Even more worrisome for Sox fans is that the starting rotation, thought to be one of the league’s best when the season started, has not come together in the manner that most thought it would. Daisuke Matsuzaka cemented himself as an all-time Boston free agent bust back in the spring when the chronically inconsistent starter was lost for the remainder of the season and likely for the remainder of his career in Boston with a severe arm injury. John Lackey the big free-agent signing of the 2009-2010 offseason is still trying to find his groove in a Boston uniform and currently sports an e.r.a. of 6.02 on the season. Clay Buchholz is on the disabled list with a back injury that may or may not keep him as an observer through the end of the regular season.

These injuries have turned the Boston rotation once thought to be one of their greatest strengths into a bit of a question mark. Yes, the team is getting Cy Young caliber stuff out of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester but the names Andrew Miller and Eric Bedard were not on the tips of many Red Sox fans tongues as possible starters in October back in April. Veteran Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has done his usual admirable job by filling in when needed but he’s never been dominant and is unlikely to be a viable starting option come the playoffs.

 A race for home field is important but pales in comparison to what is going on in the American League Central where three teams, The Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox are all fighting for their postseason lives. In the National League West the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants are facing the very real possibility of missing the post-season all together as the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks show no signs of letting up and currently sport a 2.5 game lead over the Giants who are 7 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League Wildcard race.

Everyone in baseball knows it’s all about October and the postseason is a tougher entry in baseball than in any of the other three major professional team sports. Home field is really nice but gaining entry to the playoff field is the most important thing and that appears likely for both Boston and New York no matter who wins the division.  

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The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are tied for first place in the American League East heading into their series-finale on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (ET) at historic Fenway Park.

Boston holds a significant 9-2 advantage over New York in the season series, including a 10-4 home victory on Saturday afternoon.

Lines makers expect a similar result in this one, placing Boston as a minus-155 home favorite due to the dominant pitching of Josh Beckett. The line reflects that he will not be matched up with CC Sabathia for the first time in four starts this year against the Yankees.

Let’s take a closer look at Beckett’s 2011 dominance of the Bronx Bombers.

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Starting Tuesday of next week, one of the most anticipated series of the 2011 season comes to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The majority of MLB analyst believe that the June series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox will be a preview of the 2011 World Series.

Here is how the clubs line up as of June 25: The Philadelphia Phillies have the best record in baseball at 48-29 and the Boston Red Sox rank second and are right on their tail with a record of 44-31.

As far as pitching is concerned, the Phillies rank first in MLB in ERA at 3.06 and quality starts with 51. They are third in WHIP 1.19 and sixth in BAA .242. Also, three of their starting pitchers have over eight wins. Cole Hamels go for a major league-leading 10th win this evening.

The Boston Red Sox pitching staff is having a slightly above average season. They are currently ranked 20th in ERA 3.98, 23rd in quality starts with 38, eighth in WHIP 1.28 and a BAA of .239 which ranks fifth in MLB. Josh Beckett leads the Red Sox pitching staff. His ERA this season is 1.86, which is one of the best ERAs is baseball.

Now for the offense. This is an area that the Philadelphia Phillies must improve if they even want to get to the 2011 World Series. They are getting little to no production from their corner outfielders and find themselves at the bottom of almost every offensive category.

They currently rank 14th in runs scored with 316, rank 20th in BA at .246, 15th in OBP .320 and 22nd in SLG at a weak .375. If the Phillies wish to compete with the Red Sox, one or two runs a game will simply not cut it.

Boston ranks first in almost every single offensive category in all of MLB. They are currently first in runs (401), BA (.279), OBP (.353), total bases (1,178), RBI (378), OPS (.801) and SLG (.448). There isn’t more I can really say. This team is the best offense in baseball by a long shot.

This series will be the classic big arms vs big bats. Tune in starting next Tuesday, June 28 to find out if great pitching can beat great hitting.

Here are the predicted starting pitchers for each game:

Tuesday: Josh Becket vs Cliff Lee 

Wednesday: John Lackey vs Vance Worley

Thursday: Jon Lester vs Cole Hamels

With the Phillies off day Monday, the starters for the second two games could be changed with the recent injury to Roy Oswalt. Spot starter Kyle Kendrick could be thrown into one of those games.

Look for these three games to be as exciting as any regular season game this season. It will be a playoff like atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park. Don’t miss out.

ESPN 2 will be broadcasting the Wednesday night game starting at 7:05 EST.

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After struggling through a brutal month of April, the Red Sox began playing up to their potential during the month of May, going 19-10 and temporarily pulling into first place before slumping as the month came to a close.

The month included a seven-game winning streak, an 11-0 drubbing at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels and back-to-back wins in which the offense scored a pair of touchdowns.

The offense hit .287 in May and produced 156 runs (5.38 runs per game), but the pitching staff wasn’t quite as successful, posting a 4.01 ERA in the month.

The starting rotation won more games in May than it had in April (13, as opposed to 10), but saw its ERA increase by more than a quarter of a run (4.14, as opposed to 3.83 in April).

On the other hand, the bullpen was dramatically better…posting a much better record (6-4, as opposed to 1-5 in April) and lower its ERA by nearly a run-and-a-half (3.76, down from 5.13).

With the first weekend of June upon us, it is time for me to distribute my report card for the first two months of the 2011 campaign.

Over the course of the next two days, I will present my report card for the ballclub through the first two months of the 2011 season. Today, I start with the pitching staff… tomorrow I’ll examine the hitters:

The Starting Rotation

Josh Beckett: A-

He was surprisingly strong in April, and somehow managed to be even better during May despite not having a lot to show for it (thanks to paltry run support).

Last month, he went 2-1, with an exceptional 1.00 ERA (4 ER in 36 IP) and 1.17 WHIP (up from April, when it was just 0.85).

I am not saying he is the pitcher he was back in 2007-08, he is not—his strikeout-rate is three-quarters of a point lower and his walk-rate is nearly double what it was back in the day—and according to fangraphs.com, less than half of his pitches are in the strike zone (his zone rating is just 48.8% thus far in 2011).

Plus, his ground ball to fly ball ratio is nearly 1-to-1 thus far in 2011. These are harbingers of potential problems for later in the season…but all things being equal, the ballclub will take it. He seems to have reinvented himself on the mound.

He is pitching more to contact. He is relying less on his fastball (52% in 2011) and curve (17%) while using his cutter (17%) and changeup (14%) far more often.

He only averaged six innings per start throughout the month of May, but when the results are as good as they were it is hard to complain about length of outings… still, there is enough to be concerned about here that he doesn’t get an “A.”

Clay Buchholz: B

After sleepwalking through the month of April, Clay flipped the switch in May… it truly was a Tale of Two Pitchers. After going 1-3, 5.33 in April, he went 3-0, 2.08 in May.

But it is the peripherals that really underscore how well he pitched in May: opponents hit just .204 against him, his WHIP was 0.95, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was an outstanding 3.63-to-1 over 39 IP (he walked 8 batters all month).

His grade lags due to his slow start, and while I am cautiously optimistic moving forward, I see warning signs on the horizon: most notably, he has thrown just 44% of his pitches for strikes in 2011.

If hitters start to lay off his offerings, he’ll either issue more walks or have to give them better pitches to swing at…and then what happens?

John Lackey: F

A rough April turned into an unbelievably horrific May for Lackey, and after two starts early in the month he was shut down with a tender elbow, but the widespread conjecture is that his struggles have had nothing to do with any physical discomfort in his right arm.

Most pundits believe his struggles are a direct result of issues in his personal life—that is to say, his focus is lacking (no pun intended) when he is at the ballpark as a result of his wife’s battle with cancer.

While his dilemma is understandable and we can all sympathize with his plight, his manager and teammates need him to do a better job of blocking those issues from his mind when he toes the rubber.

It’s a lot to ask, but if he leans how to do it he may be able to use baseball as an escape from those things in life that really matter…

Jon Lester: B

Lester has got it all backwards. He is a usually slow starter who gets better as the weather heats up before faltering in the intense heat of August, but the 2011 season thus far hasn’t followed form.

He was strong in April (3-1, 2.52), raising Red Sox Nation’s expectations this would develop into his first Cy Young campaign… but those hopes were dashed by a brutal May—during which he posted a 5.50 ERA over 36 IP (though his record was 4-1).

He pitched well in Cleveland 10 days ago and it appeared he had turned things around, but the White Sox hammered him on Monday night (5.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 4 BB), so we are again left to wonder what is going on with our would-be ace.

Thanks to his offense, he was 2-0, with 1 No Decision, in three games in which he allowed 14 earned runs in just 17.1 IP; otherwise, he would be a .500 pitcher with nearly a 4.00 ERA through the first two months of the season.

Tim Wakefield: C+

With Matsuzaka’s career in Boston apparently concluded (or close to being finished), his regular spot in the rotation will reportedly be handed off to knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, though I think it should go to Alfredo Aceves.

I know I am beating a dead horse here, but Wakefield is getting older and he has a chronic bad back. Taking a regular turn in the rotation will not benefit either the pitcher or the ballclub… but we all know that he wants to set the mark for most wins in team history.

He threatens to be a sullen influence in the corner of the clubhouse (a la Nomar Garciaparra, in ‘03 and ‘04) if he doesn’t get his way, so it seems the manager is going to appease him by letting him have Dice-K’s slot at the back end of the rotation.

He is 2-1, 4.25, in sporadic starts in the rotation thus far in 2011, so it’s not like he’s been a disaster up to this point, but it remains to be seen what those numbers will look like after the grind of taking a start every fifth day wears on him throughout the summer.

Incomplete: Daisuke Matsuzaka

With his Red Sox career prematurely ended by an elbow injury and his impending Tommy John surgery, I will resist the temptation to dance on his grave.

He made eight appearances (seven starts) in 2011 and posted a 3-3 record, with a 5.30 ERA. It’s possible the elbow injury caused his ineffectiveness… let’s just leave it at that.

The Bullpen

Alfredo Aceves: B+

Aceves has been everything he promised to be when the Red Sox signed him away from the NY Yankees as a free agent back in February. He has appeared in 14 games (3 as the starting pitcher) and has posted a 2-1 record, with a 3.51 ERA.

He is 1-1, 4.50, as a starter (he should have had another win except for a Matt Albers meltdown against the Cubs)… he provided the club with two outstanding starts before getting battered in his last outing.

He has a career mark of 16-2, with a 3.28 ERA, so it would seem we will be in for more of the same from him throughout the summer.

Matt Albers: B-

I am a BIG fan of Aceves, but not of Albers… sorry, Albers fans. It seems that whenever there is an implosion in the Sox bullpen, he’s in the middle of it.

Frankly, I am not sure what the front office saw in a guy that posted an ERA of 4.50+ in four of his five seasons prior to coming to Boston—while playing for non-contending teams in Houston and Baltimore.

I don’t think he has the stuff to pitch meaningful innings for a team that has championship aspirations.

Daniel Bard: B+

In spite of decent results and a B+ grade, Bard has been a disappointment for me through the first two months of 2011.

I gave him a pass after posting a 0-3 mark in April owing to some bad luck he had, but May (1-1, 3.38) was only marginally better and not what I had expected from the guy who is Jonathan Papelbon’s heir apparent.

In my opinion, the next closer needs to post an ERA under 2.00, a WHIP significantly lower than 1.00, and a K-rate that is substantially north of 1.0 / 9 IP… Bard’s ERA is 3.29 (as opposed to the 1.93 mark he posted last season), his WHIP is in the vicinity of 1.00 and his K-rate is barely 1.0.

Maybe he is hampered by heightened (or unrealistic) expectations, but at this point he doesn’t seem ready to be the club’s closer in 2012.

If his performance remains the same throughout the rest of the season, could it set the stage for Pappy to return to the organization next season?

Bobby Jenks: F

He has been brutal up to this point of the season, posting a 7.59 ERA in 13 games. When he went on the DL in early-May, I wondered whether his early-season struggles could be explained by an injury.

But he has allowed four base runners in two innings of work since coming off the DL, so now I am left to wonder whether his ineffectiveness is an indicia that ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillen and ChiSox GM Kenny Williams were on to something when they cut him loose.

It seems plausible the Red Sox front office brought Jenks on board as an insurance policy for 2012, assuming Papelbon would leave via free agency at the end of this year and in case Bard proves incapable of assuming the closer’s duties by next season.

But with Bard struggling to become a lock-down closer and Jenks proving to be completely ineffective, it seems the Red Sox should (at least) entertain the possibility or bringing their resurgent closer back for the next three or four years.

Hideki Okajima: C-

Okajima’s ERA has increased in every season since he first became a member of the Red Sox (from 2.22 in 2007 to 4.50 last season). While his 4.32 ERA thus far was marginally better than last year, it isn’t what you want from your lefty specialist.

His ineffectiveness stems from lack of control (5 BB in 8.1 IP) and bought him a demotion to Pawtucket. He has watched as the Red Sox turned to Rich Hill, traded for Franklin Morales and has now promoted 29-year-old Tommy Hottovy.

Yesterday, he declared he wants to be traded—as opposed to being re-promoted to Boston. Sayonara, Okaji!

Jonathan Papelbon: B+

Pappy had been cruising along pretty well until about a week ago, then he allowed runs in three of four appearances (four runs in 4 IP)… as a result, his ERA increase by more than a run (from 2.29 to 3.42).

Last night, he came into a save situation against Oakland and he was overpowering in registering his 11th save of the season.

While it is a bit disconcerting that he has allowed runs in seven of his 24 appearances, the fact of the matter is that he is 2-0, with 11 saves and only one blown save… and at times he’s looked like the dominant closer you want at the back end of the bullpen.

While it has been assumed this year would be his last season in a Red Sox uniform, his performance (combined with the struggles of Bard and Jenks) makes it likely the front office will have to kick the tires on bringing him back in 2012.

Dan Wheeler: B

 Wheeler is another reliever the ballclub signed in the off-season in the hope of improving a bad bullpen, and he is another guy who has been a HUGE disappointment.

Like Jenks, he went on the DL in early-May, raising the possibility his early-season struggles were in part linked to an injury.

He has made four appearances since being reactivated and hasn’t allowed a run… lowering his ERA by more than three-and-a-half runs in the process.

His performance since his return (4.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K) leaves me hopeful that he will prove to be highly effective moving forward.

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In the middle game of a three game set between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards earlier this week, a rubber match was taking place between Boston’s Josh Beckett and Baltimore‘s Jeremy Guthrie.

That is, until O’s outfielder Luke Scott smashed a 425-foot two-run homer onto Eutaw Street in the bottom of the fourth to break the scoreless tie.

Understandably, Scott admired his ball as it carried off into the night. Who wouldn’t? If you hit a ball that far, you’re going to want to see it go.

Unless your name is Josh Beckett.

The Red Sox‘ pitcher didn’t appreciate Scott watching his hit fly, and appeared to be yelling at Scott as he stared him down multiple times as he rounded the bases, and even after he reached the inside of the dugout. The game’s plate umpire, Fieldin Culbreth, had to calm Beckett down.

In Scott’s next at-bat in the game against Beckett, the pitcher didn’t retaliate, though that could be due to the teams being caught in a close ball game, as well as a sure-fire ejection had Beckett drilled Scott.

After the game, Beckett told reporters on the subject that “Those things have a way of working themselves out.”

So is Beckett planning on drilling Scott the next time the two teams meet? Or will he have a fellow pitcher do so?

On the flip side, this is what Scott had to offer to reporters when asked about it after the ballgame: “When I got into the dugout, the guys said he was yelling or something like that. I’ve got all the respect in the world for Josh Beckett. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. I respect every pitcher who takes the mound against me. He is a tremendous competitor, and there are emotions. I’m an emotional person, so I can understand people getting emotional.”

What’s so bad about one admiring a lengthy home run they hit? Personally, I’m not exactly sure. If I were a pitcher and someone beat me in that fashion, I would understand them wanting to give it an extended look.

That’s baseball, as well as life. People naturally want to take a look at their accomplishments, and for Beckett to get upset over it further proves that he has the emotions of a pre-teen going through puberty.

Beckett is well known for being one of baseball’s most notorious cry-babies, and though there have been all too many examples proving as much, one sticks in my head.

I can’t remember what season it was, but my guess is between three to five years ago. It was, again, a game at Camden Yards between the Sox and the Birds with Beckett on the bump.

Melvin Mora, a longtime Oriole during the last decade, was on second, taking his lead, when all of a sudden, Beckett turned around and started walking towards Mora, shouting at him the whole time.

I don’t remember specifics, such as if the benches cleared or if Beckett was stopped by umpires/teammates before he reached Mora, but I do remember that no punches were thrown. It was a rather controlled incident, in terms of a baseball altercation.

I also remember why Beckett suddenly became incredibly pissed off.

He claimed that Mora was stealing his catcher’s signs, something that Mora denied post-game, was very obviously not doing, and that happens in baseball all the time by the players. It’s part of the game, just like how New York Yankees‘ captain Derek Jeter faked being hit by a pitch in a game late last year between his team and the Tampa Bay Rays. Teams find any way they can, within the rules of the game, to get a leg-up on the competition.

Again, that’s baseball. For Beckett to react the way he did was simply childish.

God only knows why Beckett feels that he needs to be the unwritten rule police on the diamond. If he decides to retaliate against Scott the next time the two meet, it’ll just be another example of the man’s immaturity.

The time to unnecessarily retaliate was in Scott’s next at-bat, which as I said, he failed to do. But a better alternative would be for him to grow up and play the game of baseball, not throw a fit over it. He should try to put a K next to Scott’s name the next time he faces him, instead of a HBP.

Apparently, Beckett can’t handle getting beaten in a game very well, and if I were a part of the Red Sox’ management, I would have looked into getting him help for that a long time ago.

And just for the record, did he ever have a problem with Manny Ramirez and/or David Ortiz for doing the exact same thing so many times over the past decade? Didn’t think so.

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The Red Sox consecutive-game streak was broken Thursday night, but the Red Sox got right back to work last night as staff ace Jon Lester started a new one.

No, obviously, I’m not talking about a winning streak because, as we all know, the Red Sox won on Thursday night. The streak I’m talking about has to do with the starting rotation.

While this edition of the Red Sox may have gotten off to an historically-bad start, Red Sox Nation shouldn’t forget this is a club that many pundits predicted would win 100 games. And while the offense has not shifted into high gear (yet), the high hopes for the 2011 club were equally dependant on the quality of the pitching staff, as well as on the production of the offense. The lineup continues to struggle to score runs, but we should not overlook the fact that the starting rotation has started to round into shape.

Beginning with Josh Beckett’s outing last Saturday against the Blue Jays, Red Sox starting pitchers had gone at least five innings in each of the succeeding five games without allowing more than one run in any outing:

Beckett allowed one run in seven innings on Saturday (Sox win)
Lester yielded one run in six innings on Sunday (Sox win)
Dice-K tossed seven shutout innings on Patriots Day (Sox win)
Lackey gave up one run on Tuesday night in Oakland (Sox loss)
Buchholz surrendered one run in 5.1 IP on Wednesday (Sox win)

It was the first time since 1947 that the Red Sox rotation went five consecutive games in which the starting pitcher allowed one or fewer runs while pitching at least five innings in each ballgame.

That’s 64 years, folks. Two generations of Red Sox fans. My mother and father hadn’t even met one another the last time a Red Sox staff pulled this off.

Ironically, the streak ended against the Angels on Thursday night, in what may have been the best performance by a Red Sox starter this season. Josh Beckett was nearly brilliant for eight innings. He retired the first nine hitters of the game. Then, after issuing a walk to start the fourth inning, he set down nine of the next 10 batters he faced—the only exception being an infield single by SS Erick Aybar in the sixth inning.

The “impressive outings” streak came to an end in the seventh inning when Beckett walked the leadoff hitter (DH Bobby Abreu) and then surrendered a two-run home run to RF Torii Hunter. He retired the next six hitters in succession before finally yielding to Daniel Bard in the ninth inning. The Red Sox eventually won the game, 4-2, in extra innings.

The club had ridden this succession of outstanding performances to five wins in six games, entering last night’s contest against the LA Angels. Jon Lester bore the responsibility of starting another string of impressive outings. He succeeded.

That’s not to say this was Lester’s best performance. It wasn’t—nor was it as good as Beckett’s outing on Thursday night. But the object of the game is to keep the other guys off the scoreboard and record “wins,” and that is precisely what he did.

It is precisely what all of the Red Sox starters have done as of late… and while that 100-win season may be out of reach, they are only 3.5 games out of first place with 144 games left to play.

It’s a safe assumption the jumpers have vacated the Zakim Bridge at this point.

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