Disappointed in the Front Office

[jacksonianmarch]

umm Gom maybe its just me but the worst trade since Sparky Lyle in 1972 was just maybe the Jeff Bagwell trade. Jeff Bagwell you know the sure thing to be in Hall of Fame?

 

The jury is still out on Beckett, he's 27 this year and theres still time to make his case that the Sox did right trading for him

 

this is his yr to shine. He has the year under his belt, figured out his blister thing, and got belted in the face 30+ times last yr. If the adjustments dont show after this season, I think the sox deal him.

[Mr Crunchy]

gom

becks won 16 games during his sucky year of transition

i'll take that for the rest of his career here in boston

[riverside sluggers]

this is his yr to shine. He has the year under his belt' date=' figured out his blister thing, and got belted in the face 30+ times last yr. If the adjustments dont show after this season, I think the sox deal him.[/quote']

 

He started to figure out to give up less HRs during last season.

 

Pre-All Star Break- 26 HRs

Post-All Star Break- 10 HRs

 

Also we have been seeing him throw more curves and changeups than ever in a sox uni, that includes ST of last year. His last outing had his changeup registering 83, last year he was lucky if he got the change below 90

[ksushi]

His approach in the second half of august and all of september was drastically different than what he was doing most of the season prior to that. He put up some good numbers in that stretch, and he was mixing in all his pitches. Don't look now, but it looks like his change up has come a long way too.

 

So now, if he has his approach mastered - which seems to be a throw hard late, mix it up early type deal - and a revamped change, if he keeps locating his curve like he has been all spring look the hell out.

 

I'm calling Beckett at 18 - 9 3.50 in 210 IP

[Mr Crunchy]

ya but when he figured it out it was too late

i saw becks get crushed in back to back starts against detroit and ny at home

it was bloody and it was the warm up for the fat lady and he orchestra

 

he started out as if he would win 30

that friday nite in toronto when he blew that huge lead late was the turning point in our and his season

[SuperManny]

this is his yr to shine. He has the year under his belt' date=' figured out his blister thing, and got belted in the face 30+ times last yr. If the adjustments dont show after this season, I think the sox deal him.[/quote']

 

Beckett would have to pull a Pavano for them to trade him at this point. They gave up the NL ROY in Hanley and Anibal (you know that no hitter guy) for Beckett. They could have gone out and signed AJ Burnett but they wanted him. He's their guy and he's signed to a reasonable deal in this market. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

[BoSox21]

Beckett is gonna be fine. His numbers are so misleading. He was pretty good for most of the year but his ERA was 5.01 because in his outings when he was bad, he was REALLY bad.

 

Another year of maturity should keep him from going fastball, fastball, fastball all the time and he's had a chance to figure out AL hitters a bit. I'm predicting an ERA in the range of 3.80-3.90

[Mr Crunchy]

key to becks is his breaking ball

if he can throw it for strikes he will be tuff to handle

if he cant he becomes a very readable man and in the al from soup to nuts you cannot escape

in the american league if you throw 3 fastballs in a row at 100mph the safe money says the 3rd pitch is a souvenir for the bleacher folk

these guys can all hit fastballs if theyre sitting on it

[BSN07]

I predicted on another thread tha Beckett would be the Ace of the staff this year, I def think he has the #1 ability in him and this year will be his break out yr, then the trade for him won't seem so bad as well....

[hoke3182]

key to becks is his breaking ball

if he can throw it for strikes he will be tuff to handle

if he cant he becomes a very readable man and in the al from soup to nuts you cannot escape

in the american league if you throw 3 fastballs in a row at 100mph the safe money says the 3rd pitch is a souvenir for the bleacher folk

these guys can all hit fastballs if theyre sitting on it

 

Haven't heard that anaylasis before, do you watch ESPN or something. No s*** he can't throw fastballs every pitch and his breaking ball is key.He'll do fine this year 17-20 wins with a low 4 era is what I'm thinking

[jacksonianmarch]

it sounds obvious hoke, but why didnt he do it last yr?

[jacksonianmarch]

and bosox, aside from a run through the playoffs, Beckett has never been an ace on any team he was on. I think Mats is your ace and Bekett still languishes in the 3-4 role as he doesnt have the arsenal or the balls to throw any pitch on any count. And that is a requirement in the ALE. Hitters here will wear you down if you try to K everyone.

[Mr Crunchy]

outside of a couple weeks in october 03 becks has been essentially a .500 pitcher

[ORS]

Time will tell, but if he's mixing it up like he has been in ST, he'll be a CY contender. The problem with last year and the FB was two things. After he cut his finger, he was warming up with a bandaid and he lost his feel for the curve. And, the pitching coaches told him to dump the change because they thought there wasn't enough differential. Now that they know he has eczema and can treat it, I don't think the blister issue is going to have as much impact on his preparation and execution. He's been throwing the change again this year. The JB of last year may be no more.

[MANNYHOF24]

Time will tell' date=' but if he's mixing it up like he has been in ST, he'll be a CY contender. The problem with last year and the FB was two things. After he cut his finger, he was warming up with a bandaid and he lost his feel for the curve. And, the pitching coaches told him to dump the change because they thought there wasn't enough differential. Now that they know he has eczema and can treat it, I don't think the blister issue is going to have as much impact on his preparation and execution. He's been throwing the change again this year. The JB of last year may be no more.[/quote']

 

No more Nuke Laloosh?

[ORS]

Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh has hopefully left the building.

[jacksonianmarch]

Time will tell' date=' but if he's mixing it up like he has been in ST, he'll be a CY contender. The problem with last year and the FB was two things. After he cut his finger, he was warming up with a bandaid and he lost his feel for the curve. And, the pitching coaches told him to dump the change because they thought there wasn't enough differential. Now that they know he has eczema and can treat it, I don't think the blister issue is going to have as much impact on his preparation and execution. He's been throwing the change again this year. The JB of last year may be no more.[/quote']

 

the eczema will still break out regardless, although with modern medicine, they can lessen the occurence. The idea is they should skip his turn in the rotation when it flares up. His problem is that when it does flare up, he still pitches and rips the fingers open. If it flares up, skip his turn and treat it. His skin will be back to new in 4-5 days, just in time for him to start again.

[jacksonianmarch]

and I thought a major problem with Becks was his stubborness. He is a gunslinger and with every gunslinger, they want to do it their way. The second he gets lit up pitching the way the sox want him to throw, Nuke will come back. The pitching coach's job is to stay on him when he faces defeat to prevent that. Beckett's ability lies in his mind, not his arm. When he is confident, he can be the ace of the staff and win a WS, a la 2003. When his confidence is shaken, he will walk 9 and get shelled by a rival. Surprisingly, his skin on his hands is as thin as his psyche. The pitching coach has a ton of work to do. Beckett has the ability, nobody will ever doubt that.

[ORS]

From what I've read, it wasn't the gunslinger attitude that did him in. It was doubt. He wanted to mix in his secondary stuff more, but he just didn't trust it because of the previously mentioned issues.

[jacksonianmarch]

From what I've read' date=' it wasn't the gunslinger attitude that did him in. It was doubt. He wanted to mix in his secondary stuff more, but he just didn't trust it because of the previously mentioned issues.[/quote']

 

I can buy that. Either way, the kid has to be able to handle getting knocked around here and there. It is inevitable in the ALE. Everyone gets hit around at some point or another.