I wont make excuses for last year when I saw Beckett was not a good pitcher, however his numbers from last year weren't anywhere near what his career has been, switch from NL to AL and all. His command of the strikezone is significantly improved, the changes he made in mechanics and pitching stance has paid huge dividends. His control especially is significantly better, and his HR/9 component is back in line with his career norms which can be attributed to his much better command of the strikezone like I said, his K/9 is a reflection of that also. This season is not a fluke, assuming he doesn't change anything from now and next season (I dont know why he would ), Josh Beckett is a significantly different and significantly better pitcher than the guy we saw last year, and even quite a bit improved and matured over the Beckett that pitched for Florida.
K/9 BB/9 HR/9
2002 9.45 3.68 1.08
2003 9.63 3.55 0.57
2004 8.73 3.10 0.92
2005 8.36 2.92 0.70
2006 6.95 3.25 1.58
2007 8.63 1.75 0.52