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RE: Emmz - Point taken... maybe he would have dominated in 2008, if he wasn't hurt. Bottom Line: Arguing over two elite pitchers is a great problem to have. I'm sure the Sox will give Beckett the nod... I just hope he morphs into the guy we saw in June and July and not the guy we saw in August. Farrell says it was mechanical and the HRs have dropped way off, so you have the believe that he's on his way back to Commander Kick a$$ status.

you beat me to the injury note... point taken.

What I'm getting at is this: Beckett was nasty in 2007, so it wasn't surprising to see him dominate in the postseason... he was mediocre in 2008 and he didn't magically turn into 2007 Beckett come October. To assume that he will flick a switch in the postseason and dominate is silly. I'll admit that he was fighting injuries in 2008, specifically in the postseason, but the Bottom Line is this - Lester has been more consistant and after watching Beckett give up 12 hits to the Royals, I'm going to need to see something inspiring in his last two starts before I conceed that he is the best starter we have. Just my 2 cents

Dipre - It was some "food for thought" but now I'm curious... what stat(s) do you feel should be used to make this call? Most would argue that Beckett postseason resume speaks for itself, but a look at his 2008 postseason numbers, implies that if he has less than stellar regular season, he's likely to have a less than stellar postseason. 2008 REG: 12-10, 4.03 ERA 2008 POST: 1-0, 8.79 ERA (3 starts) 2007 REG: 20-7, 3.27 ERA 2007 POST: 4-0, 1.20 ERA (4 starts) His 2009 stats are solid: 16-6, 3.78 ERA, 194 Ks to 52 walks... but they're in between his 07 stats and his 08 stats... so you tell me what to expect this year.

Good stuff Destroyah. I'll add this as food fro thought: The Angels are hitting lefties at a .283 clip this year - seceond only to the Yankees at .287.

Hi guys! My name is Rob and I write The Bottom Line blog. I wanted to check in and see what this forum was all about. Here's my question for you guys: Does Josh Beckett get the automatic nod from Game 1 in the playoffs? Beckett seems to have turned the page from a horrible August, but he's 7-5 with a 4.13 ERA on the road this year, compared to a 9-1 with a 3.42 ERA at home. He's also 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 15 hits allowed in two starts against the Halos this year, though I will conceed that this first start was just his 2nd of 2009, so those #s are almost void at this point. Lester has been the more consistent pitcher in the second half, posting a 2.57 ERA, A .216 BAA and a 6-1 record. The Sox have won his last 7 starts and Lester hasn't taken a loss since 7/19 - 12 starts ago. Bottom Line: I guess it comes down to who you want pitching Game 5 - if it gets to that. Personally, I like Lester on the road in Game 5 over Beckett, especially since the Angels haven't faced him this season and therefore have less to work with. But Beckett is the unofficial ace of the staff, so you might not want to mess with his head by starting him 2nd. What do you guys think? Thanks for reading! Rob The Bottom Line - A Red Sox blog