Posted on September 7, 2012 by fenwaypark100

One of the most popular posts I have had has been this one about Jimmie Foxx. He was one of my Dad’s favorite players and I would have loved to have seen him bat. Enjoy….

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They called him The Beast! Standing six feet even, he was 195 lbs of solid muscle and he could hit!

James Emory “Jimmie” Foxx made his major league debut as a catcher with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1925. He was 17 years old. He joined the Red Sox in 1936 and by that time he had: graced the cover of Time magazine (1929), become the first player in baseball history to win back to back MVP Awards (32 and 33), won the Triple Crown (1933), set the major league record for home runs in a season by a right-handed hitter (58 in 1932), was the games all time leading right-handed home run hitter and was second to Babe Ruth on the all time home run list with 302 homers.

When Tom Yawkey purchased the team in 1933, he began immediately to spend his inherited millions and he did so by investing in Fenway Park and…

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Posted on September 6, 2012 by fenwaypark100

It was not quite a year ago that he was inroduced, it just seems like a hundred. Recently, Bobby V told WEEI “Big Show” host Glenn Ordway that if he were there he’d “punch you right in the mouth”, after Ordway asked him if he had “checked out”. Frankly, I love that! Anyway, here’s my take on Bobby V way back on the day he arrived! Enjoy!

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Pinky Higgins, Rudy York, Billy Jurges, Del Baker, Pinky Higgins (again), Johnny Pesky, Billy Herman, Pete Runnels, Dick Williams, Eddie Popowski, Eddie Kasko, Eddie Popowski (again), Darrell Johnson, Don Zimmer, Johnny Pesky (again), Ralph Houk, John McNamara, Joe Morgan, Butch Hobson, Kevin Kennedy, Jimy Williams, Joe Kerrigan, Grady Little and Terry Fancona; twenty-one names, twenty-four regimes who represent the answer to a very esoteric trivia question. Which is…….Who has managed the Red Sox since 1959? (the year I made my first trip to Fenway) Oh wait and now introducing, drum roll please………

Bobby “Sweetheart Chosen Or Greeted On This Day”

Number 22 is the man chosen to pilot the Red Sox during the historic 100th birthday season of Fenway Park. In a push button poll conducted by the Boston Globe, 60% of the 8000 members of Red Sox Nation who participated, are happy with the choice of “Sweetheart Chosen Or Greeted On This Day.” Boston sports talk shows…

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Posted on September 5, 2012 by fenwaypark100

As I continue to work towards my deadline and being that football season is upon us, and being that Vince Skully will be back for another year, I thought you might enjoy this one. Happy Wednesday!

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The Terriors of Boston University played their home games at Fenway Park for four seasons, (1949-1952). They found the confines of Fenway Park very friendly as in those four seasons they compiled a record of 14-7-1 in games played there. The newly formed team was in only their fifth season when they moved into Fenway and the success of the team coincided with, not only the move to Fenway, but the arrival of one Aristotle George (Harry) Agganis.

As a sophomore in 1949, Agganis set a school record throwing 15 touchdown passes, intercepted 15 passes, led the nation with a 46.5 punting average and was named the second team All American quarterback behind Kentucky’s Babe Parilli (see Thanksgiving post). On November 1, 1949, over 40,000 fans jammed Fenway Park to witness Agganis lead the Terriors against the University of Maryland. The game was broadcast nationally on CBS radio with a young voice…

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Who’d a thunk it?????

Posted on September 4, 2012 by fenwaypark100

I mean really! It seems like such a short time ago we were on the precipice of Fenway’s most historic season; filled with excitement as Fenway stood poised to celebrate her 100th birthday!

Who’d a thunk it?

Ya know I started this blog all excited about comparing this Red Sox team with the magnificent team which opened Fenway Park 100 years ago. I’ve written a lot about those guys.

The 1912 Red Sox won more games than any team in their history, 105!

How serendipitous it would have been to bookend the century with two historic seasons. Well we have, only this historic season has me traveling back to those not so thrilling days of yesteryear when the Red Sox stunk! I mean really stunk!

Little did I know that this team would take on the look of the teams I followed as a boy, those wonderful, wonderful clubs which lost 90 games in 1964 and 100 in 1965 and 90 again in 1966.

Remember this guy?

#251 Billy Herman

Billy Herman’s record as Red Sox skipper was 128-182!

Well he’s in the Hall of Fame but I can assure you it’s not as a manager! He took over the Red Sox for the last two games of 1964 and WON THEM BOTH! Ahhh, but along came 1965 and he piloted the Sox to their last 100 loss season. That’s right boys and girls, they went a stellar 62-100 finishing in ninth place only 40 games behind the Twins.

Now as bad as that team was, they still gave us a little something for which to cheer.

Yaz hit .312 and Tony C. became the youngest home run champ ever, leading the league with 32 dingers.

Well believe it or not, after presiding over a 100 loss season, Billy Herman returned in 1966. Yes he did and they actually improved! With 16 games left on the season, they were 64-82 but alas Sir Tom (Yawkey) had seen enough and he said bye-bye Billy. He replaced him with coach Pete Runnels who led them to an 8-8 record the rest of the way.

THEN CAME 1967!!!!!

Oops I digress.

Back to reality. Yesterday the Red Sox lost their seventh game in a row. Yup seven straight! And believe it or not, that’s not the worst part. The worst part is, they’ve been outscored 54-16. Yes you heard right 54-16!!! Actually Oakland’s 20-2 route has the A’s scoring more runs in one eve than the Sox have scored in a week. Yikes!!

Baseball Card Database

The longest losing streak which the 1965 team stumbled through was eight. It took place in June and the Sox were out scored only 40-31 in that stretch of futility. Tonight in Seattle, the 2012 version of the Red Sox will attempt to halt the skid at seven.

This current squad has won 62 games and lost 74 for a blistering .456 winning percentage. There are 26 games to go and if they continue that torrid pace, we can expect them to win 12 of those 26. That will leave them 74-88. That would mean the worst finish since 1992 when this man was at the helm.

Clell Laverne “Butch” Hobson.

I remember when Hobson was managing the Red Sox, my Dad would often comment how “glazed over” Hobson appeared sitting in the dugout during games. “He’s out of it” Pop would often say. Well Pop was right on the money as we later learned that Hobson was waging his battle with cocaine addiction in the midst of his tenure as Red Sox manager. Thankfully, he won that battle and as usual battles, even victorious ones, come at a terrible cost!

Now getting back to the 2012 version of our boys,  I hate to say this but it could get even worse. How you say? Ponder this. Since August first they have won nine games and lost 22. That translates to a winning percentage of…….Ready???? .344. Should our boys continue at that pace, they will win but nine of the remaining 26 games and that means they will finish with a mark of 71-91. And as to when the last time a Red Sox team was that bad? We must reach all the way back to……You guessed it, 1965 or ’64’ or ’66, take your pick!

Tom and John and Larry are in Seattle. John has stated that he has come to have breakfast with Caesar, uh Bobby not to bury him. However there is a rumor that throughout the night Bobby kept hearing an incessant thumping in the room above him.

It was shoes dropping!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, September 4, 2012.

 

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” We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” John F Kennedy

Posted on August 31, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Hey folks….I apologize for being absent the past few days. I am working feverishly towards the deadline for my new book scheduled for release in February. It is called simply Spring Training in Bradenton and Sarasota! But more on that later. I have decided that I will repost some of my own particular favorites and I hope you enjoy them. Being that we are between our two political conventions as we move towards choosing our next Commander-in-Chief, I thought this would be an appropriate place to start. Thanks for your patience…..

From December 7th!

It was 70 years ago today……………………….

In 1918, when the USA was fighting the “war to end all wars” or if you prefer, the Great War, the widely held feeling was that baseball should shut down. It was trivial, it was frivolous. The 1918 season was brought to an end a month early and baseball’s immediate future was in doubt. It was all rendered moot when the war ended two months later.

When America entered World War II, the same question was raised and by none other than baseball’s Commissioner, Judge Keneshaw Mountain Landis. However, by that time baseball had woven its way into the fabric of America. President Roosevelt, recognizing that, wrote to Landis, “if 300 teams use 5000-6000 players, these players are a definite recreational asset to 20,000,000 of their fellow citizens— and that, in my judgement, is very worthwhile.”  This did not mean however, that professional baseball, at all levels, did not feel the effects. At the minor league level alone, there were 44 leagues in 1940 and 12 by the end of 1942.

Through enlistment or the draft countless players answered the call, as star and bench jockey alike were willing to bear any burden.  Minor leaguers were willing to meet any hardship and for many of them it meant their chance at the major leagues was gone forever. And then there were those, at every level of baseball, who “gave the last full measure of devotion”…..”to assure the survival and success of liberty”.

                http://www.baseballinwartime.com/in_memoriam/in_memoriam.htm

No less than 30 members of the Boston Red Sox organization served in World War II. “The Teammates” (Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio) are immortalized in bronze on the streets outside Fenway Park.

Each of them served and each of them have become Red Sox legends. However, I dare say, most Red Sox fans have forgotten or never heard of Earl Johnson.

Earl “Lefty” Johnson was a 21-year-old pitcher who showed much promise in 1940, winning six of eight decisions. He alternated between the bullpen and the rotation in 1941 and like so many, was gone for 42, 43, 44 and 45. Returning to the Red Sox in 1946, he went 5-4 and was the winning pitcher in game one of the 1946 World Series throwing two innings of no hit relief in the Red Sox come from behind 10 inning victory at Sportsmans Park in St. Louis.

Drafted into the Army in January of 1942, Johnson served with the 30th Infantry Division. Landing on Normandy Beach, on D-Day plus five in 1944, they spearheaded the St Lo breakthrough. In September of 1944, Johnson was awarded the Bronze Star for keeping vital information from falling into enemy hands. Braving “severe hostile fire” to do so Johnson also received a battlefield promotion to 2nd lieutenant. Three months later fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, he received the Silver Star for bravery and another promotion, to 1st lieutenant.

Johnson pitched seven seasons with the Red Sox going 40-32. His promise as a pitcher was never quite fulfilled as his career was shortened by the four years of service which he gave to his country. He remained working in the Red Sox organization for 44 years and he passed away in 1994.

So today let’s pause; pause and remember. Remember all those who answered the call then, who answered the call before them, who have answered the call since  and who answer the call now. And the next time you’re at the grocery store and you see a rickety old man a bit unsteady on his feet; he may be wearing a cap which identifies him as a World War II vet, pause and remember, extend a hand and say thanks!

           And so it was on this date in Fenway Park history, December 7, 1941 

 

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Now This is Worth the Money!!!!!

Posted on August 28, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Hey I was just wondering, thinking out loud really. I don’t know, maybe it’s me, maybe I’m bonkers or maybe I’m just turning into a curmudgeon. But I listen to all the blah, blah talk from  the desk at the MLB Network and sometimes I laugh out loud!

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I mean really, aren’t these guys supposed to be “experts”? You know it’s taken me a while to simply accept and live with the fact that former players are the soup de jour when it comes to color guys or commentators or analysts or even the play by-play guys. I understand the perspective they bring, I do, honest I do. And I like the fact that the MLB has a pretty decent mix of former players and broadcasting professionals (you remember them don’t you?). But good God listening to virtually every one of these guys (thanks Mitch Williams) gush about what a huge deal the Dodgers made with the Red Sox. What a lineup they will feature, how great this will make them  yada, yada, yada! It makes me scratch my head!

Simple question, if you had a baseball team and were looking to invest a quarter of a billion dollars, that’s billion with a B, how would you do it?

Would you pay 129,000,000.00 over the next six years for a 31-year-old first baseman?

The Dodgers will pay 21.5 million a year to AGone through 2017.

Would you pay 32,500,000.00 for the next two years to a 32-year-old pitcher who has spent the better part of the 2012 season getting his clock cleaned and a good portion of the last three season nursing various and sundry ailments to his back and shoulder, (oh yea, his pitching shoulder)? Oh and by the way Beckett made his debut last night in Dodger Blue and he was well, Beckett. He served up a homer to the first batter he faced, gave up three runs in 5 2/3rds and took the loss.

Josh Beckett will receive $15,750,000.00 per year through 2014.

And then would you cap off your shopping spree with an outfielder of enormous athletic talent who two days before underwent a surgical procedure that takes at least a year (maybe less for an outfielder) from which to recover?

Carl Crawford is owed $102,500,000.00 through 2017.

I’m not really sure about such things but then again I’m not a baseball executive or even an analyst, or TV commentater and nowhere near an expert. I’m just a guy who’s been watching and loving this game since Ted Williams was playing left field for the Red Sox!

And I do know one thing which is the best part of this whole damn deal, and that is that this guy,

Excited by the Dodgers spending spree, Vince Skully announced he will return to the booth next year to announce Dodger games.

will be back! And that my friends is worth a billion dollars of Dodger money! So I guess they made out after all!

 And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, August 28,2012.

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I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet…..

Posted on August 26, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls may I direct your attention to 4 Yawkey Way in Boston where, yesterday, the Red Sox management blew up the 2012 version of the Boston Red Sox. That’s right folks, that rumble you heard and that earth you felt moving under your feet is the Red Sox setting the charges and detonators which signal that enough is enough!

The Los Angeles Dodgers showed up yesterday and they brought Christmas to New England exactly four months early!

Leaving smiles on the faces of this man.

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington.

And this man,

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Red Sox Director of Baseball Operations Larry Luchinno.

And there is no doubt these two fellows are pretty happy as well.

Red Sox principal owner John Henry and Vice-President Tom Werner.

And as for these folks,

Well 71% of them who voted yesterday in an on-line survey of the Boston Globe agree with this statement, “the team needed to clean house and this was a great way to do it.”

In case you slept all day yesterday or just returned from laying on the beach in Bali, the Red Sox shipped Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to the inhabitants of LA, LA Land in exchange for first baseman James Loney , infield prospect Ivan De Jesus Jr, pitching prospect Allen Webster and two players to be named later, purported to be outfield/first base prospect Jerry Sands and pitching prospect Rubby De La Rosa.

The two keys here are Webster (ranked as the Dodgers second best prospect by Baseball America) and De La Rosa who has been known to crack 100 mph on the gun and is just returning from Tommy John surgery.

The 6′ 3″ Webster is 22 years old and was 6-8 with a 3.55 ERA this year for the Dodgers double A Chattanooga Lookout squad this year.

 De La Rosa was 4-5 last year for the Dodgers with a 3.71 ERA before his Tommy John surgery. He struck out 60 batters in 60 2/3 innings.

The most amazing part of this deal is that the Dodgers are eating all but $11,000,000.00 of the $270,000,000.00 owed to Gonzalez, Beckett and Crawford. Let that sink in for a minute, all but 11 mil of it! Thus wiping the slate clean and delivering the Red Sox from the financial burden that was a part of Theo Epstein’s legacy!

So what now? It is clear that the Sox are looking beyond 2012. They put Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury on waivers and if they are in the market to trade them, I believe they will wait and entertain offers throughout the winter. The larger question will be how will they re-tool.

For the rest of the season they will take a look at some kids and that will be fun. Come winter they will get down to the business of rebuilding the team. It seems clear that Dustin Pedroia is now the face of the franchise. What to do with Papi? His Achilles is bothering him again and a return to the DL is likely. Does this bring his price down and the potential of a two-year deal at say 15-20 mil? I’d do it, but will he, you know that crazy respect thing he’s got going.

Then comes Ellsbury, do you trade him or sign him. This is the most interesting one and I believe that the way they handle this situation will be a bellweather to their modus operandi.

Ellsbury becomes a free agent after 2013.

The current trend with big name free agents is many, many years at mucho, mucho, mucho dollars! The Red Sox were caught up in it and it didn’t work. Do you think the Red Sox failure at this aspect of the game will stop other teams from doing it? I think not, after all look at the Dodgers! They are on course to make the Red Sox and the Yankees look like cheapskates! So then how do you compete?

Not that anyone has asked me but I say you give a bit more money but far fewer years. Just for fun, let’s just say Ellsbury does not sign, stays and next year returns to his MVP type form of 2010. That will place him in the 20 million dollar 8-10 year contract range wouldn’t you say? I would offer him 60 mil for two years and a club option for the third year with a 5 million dollar buy out! Crazy? Maybe but that makes him 32 at the end of two years with still another crack at free agency! Anyway you get my point! Taken the given that it’s all crazy, I am willing to up the craziness only not commit to it for as long a time. Will Ellsbury’s agent, the lovely Scott Boras buy it? Probably not, but I’d spend 2013 feeling him out and if it’s a no go….That July trading deadline could be fun!

And what about Bobby V? A simple question, is he part of the soulution or part of the problem? I think he’s part of the problem, case closed! Thanks Bobby and good night!

Christmas came to New England yesterday and I liked what Santa left, I like even more what he took!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, Auguyst 26, 2012.

 

 

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Roger the Dodger, oops, I mean Red Sox, no wait Blue Jay, noooooo, Yankee or is it Astro?…No it’s DODGER!!!!!

Posted on August 24, 2012 by fenwaypark100

In a week which saw Johnny Pesky laid to rest, the Red Sox and their fans bid him adieu in a poignant Fenway Park moment, Roger Clemens made his way back on to the baseball stage. Talk about a study in contrasts.

The Red Sox players all wore number 6 to honor the Red Sox great Tuesday night.

Roger Clemens announces he will return to baseball and pitch with the Sugarland Skeeters an independent minor league team in the Atlantic League.

You remember him right? Well in case you’ve forgotten…..

It was almost 30 years ago today, when the Rocket taught the band to play…..

He’s been going in and out of style….. 

But he’s guaranteed to raise a smile….

So let me introduce to you…..The One and Only…..

Why would a 50-year-old guy who’s made $150,000,000.00 in baseball want to come back? He claims it’s just to “have a little fun”. Really? Have a little fun huh? Wait but he also said he’s not “ready to pitch in the major leagues, just yet”.  Just yet Rog? So which is it to “have a little fun” or is it the first step back to the bigs?

Well there is one thing that is motivating this step in the career of One and Only. One thing and one thing only!

 

In December, One and Onlys’ name will appear, for the first time, on the ballot for consideration for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame come next July. For purposes of clarification, this is how it works. First a player must play for a minimum of ten seasons in the major leagues. After he is retired for five seasons his name makes its first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot. He will remain on that ballot for a maximum of 15 years, as long as he receives at least 5% of the vote. If he fails to make 5% of the vote, his name is removed from consideration; if 75% of the voting members of the BBWAA ( Baseball Writers Association of America) put an “X” next to a player’s name, he’s in!

Now here’s the deal, there are 45 names on the ballot which will be cast in December, 32 of which appear for the first time. Of those 32 first timers between 20-25 will not receive the 5% required for future consideration. However, this years first time ballot is historic because the following names appear, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and of course the aforementioned One and Only. Each of these players have the numbers to be “first time inductees” which would have made the July 2013 induction one of the most historic of all time. However these three former players have another thing in common.

Their propensity to stick or have somebody else stick, needles in their tushy, loaded with things that will help them perform better has left an unagreeable taste in the mouths of the BBWAA and thus none of them will be inducted come next July. Oh they’ll stay on the ballot but this mess will just continue to linger as the BBWAA simply bides and buys time.

You may or may not be aware that ole One and Only retired from the Houston Astros.

One and Only won 354 games in the major leagues, (ninth all time), seven Cy Young Awards and on his numbers is a stone cold lock for Hall of Fame induction his first time on the ballot.

He is also under a personal services contract with those same Astros. The Astros just fired their manager and the owner said that something has to be done to get more tushys in the seats at Minute Maid Park. Hmmmmmm can you smell what ole One and Only and the Astros have cooking? I’m sure you can!

First, guess what happens if One and Only appears in one game this year, just one game? That’s right, his name comes off the Hall of Fame ballot and will not appear again until at least December of 2017! Time mends, things change and so will the attitude of the BBWAA as more and more new members become a part of this elite corps of baseball journalists. So time is and will be on the side of those players tainted with their brush with needles.

As you can imagine, One and Only was asked about this comeback in relation to his eligibility for the Hall of Fame and if it factored into his decision. One and Only was quick to respond, “not one bit”!

 

 

Although I did not see this first hand there are reports that this took place almost immediately after he uttered the phrase “not one bit”.

As all of this unfolded, two men came to my mind. The first was Dad. I remember watching one of One and Only’s first press conferences in Boston back in 1984. Dad said, “they (Red Sox) should never let this kid speak without somebody standing right next to him, he’s either a fraud or he’s not very smart, I’m not sure which”.

The next was the late Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough who had his own nickname for the kid from the Lone Star state…..

And the singer’s gonna sing a song, and he wants you all to sing along, so let me introduce to you, the One and Only…..

Texas Con Man!

 The flag at Fenway Park flys at half mast honoring Johnny Pesky.

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, August 24, 2012, with thanks to John, Paul and BJ Weiss.

 

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Number 6 and the Babe, Interesting Connection…..

Posted on August 22, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Johnny Pesky 1919-2012

Last night Fenway Park, the Red Sox and the Fenway Faithful honored Johnny Pesky one day after he was laid to rest next to Ruthie in Swampscott.

 Everyone was adorned in appropriate attire.

Even Fenway.

Boston Red Sox players

Number 6 takes the field.

Fenway

Appropriately enough, the Angels were on hand last night as well.

Johnny’s son David threw out the first pitch after being escorted to the mound by former Red Sox second baseman, Jerry Remy.

David Ortiz caught the first pitch.

The Red Sox are 112 years old, Fenway Park is 100 and Johnny left us at 92. His Fenway legacy will be forever displayed inside the park and out.

His number six will forevermore keep vigil over the foul pole which forevermore bears his name.

“Pesky’s Pole”, my Daddy told me about that when I was eight years old and Johnny was managing the Red Sox.

He played with Ted (9) and Joe (4) and Bobby (1). He managed Yaz (8) and he coached Pudge (27) and Jim (14). In fact, Jim said he was the best hitting coach he ever had. Imagine that a Hall of Fame power hitter saying the guy who hit as many home runs in his career (17) as the power hitter hit in a half season was the best hitting coach he ever had!

He is forevermore embronzed outside the park with Ted and Bobby and Domenic, his best buddies for nearly three-quarters of a century.

The Teammates.

The year that Johnny Pesky was born was the year Babe Ruth played his last season in a Red Sox uniform. And in fact, on September 27, 1919, the day that Johnny Pesky was born, Babe Ruth played his last game in a Red Sox uniform.

Babe 29th Homer

The Red Sox were in Washington for a double-header. Babe had but one hit in that double-header loss and it came in the third inning of the first game, and it was a home run, number 29 on the season, a new major league record! It was a record he held until 1961.

Countless words have been scribed in an attempt to capture the essence of this wonderful man and what he meant to the Red Sox, the ballpark, the Fenway Faithful, the game itself and indeed the nation. It is often futile to grasp and I suppose that’s why there are poets. However, I think that Johnny’s words best encapsulate it all. In an interview with Boston radio station WBUR back in 2003 he said simply,

“Dominic…. Bobby…. Me and Teddy. You know, we were known as the big four from the west coast, we were the rabble rousers. But we had a great love for the game of baseball and for each other.”

And we love him! Yup…………. It’s all about relationships!

Goodnight Johnny, rest easy, for God knows you’ve earned it.

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, August 22, 2012, Happy Birthday Yaz!

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A Tale of Two Pitchers…..

Posted on August 20, 2012 by fenwaypark100

The Red Sox dropped two of three in Yankee Stadium (the fake one) this weekend, putting the exclamation point on the death of their 2012 season. However, the weekend was, I think, a lesson about the future. Specifically about the future of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

Josh Beckett Josh Beckett #19 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 19, 2012 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Beckett took it on the chin last night 4-1, surrendering a couple of home runs to Ichiro, Ichiro! He is now 5-11 with a 5.23 ERA. He has not pitched seven innings since July 25th and he has not won a game since July 15th!

Jon Lester, on the other hand, beat the Bombers 4-1 on Saturday bringing his record to 7-10 with an ERA of 5.03. It was his second win in a row, his second consecutive outing of surrendering only one run and in his last 13 innings of work he has given up two runs, eight hits and has struck out 16.

What does this season, this weekend tell us about these two men?

Let’s start with Beckett.

Josh Beckett turned 31 this season. Coming into 2012, he was 84-37 as a Red Sox pitcher in his six years as the “ace” of the Red Sox rotation.

Beckett was 4-0 and surrender four runs in 30 innings in the 2007 post season.

His best year came in 2007 when he was 20-7 and virtually unhittable in the post season leading the Sox to their second “Holy Grail” in four years. In his last three post season starts he is 1-1 and he has surrendered 18 earned runs and 27 hits in 21 innings of work spread over two years and three games! He has reached the 200 inning mark but three times with a high of 212 in 2009. He is under contract to the Red Sox for two more years at $15, 750,000 per year. He appears to be beset with back and shoulder miseries.

Now let’s take a look at Lester.

 Jon Lester entered into the Sox rotation as a regular starter in 2008, and when 2012 opened he was 65-32 in that role. Of course he had already made a tremendous impact going 4-0 in 2007 and winning the deciding game of the 2007 World Series in Colorado.

 

Lester also authored a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals in May of 2008.

His best year came in 2012 when he was 19-9, made the all-star team and led the league with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He is 2-3 in the post season with an ERA of 2.57 and in his last three post season starts covering two years he is 0-3 surrendering 18 hits and 10 runs in 18 2/3 innings of work. He has reached the 200 inning mark in three of his four years with a high of 210 1/3 in 2008. He is under contract to the Red Sox next season for $11,625,000 and the Red Sox own a $13,000,000 option for 2014. He is a cancer survivor!

So what is going on with these guys? Well it’s entirely possible that they have both simply hit their “down year” at the same time. Virtually every pitcher has at least one throughout their careers. It’s happened to the best of the best. Hell, Walter Johnson was 8-10 in 1920 and he rebounded and went 23-7 in ’24’ and 20-7 in ’25’.

Walter Johnson 417 career wins.

Warren Spahn was 14-19 with the 1952 Braves and he went on to nine 20 win seasons after that, including six in a row.

Warren Spahn 363 career wins more than any left-hander in history.

Tom Seaver followed a 14-14 season in 1974 with a Cy Young Award in 1975.

Tom Seaver received the highest percentage of Hall of Fame votes in history.

What does all this suggest? Nothing really except one single thing. This game is hard to play and pitching is the hardest part of it. It is a punishing game which can and has broken the best of men. It will challenge the participants in ways that life challenges us all and like life, it requires an unfathomable level of mental toughness to simply endure!

I believe that there occurred this weekend in each game a microcosm of where Lester and Beckett are at, at this point in their careers. For Lester it occurred in the seventh inning of the game Saturday. The Sox were ahead 3-1 and Curtis Granderson led off with a double and advanced to third on a fly ball out. Granderson DID NOT SCORE! Lester bowed the back and prevailed looking like the Jon Lester Red Sox fans have come to know and love.

For Beckett it occurred last night when Derek Jeter stepped in for his second at bat. Jeter had doubled leading off the game and scored. Beckett had two strikes on him and threw a fastball. It was a good fast ball and was tailing in on Jeter. Jeter got his hands through the ball and hit it to the gap for another double. Francona commented in the booth what a good pitch it was and indeed it was a good pitch. Orel Hershiser then made a telling remark. He said it was 91 MPH not the 95 or 96 that Beckett had thrown in the past. In the past Jeter swings and misses.

Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are at a crossroads in their careers. I do not believe both of them will be with the Red Sox next year. It is not as easy to simply trade away a player these days with the complexity of contacts and of course the money, the oodles and oddles of money involved. But for my money I’s say Lester will stay.

Hell he’s a cancer survivor! And a lefty!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, August 20, 2012.

 

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