Felger & Mazz On: Josh Beckett's Return From DL
Tony Massarotti and guest host Adam "Pacman" Jones talk about the return of Josh Beckett from the DL. Given his last few years with the team, can we really expect much more from Josh Beckett going forward?
Massarotti: "We are now being led astray by Beckett's promise and by the hype of him being the #2 pick in the draft. By the fact that he was an MVP of the World Series at age 23. I looked some things up this morning and this goes back 2 years to the All Star Break of 2008. During that stretch Beckett is 21-12 with a 4.41 ERA. During that same period of time, Daisuke Matsuzaka is 20-11 with a 4.17 ERA. The numbers are almost identical. Think of how we treat Matsuzaka and how we've been treating Beckett. There are good nights and bad nights with Daisuke. Isn't the same true for Josh Beckett? I believe in bottom line productivity. It's all about the productivity. When Beckett's on he is dynamite. Josh Beckett just got a 4 year $68 million contract extension. I'm starting to wonder if this pitcher is the guy we think he is. We know the pitcher he can be. There are 2 central elements of being a good starting pitcher in the MLB that I look at: #1 is you have to be effective. #2 is you have to be durable. Over the last 2 years, has he been that?"
Adam "Pacman" Jones: "The overall statistics over the last 2 years have been underwhelming. We've seen him [Josh Beckett] dominate for periods of time. The overall time here in Boston has been up and down. I don't think there's much arguing that. He hasn't really been durable and when he has been durable he hasn't been consistent. When he has been healthy he's shown that he can be a guy who can carry you for stretches. The question going forward, and the Red Sox are going to find out soon enough as early as tonight, is 'Is he going to be healthy'? How long is he going to stay on the field? Because he hasn't much this year."
