Red Sox Report: Lackey The Key?
Saturday, July 23, 2011
While the Boston Red Sox anxiously await the return of Clay Buchholz, something unexpected has taken place. John Lackey seems to have discovered the stuff which made him successful in Anaheim which earned him the 5-year, $82.5 million contract with Boston.
Last night Lackey struggled in the first inning giving up 3 hits and 1 run against a weak offensive team in Seattle. But, to his credit, he settled down scattering just 5 more hits while giving up no more runs over the next 6 innings of work.
The win lifted Lackey’s record to an even .500 at 8-8 on the season. It also lowered his ERA to 6.28 on the season.
It has been a difficult season for Lackey until the last month. First, he spent most of his offseason in California because his wife, Krista, was reportedly being treated for breast cancer. It is entirely understandable how that would weigh heavily on his mind and quite possibly affect his on the field performance.
That performance was, in a word, dreadful for the first couple of months this season. That prompted a trip to the 15-day DL in mid-May with what was called a strained right elbow.
Whether that injury was legitimate or not or whether it was an effort to straighten him out mentally, Lackey has been much more effective since coming off of the disabled list.
In his last 5 starts, Lackey has logged 29.1 innings, allowed 38 hits, 13 earned runs, 3 walks and 25 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.98. Considering that one of those five starts was a 2.1 inning stint against Toronto where he gave up 9 hits and 7 earned runs, those are some pretty good numbers.
Lackey’s last 3 starts have been even more impressive. He has gone 19.1 innings while allowing just 21 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks and 18 strikeouts for an ERA of 1.86.
While Lackey never has had the dominant stuff of a shut-down ace, he always has been a pitcher who pitches to contact and gets hitters to hit routine fly or ground balls for easy outs. He also has been a gritty competitor able to grind out quality starts on a very consistent basis.
Is that John Lackey back and can the Red Sox expect this from him for the remainder of the season? If so, that will take a lot of pressure off of a starting rotation which has been riddled by injury of late.
-The trade rumors continue to swirl throughout Major League Baseball with the July 31st trading deadline just around the corner. Many reports suggest that switch-hitting outfielder Carlos Beltran will likely end up somewhere other than Boston because of the Mets demands for top prospects in return.
Beltran would be a nice addition to the Boston line-up but with Josh Reddick playing the way that he is, his addition would be unnecessary at the moment. Where a guy like Beltran might really help is if Boston were to meet a team like Philadelphia in the World Series. Beltran would give Boston a solid right-handed stick against lefties Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Still, don’t count on him winding up at Fenway.
-A name that has been associated with the Red Sox is Houston’s Hunter Pence. Pence is a solid right-handed hitting outfielder (.312 avg, 11 HR, 61 RBI) and with the Astros well out of it in the NL Central, you’d have to believe that they would listen to serious offers.
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It