Anyone who has followed the career of Josh Beckett knows that he is reluctant to change. Pitching coaches and managers have come and gone and all ended up throwing up their hands and saying that the best way to deal with the big righthander is to let him do his thing. Apparently, Beckett is now reluctant to turn the pages of the calendar as well.
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration but there is a very odd statistical anomaly in Beckett’s performance this year. Consider the following:
Date
Opponent
IP
H
R
ER
BB
K
HR
April 7
@ DET
4.2
7
7
7
1
3
5
May 10
CLE
2.1
7
7
7
2
2
2
June 6
BAL
8
5
2
2
0
5
0
July 6
NYY
5
8
6
6
2
5
0
Aug 8
TEX
5
8
8
8
2
2
3
Total
25
35
30
30
7
17
10
That trail of tears amounts to a line like this: ERA: 10.80, WHIP 1.680, K/9 6.12, HR/9 3.60
What do those starts have in common? Those are Beckett’s first starts of each month of the 2012 baseball season. It’s hard to believe that his ERA would be above 11.00 in first starts of the month were it no...
Original Story:
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August 14, 2012
