April 22, 2006

"162 GREEN BAY PACKER GAMES A YEAR":

Beckett feeling right at home in Boston (Jayson Stark, 4/22/06, ESPN.com)

Maybe it's fate that Josh Beckett has come to this storied place, with its ghosts and its history, with its 24/7 adrenaline monsoon, with its fabled 37-foot left field wall.

All men have their time. But not everyone finds his place.

And there is something about this place -- Fenway Park, Boston, the New England baseball repertory stage -- that feels as if it's been almost designed in the lab for this 25-year-old rocket launcher from Texas.

No matter how many years he pitches for the Red Sox, Beckett may never learn how to properly pronounce "Hah-vahd," or figure out how to safely navigate around a Boston rotary. But it's obvious he already understands something way more important about his new baseball homeland:

The magic of Fenway … and the fully enriched nuclear energy supply that is attached, free of charge, to all Red Sox paychecks.

For weeks, Beckett has been looking forward to playing in a place where he's been told they play "162 Green Bay Packer games a year." And now we're seeing why.


As he showed last night, he is still just 25 years old.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 22, 2006 5:23 PM
Comments

Mr. April

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at April 22, 2006 6:16 PM

Btw OJ:

Seen Lester's numbers for the Pawsawx so far?

Three starts. Not pretty. WHIP up near 2.00, ERA near 9

He might be in the Sea Dog's rotation before he's in Boston's.

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at April 22, 2006 6:20 PM

They certainly don't need him in the majors this young. The guy who'll be up and helping soon may be Jacoby Ellsbury in Center.

Posted by: oj at April 22, 2006 6:24 PM

All the way from class A?

They should've just given Stern the everyday job, he's a better fielder than Harris and Mohr, and he can't hit much worse than they do.

Hee-Seop looking good for the Pawsawx, .972 ops and 3 dingers. Playing him at 1st and the Greek God of Walks at 3rd gives the Sawx a much more formidable offense, tho at the price of downgrading their infield defense.

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at April 22, 2006 6:35 PM

Stern needs at-bats so they can see whether he's just a 4th OF. Pedroia culd take over ss too, if Gonzo doesn't get his BA up over .200. Choi & Youk will platoon.

Posted by: oj at April 22, 2006 6:47 PM

162 Green Bay Packers games a year? Sorry, my liver couldn't take it.

Posted by: AllenS at April 22, 2006 7:18 PM

Ellsbury is still in A ball, and Wily Mo Pena, who can't be optioned to the minors, needs all the available major league fielding/batting time.

The guys who will be coming up are the pitchers -- Delcarmen in the bullpen, Alvarez for spot starts, Hansen as soon as gets another pitch or the team gets desperate, maybe Cla Meredith again.

Posted by: pj at April 22, 2006 8:42 PM

Don't be surprised to see Ellsbury in CF and Coco in RF in the second half if they have a chance to win it all.

Posted by: oj at April 22, 2006 9:57 PM

81, right?

Posted by: David Cohen at April 23, 2006 9:18 AM

Well they did manage 82 home games last year David.

I suspect that if they keep hitting and scoring runs at their present anemic rate, the Sawx will only have the 81 games at the Fens this season. Maybe less if a game or two that won't affect the standings gets rained out.

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at April 23, 2006 11:22 AM
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