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Closing Time: Josh Beckett blasted as Tigers shut out Red Sox 04.07.12 at 7:00 pm ET
By Alex Speier

Josh Beckett had one of the worst outings of his career. (AP)

DETROIT — Josh Beckett’s first outing of 2012 came with all sorts of red flags, as the Red Sox’ No. 2 starter endured one of the worst games of his career in getting hammered for seven runs in just 4 2/3 innings in his team’s 10-0 loss to the Tigers.

The Tigers pounded the Sox starter for seven hits and five homers, with both Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera going deep twice off of Beckett. The five home runs matched a career-high yield for Beckett, a plateau reached most previously on Aug. 23, 2009.

Even more puzzling than the line was Beckett’s stuff. His velocity was pedestrian, running mostly 90-92 mph, well shy of the 94 mph he averaged on his fastball in 2011. He looked like a finesse pitcher at times, since his velocity provided him with no real margin for error; perhaps that explained a cutter-heavy repertoire that was ultimately ineffective.

While it might have been easy to dismiss such a performance as a rocky first start, given that Beckett went to see two specialists earlier in the week about discomfort that he’s been experiencing in his thumb (a condition that Beckett said he has been dealing with for 18 months), the performance raised obvious red flags about whether the right-hander will require a stint on the disabled list.

That being the case, it is worth noting that the Red Sox moved Aaron Cook at the end of spring training to be pitching on the same day as Beckett.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE RED SOX

– Beckett, Beckett and more Beckett. Prior to Saturday’s game, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said that his starter faced no restrictions as he prepared to take the mound. He described the right-hander as central to what the team is trying to accomplish.

“Josh Beckett’s one of the guys that we’re building this team around so we’re very excited about him getting out there today,” said Valentine. “I’m very excited about seeing him pitch, yeah.”

This was not a Beckett around whom the Sox can build.

Dating to last season, the right-hander has now allowed at least six earned runs in each of his last three starts, tying the longest such stretch of his career. Last year, Beckett went 28 starts without allowing six or more earned runs before doing so in his final two outings.

– The Red Sox offense has been virtually non-existent against the Tigers in the first two games of the year. The team has scored runs in just one of 18 innings, a two-run rally in the ninth inning of Thursday’s opener. After collecting five hits in their first game of the season (a contest started by reigning Cy Young/MVP Justin Verlander), the Sox had seven on Saturday, and just one for extra bases (a Jarrod Saltalamacchia double). The absence of offense became more glaring given that Tigers starter Doug Fister had to leave in the middle of the fourth inning with an injury to his left side and the Sox were facing what should have been the soft underbelly of the Detroit bullpen.

– Kevin Youkilis has looked bad at the plate in the first two games of the year. In two games, he is 0-for-8 with four strikeouts and a double play ball.

– Mike Aviles is now 0-for-6 with three strikeouts through two games, and he also committed an error when he failed to handle a groundball cleanly.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE RED SOX

– Cook had what one talent evaluator labeled a “solid” debut for Triple-A Pawtucket, allowing just one unearned run in a seven-inning complete game, with his bread-and-butter sinker running mostly 88-89 mph and topping out at 91. His slider was a good pitch at 84-86 mph, and though he didn’t have his curveball, Cook was still able to carve up his Triple-A opponents.

– Kelly Shoppach, who tied a Red Sox record by going 0-for-15 to start his Boston career back in 2005, entered Saturday’s game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning and collected a single.

– Left-hander Justin Thomas made his Sox debut and collected a strikeout (against the right-handed Ryan Raburn, no less).

– Adrian Gonzalez is now 3-for-7 to start the year after collecting a pair of singles in four at-bats on Saturday. That said, he also struck out twice, and now also has three punchouts on the young season.

– Ryan Sweeney continued his nice start, going 2-for-3 with a walk. He’s 4-for-7 in his first two games with the Sox and has reached in five of eight at-bats.

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  • Patzfan1

    thjs team sucks

  • kenmax

    JUST THINK THESE EGO A@@H@LES MAKE MILLIONS AND YOU PEOPLE TREAT THEM LIKE GODS, THEY COULD CARE LESS ABOUT YOU. MOST ARE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES , WHERE ILLEGAL DRUGS ARE OKEY, SO YOU GET A DRUGGED GAME WITH SPOILED BRATS. WAKE UP . SPEND THE MONEY ON YOURSELF OR YOUR FAMILY, TELL ALL THE EGO’S TO GO YO HE@@.ALL YOU FOOLS LOOK GREAT IN THERE OUTFITS, MAKES THEM RICHER AND YOU POORER. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003298438827 Daniel Bradley

    I can honestly say the Red Sox DO NOT HAVE THE BEST FANS IN THE GAME PERIOD! Red Sox Fickle Nation is more like it. We got hammered by an excellent team no doubt, but the season is in its infancy, it is a long year, and once they get things figured out, watch out! It is not often that a team has everything together at the beginning of the year, just watch, this team will be on fire this summer, let alone in the coming days!Anyone abandoning ship at this point has no right to even consider themselves “fans”. This team has the talent to win it all, and when they do, just say that I called it. :D GO RED SOX!!!!

  • FriedChicken

    beckett sucks

  • anguillaman3

    Same Beckett we saw in September…he’s just not that good…PERIOD!  No hitting….they get the starter out…and still nothing…ZIP.  Two runs in TWO GAMES….EMBARRASING!

  • RobDX

    pitching can be blamed, but this offense is doing jack bleep

  • Hesher

    You can tell, i don’t know if you watched the game but after every homerun Beckett had a smirk on his face, It’s as if he’s thinking who cares i’m still getting paychecks regardless of how i perform, Sorry excuse for a baseball player he really is.

  • lwinlc

    I don’t know if Beckett’s hurt, but his performance seemed desultory…I think the whole team is flat..how can this be after last year’s fiasco.  I’m worried.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/ZVFM2HRNC5CTO2OUXD4XTX65O4 Dennis

     Hey, new manager and coaches, some new players—got to give them some time. Can’t be any worse than last year’s start—-I hope. 

  • Mr Faber1

    team quit on valentine the day he was hired. they would play for madden or farrell or even francona team is destined for the cellar. starting pitching weak bullpen awful. youkillis is all done. no corner outfielders. fat slow guy at ss. catching extremely suspect. worst bench in league. i hope the pink hats keep coming. the real fans won’t. sweet caroline sucks.

  • Ronjb441960

    need to dump becket waste of money……..

  • Tchuyoyo

    better have that thumb checked out again, Josh. If Seattle tanks by June, deal Youk and some minor leaguers by the trade deadline for King Felix. If Cherington can swing that, I’ll be impressed.

  • Doug

    This guy is known as Mr. Posltive, he just finished reading the “Powers of Positive Thinking” can’t you tell, he’s all Red Sox after two losses, he thinks the Titanic has been sunk again, we need more like you.

  • Doug

    No Dennis, it won’t be, just all the faultfinding morons jumping on board, this is a strong club, some fans just have to have patience and keep the faith, I’ll worry in two weeks if we keep losing, but it ain’t gonna happen.

  • Doug

    It’s just two games, please don’t panic, we’ll be ok after two weeks, I admit we look sloppy and rotten, but Beckett isn’t going to throw like that very often, just keep your chin up, we’ll be ok.

  • Doug

    You really stick behind your team don’t you, just get a life and stick behind your team, you negative minded sniper.

  • Doug

    You are so right, Daniel, it just amazes me, every one gets on their fault finding mission after two games, the world is lost, we are jumping over the bridge, the Titanic has sunk again, you called it right the Red Sox Fickle Nation is fitting, and we’ll start winning soon, then the snipers, will say” I knew they could do it” with a straight face. 

  • Bielawski82

    Oh no, we lost what… 3 whopping percent of the season already, all is lost!  Red Sox Nation needs to grow up seriously, and give the guys their chicken and beer back!

  • Hesher

    I stick behind my team so i don’t know where your getting that from, BUT i REFUSE to stick behind a guy who think’s its FUNNY when he gives up 5 homeruns.

  • Hesher

    I could care LESS that we lost, i know we will eventually win games, not going to go 0-162 that’s for sure….But I don’t like Beckett, If you want to support a guy who makes a mockery of his team and thinks being down 7-0 is funny then you do you, but i’m not.

  • big93mike

    So what was “BEST TEAM EVER” last year is now “WORST TEAM EVER” by the same people this year. It is so predictable to see the over reacting fans jumping from the bandwagon after two games. Take a deep breath. They were really bad last April and ended up getting really hot. They faced the best pitcher in the game in game one and nearly pulled out a win. Their pitching might be a problem all year but I doubt it will be in the bottom half of the league. They are going to be in the top five in offense and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were #1 or 2.

  • Wha?

    Dude, how do you even end up on a sports site? So if Beckett had a decent game, would you have been “okey” or would you just have spared us the all caps rant? Were you cut from your little league team as a kid?

  • Anonymous

    Well…thanks to another effin Theo move, we gave Beckett what, $16 mil a season through 2014 lol….this team if effed for the next 3 plus years with these albatross contracts…Theo had an open pocketbook…the jackhole made ALL the wrong moves with it.  No owner is going to drop $150 mill. every offseason…this is an investment for John Henry and he’s pulled the plug on it thanks to effin Theo.

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