Written by Josh over at The BoSox Blog:
Holding pattern
Then Josh Beckett walked off the mound on Saturday during warm-up tosses and everyone’s heart skipped a beat, which just goes to show you how important a true ace of a pitching staff can be. You can have a little uncertainty in who’s going to play the outfield, but life goes on. You can trade an aging Curt Schilling for a young Clay Buchholz in your rotation without really changing much of anything. But lose an ace? That’s a scary thought.
Though no one’s come out and said it yet, it seems that there’s a pretty good chance that Josh Beckett will miss his Opening Day start in Japan on March 25. There’s apparently been some lower back spasms, some soreness and pain that hasn’t gone away just yet. They’re taking it day to day.
The gut reaction is panic. Josh Beckett might not be able to pitch opening day. But then you sit back and think about it for a while, and while it undeniably sucks, you start finding the silver lining. I’m much better at complaining than I am at looking at the bright side of things, but here’s my attempt:
1. Opening Day is about a week earlier this year than it was last year. OK, duh, but here’s my point: if Opening Day was a week later, who knows, Beckett might have been able to pitch. So when they say he might miss the opener, that’s not as bad as it sounds.
2. It’s inevitable that there will be some injuries over the course of the season. Wouldn’t you rather get it out of the way now? Anyone who was watching the team in August/September 2006 knows exactly what I’m talking about.
3. “Lower back spasm” sounds less scary than “torn rotator cuff” or the like.
The most frustrating part of anything like this is the wait-and-see approach everyone has to take. It’s easier when there’s an exact prognosis, when there’s a timetable in place, a calendar to cross days off of, and a return date to shoot for. But make no mistake, the Red Sox are absolutely taking the correct approach here. Inasmuch as a single player can be a team’s most important asset, Beckett is as important to the Sox as any one person could be. They’re not going to mess around or take any unnecessary chances, and while that can be a little frustrating when everyone’s chomping at the bit, if there’s one thing this Red Sox organization has excelled at, it’s being patient in these kinds of circumstances where some other teams might not be.
Here’s an interest thought to ponder, though I think it’s far too early and uncertain to make a big deal of it just yet: let’s say Beckett can’t start opening day. Let’s also say that Dice-K is unable to travel to Japan because his wife is going into labor. Who starts opening day? The number three starter projects to be Tim Wakefield, and you know what? Wake has time and time again put the team’s best interests ahead of his own, and much the way he got the ball to start the 2004 World Series, it would somehow seem an appropriate tribute to the man to give him the ball on day one if it comes to that. I wouldn’t feel badly about that at all.
I humbly submit, with Opening Day being a week before the true beginning of the season, with it being the wacky arrangement of two real games followed by a weekend of more exhibition games before the next real game is played, that it really doesn’t matter that much. On an emotional level, sure, you want your ace out there. On a practical matter… maybe not so much.
-Josh
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