Please, no more “consistent” starts from Josh Beckett

It must be the end of the first.

There were a lot of late-arriving fans at Fenway Park Friday night, and they had the right idea: this year, with Josh Beckett pitching, the worst parts of the game for the Red Sox almost always come early.

Beckett had another dismal start to his start, and the Red Sox were down 4-0 to the Blue Jays after just two innings. A few hours before the game, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington had told Tony Massarotti of 98.5 The Sports Hub that Beckett has “been very consistent if you look at the entire year.”

That seems like a stretch, unless you consider the early parts of games – when the Texas Chicken King has been consistently bad.

Beckett allowed two runs in the first inning Friday, raising his first-inning ERA to 10.69 for the season. He allowed two more in the second, and has now averaged 6.65 runs allowed over the first three innings of his 16 starts. The fact he does far better from the fourth inning on is of little consolation; Beckett consistently puts the Red Sox in an early hole, and the team has won just six of his starts.

The Sox need Beckett to raise his game -- before it's too late.

This latest lackluster start was especially frustrating coming on the heels of Boston's exhilarating walk-off win Thursday, and left fans wondering once again if the Red Sox can ever turn this season around. It also again raises the question of how long it will take before Cherington and the Red Sox brass say enough is enough and dump the Texas Chicken King.

When Massarotti asked Cherington Friday whether Beckett (now 5-8) or fellow underachieving starter Jon Lester (5-7) was on the trading block,the GM would not confirm either way but did say that the clubhouse problems that helped derail last year's team have not been a factor in this year's struggles.

“I haven't seen anything from anybody in our clubhouse this year, including the pitchers, that has been anything but professionalism and trying to get the job done on the field,” Cherington said.

The beer is gone -- but where are the wins?

There may be no longer be beer and chicken to worry about, but with the team now 12-22 in games pitched by its two “aces,” more than the menu has to change if Boston expects to stay in the wildcard hunt.

Tomorrow it's Lester's turn in the rotation. The trade deadline is July 31. Red Sox Nation is watching.

Reflections on Youk

Youk never hid his emotion.

Even with the Red Sox playing better and making their long-awaited push toward the top of the AL East, my next trip to Fenway for the upcoming Yankees series will feel somewhat empty. No matter how well the team does the rest of the summer, there will be a big void in my lungs and my heart.

That's what no more YOOOOOOUK will do to a guy.

I knew it was coming, of course, but hearing about the trade that sent Kevin Youkilis to the White Sox last Sunday afternoon still left me shocked. I had just returned from New York City, of all places, and had given up my tickets for that day's home game against the Braves. Hearing details about the contest, in which Youkilis hustled his way to an infield single, an RBI triple, and sparkled afield, I ached to have missed it. It was the quintessential Youk game, complete with a dirty uniform at the end.

I was happy that word about his pending trade had already broken beforehand, so that fans could acknowledge his last game for Boston with several standing ovations. Mine came from afar, and it was far from my first.

Even when it wasn't pretty, Youk produced.

Everything Youkilis did on the field was indicative of his passion for the game. The clutch hits and terrific defense at third and first base through the years were his most important attributes, but his habit of running out every ground ball and playing hurt as often as possible further endured him to fans.


Dirty uniforms were a Youk calling card, along with post-strikeout scowls. J.D. Drew probably cared a lot if he grounded out with the bases loaded or hit a grand slam, but you never knew it. In Youk's case, you knew.


As a dad of two young kids, I wasn't a huge fan of Youkilis’ habit of throwing helmets in the dugout after poor at-bats, but I loved using his hustle and heads-up play as an example for Jason and Rachel. “Watch Youk, he plays the game right,” I’d tell them, and invariably he would do something to back this up.


His off-the-field activities were also befitting a true hero. Rather than just lending his name to causes, he started up “Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids” to partner with children’s charities and organizations focused on pediatric cancer research, therapeutic horseback riding, and more (http://www.youkskids.org/index.html). Teaming up with our family’s favorite bookstore, the New England Mobile Book Fair, he championed "Youk's Kids Reading Group” to further the importance of literacy among young people.

Youk helped bring two titles to Boston.

He was even a perfect anecdote for anti-Semitism. As a kid and an adult, I've grown accustomed to defending the athletic legacy of fellow Jews in response to obnoxious quips about a supposed deficiency in this area. Youk was one of several Jewish players to emerge on the Red Sox in recent years – and one of the grittiest, most popular players on the club to boot. In my eyes, every "YOOOOOOUK!" that rattled through Fenway and other ballparks was a slam against stereotypes (even if the fans doing the yelling knew nothing of his religion).


The chant held special meaning to me for another reason too. It was infectious and fun, of course, it also brought me back to my childhood. One of my favorite players as a kid was Dwight Evans, who fans had saluted for great feats afield or at-bat with yells of “DEWWWWWWWEY!" If I closed my eyes after a Youkilis homer, I could easily imagine myself back in 1981 when $8 was all I needed to get into Fenway.


Watching those last few disgruntled weeks, when the emergence of rookie Will Middlebrooks at third made Youk's departure a foregone conclusion, was difficult. Youkilis had returned from his latest DL stint without his quick and selective bat, and it was hard to watch him arguing with umpires and glaring his way through games.

If it was near him, Youk caught it.

The trade was the best thing for him, and I find myself checking the box scores every night to watch his progress.
And when the White Sox come to Fenway in a couple weeks, you better believe my kids and I will be yelling for “YOOOOUK!" whether there in person or watching at home. The challenge will come if he does something to hurt the home team, but I imagine even then I’ll give him his due.


He’s certainly earned it.