Comments on: I don’t want to rain on the parade. But…

by: tinisoli

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:14:46 +0000

And he’s also letting his catcher call the pitches. That may be the most important adjustment or change he’s made. You can see that all these guys put their trust in Varitek, and so far it’s working pretty well.

by: kinshane

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:14:19 +0000

ConsiderThis, the Mnookmeister is right, though. Beckett does look a lot better, but we can’t very well say he has turned the page until the chips are down against the Spankees, Angels, or White Sox. Then we can see if the “new” Beckett works against decent hitters.

by: ConsiderThis

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:51:23 +0000

You don’t have to buy into silly over-projecting fan-boy fantasy to note three major differences in Beckett 2007 over the 2006 model so far:

1. He has slowed his motion down, and seems to be in much better control both physically and mentally.

2. He is not relying simply on his amazing heater, but has demonstrated an ability to confound good hitters by mixing up a variety of well-located pitches.

2. His body language projects calm confidence rather than frustrated confusion.

He did have to struggle during that first wintry outing in KC: he walked four, throwing 94 pitches in just 5 innings. But he remained composed while the defense wobbled, and battled his way through to leave the game with a 3-1 lead.

Beckett has impressed me with his growth. I like what I see so far.

by: MSGiro

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 18:47:49 +0000

Can we actually just apply that to the whole team? It’s the second week of the season. So much will change between now and next month and so on and so on. Geez, after opening day so many of my friends called and said “Tek looks awful”. All of it drives me nuts. Come on. Can you really make an assessment after 9 innings guys? Can we all wait until at least June 1st? That’s my first official love em or hate em check-in.

Watch, if Dice-K dominates tonight the entire Sox Nation will be convinced he’ll win 35 games before the season is over and 3 babies born at Beth Israel will be named Dice, Kay, and Saka within 3 hours.

by: tinisoli

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 17:21:20 +0000

It’s always funny to me when people––bloggers, baseball writers, WEEI dopes, etc.––break out the “let’s not anoint so-and-so the next great hero just yet” argument, usually around the start of a season or campaign. Sportswriters seem particularly preoccupied with constantly reminding readers that, hey guys, things might not go well tomorrow, or next week, or next year, so stop getting all excited and happy about today. (Gee, really? And here I was, all set to drive over to Josh Beckett’s house to willingly become his love slave after witnessing his nice game yesterday. How silly of me.) At some point, can’t we just distribute a template to all writers with the names and details left blank? They could use it for Daisuke, Beckett, Barack Obama, Kevin Durant, and any upstart who hasn’t yet won the big game/election/contest or whatever it is (doesn’t the clinching game of a World Series count?) that qualifies. Really, Seth, this post had a very Shaughnessy flavor to it.