If this is the end of Josh Beckett, his tale is a tragedy

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Over the past few years, Josh Beckett‘s life has been a dark comedy. There were the fights with the media, the failure to live up to his contracts, and the whole thing with the fact he was one of the Red Sox who apparently were having chicken and beer over games of Call of Duty while the 2011 Red Sox burned.

But now, it looks like it will instead be a full-on tragedy, as the Los Angeles Times reports that Beckett has been feeling numbness in his pitching hand, something that could well end his career.

And that stinks. Because, while Beckett’s career has been in free-fall this decade, at his peak he was one of the best pitchers in the game, and, what’s more, he was awesome in the post-season.

In fact, it’s the post-season where, if this is the end, we will probably most remember Beckett. His first appearance on the national stage came in 2003, when he was the World Series MVP with the Marlins, finishing off the Yankees on short rest with a complete game shutout in Game 6.

That is more than can be said for many pitchers, but in 2007, he did it again, going 4-0 in his starts for the Red Sox, including winning the MVP of the ALCS, where he had a absurdly low ERA 1.93 ERA… which was actually higher than his ERA in the other two series he pitched in (although, admittedly, those series were sweeps where he only had one start).

Of course, after that, his career took a downturn. His postseason performances did a downturn first, with him going 1-1 with no ERA below 5.40 in the three series he’s pitched since 2007.  While he was a regular season All-Star in 2008 and 2011*, he was no longer the above-all ace he once was. Since 2011, in fact, he is 7-19 with a 4.76 ERA in the regular season.

But, perhaps if this is the end, we should try to remember where he was best: the World Series. In his three starts (so admittedly a small sample size) and 23.1 innings pitched in the Fall Classic, Josh Beckett went 2-1 with a 1.16 ERA.

And that’s impressive.

*Before the ASG in 2011, Beckett was 8-3 with a 2.27 ERA, but the second half saw him be a just-okay 5-4 with a 3.73 ERA.

MVP of Yesterday (May 30, 2013): Travis Wood

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Okay, so maybe Travis Wood of the Cubs wasn’t the MVP of Yesterday… but are you going to argue with a guy who went 6 innings on the mound AND had two hits… ONE OF THEM A GRAND SLAM!?!?

Thought not. Still, honorable mentions to: Nick Franklin, Jacoby Ellsbury, Howie Kendrick, Freddy Garcia and Michael Wacha.

MVP standings, as always, below the jump:

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The Joys of Strike Zone

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The most under-rated and overlooked piece of baseball television is the MLB Strike Zone channel.

You probably have no idea what I am talking about. That proves the above point about it being the most overlooked piece of baseball television.

Put simply, MLB Strike Zone is a twice-weekly (usually Tuesdays and Fridays, but occasionally Wednesday as well) injection of nonstop baseball. Available on it’s own channel on most cable and satellite systems that have a sports package, Strike Zone is similar to MLB Tonight, only with little-to-none of the talking heads and with zero commercials. It is, in many ways, similar to the NFL RedZone channel: minimal interruption, maximum game action.

Watching yesterday, for example, I was able to see, amongst many other things: the David Phelps‘ meltdown against the Mets, Ryan Zimmerman‘s first and second home runs (I only missed the last one because I did some channel surfing), several good defensive plays, the Orioles’ comeback and the start of the late games. I would have, had I just chosen one or two games and switched between them, missed a lot. But with Strike Zone, I saw more-or-less everything of note that happened in baseball last night, live or with only a short delay.

And yet, nobody seems to talk about Strike Zone all that much. Perhaps because it is relatively new- it just started last year, after all. Or maybe it is because it doesn’t seem to receive much publicity: I’ve only seen maybe one or two commercials for it, and it seems like MLB Network itself is more focused on getting eyes on the games they are showing on the network on the nights that Strike Zone is on.

With luck, more will start paying attention to Strike Zone, and, with luck, it could even be expanded to more days of the week. So if you haven’t already, check it out.

A quick aside….

Aside

…has anyone heard from Brian Wilson lately? I mean, like, is he still alive? Is he in the indies? What?

MVP of Yesterday (May 29, 2013): Dioner Navarro

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It was tough to pick who the MVP of Yesterday was, since both Dioner Navarro and Ryan Zimmerman had 3 HR nights. But I chose Navarro for a few reasons:

  • His team, unlike Zimmerman’s, won.
  • He had more RBIs (Six as opposed to four).
  • He also had a walk.

So, there you go: Dioner Navarro of the Cubs is the MVP of Yesterday. Go below the jump for the latest standings.

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Random Video of the Undetermined Amount of Time: Jose Canseco pitches

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In one game during the 1993 season, Jose Canseco pitched in the major leagues. It didn’t go well.

PACES! (As of May 29, 2013)

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  • Miguel Cabrera is on pace for 185 RBIs. The single-season record of 191 is held by Hack Wilson of the 1930 Chicago Cubs. The AL single-season record, held by Lou Gehrig of the 1931 Yankees, is 184.
  • Chris Davis is on pace for 53 HR. The Baltimore single-season record is 50, by Brady Anderson in 1995.
  • Jason Grilli is on pace for 65 saves. The single-season record is 62, held by Francisco Rodriguez in 2008.
  • The Miami Marlins are on pace for either 40 or 41 wins (depending on how you round it). Want to know what other team only had 40 wins? The 1962 New York Mets.

What does this mean? Well, nobody can be 100% sure, since keeping up a pace, especially one of historic significance, is hard. But it’s an interesting thing to think about…

MVP of Yesterday (May 28, 2013): Hyun-jin Ryu

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There are many good candidates for the MVP of Yesterday. Jean Segura went 6-7 in the Brewers’ loss to the Twins, Adam LaRoche had two homers and the two NY pitchers (Hiroki Kuroda and Matt Harvey) both pitched splendidly. But I’m going to go with Hyun-Jin Ryu, who threw a complete game shutout for the Dodgers in their win over the Angels.

MVP Standings, as always, under the jump:

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Crazy Question: Should Surgeons be in the Hall of Fame? (AKA: The Importance of Tommy John Surgery)

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A man who had a major impact in baseball passed today, someone who helped teams win championships and aided some of the biggest names in the sport.

That man was Lewis Yocum, and he was a orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports surgeries like Tommy John Surgery, in addition to serving as the team physician for the Angels. His passing has been commented upon by many in the baseball community, with some declaring that they owed him their careers.

Which leads to this: should surgeons and doctors be considered for the Hall of Fame?

Well, the answer is probably no. After all, they aren’t in this for fame, and to try and say what makes a “Hall of Fame Surgeon” is fraught with questions I don’t think can be answered.

But, let’s just consider for a second the impact that some of these surgeons have had on baseball.

Imagine what the world of baseball pitching looked like before Frank Jobe. Who’s Frank Jobe? He’s the guy who first performed ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction surgery, where a UCL is replaced by a tendon from elsewhere. You probably know it as Tommy John Surgery.

Before TJ Surgery, to have a dead arm was a death sentence for a career. Let that sink in and then remember the full implications of that statement:

  • Without TJS, Stephen Strasburg‘s career would be done.
  • Without TJS, Jim Morris would never have been portrayed by Dennis Quaid in a movie.
  • Without TJS, Hyun-Jin Ryu never gets out of high school, much less comes to America and becomes one of the few bright spots of the 2013 Dodgers season.
  • Without TJS, Chris Carpenter‘s career probably would have ended on Opening Day, 2007. Adam Wainwright‘s career would have ended in 2011.
  • Without TJS, Eric Gagne‘s career probably have ended in the minors. Same goes for Kenny Rogers, C.J. Wilson and David Wells.
  • Without TJS, Tim Hudson wouldn’t have won the 55 games he’s won since 2009.
  • Without TJS, Phil Humber never has his perfect game. Francisco Liriano doesn’t have his no-hitter. Neither does Anibal Sanchez.
  • Without TJS, Kerry Wood‘s career would have been an even bigger “what might have been” than it ended up being.
  • Without TJS, John Smoltz‘s career ended in 2000, with 56 wins and 154 saves never happening.
  • Without TJS, we MAYBE might never have even heard of Mariano Rivera. (There is some confusion over whether or not Rivera had a TJS in the minors, or if it was a different type of surgery).

Hmm… maybe surgeons should be in the Hall of Fame. At least Jobe should.

MVP of Yesterday (May 27, 2013): Kelly Johnson

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A little late today, but the MVP of Yesterday is Kelly Johnson of the Rays, who went 4-5 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs in Tampa’s 10-6 win over Miami.

MVP Standings, as usual, under the jump:

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