Josh Beckett, Courtesy of googleimages

By Kevin Hassett, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

I may not be our beloved Red Sox Nation President, Jerry Remy, but I figured I would address you all anyway on where are pitching rotation is at as we head toward October, where it counts, because we all know it has been anything but consistent this season.

Despite our two-game lead in the wildcard coming into this weekend, I was a bit worried about our rotation.  A month ago, I would’ve said a three-game sweep of the Rays, giving up just two runs in the process, would’ve been incredible. Not to mention our lead over the Rangers doubling to four games, and and still growing to 5-1/2 today.

These are not the same feared Rays, however, as the defending AL champs have all but packed their golf clubs for the winter. Following the series, Tampa Bay was a dismal 1-12 for September and in a severe offensive drought, having only scored two runs or less in seven games and batting just .207 for the month. Therefore, I have to remain cautiously optimistic about our pitching performance this past weekend.

Our pitchers have proven themselves this time of year before, however, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they all of a sudden have kicked it into October gear. I want to believe this is the case, and yet I just need to see another series or spin through the rotation to be sure. The Angels should provide a better barometer, with Dice-K, Paul Byrd and Josh Beckett taking the Fenway mound against the AL West leaders.

In fact, this is the perfect barometer, at least for me. The two pitchers I am not concerned about are John Lester and Clay Buchholz. They have both been pitching very well as of late.

What about our ace, Beckett? This time of year, normally, I am not worried. But again, forgive me for not putting too much stock in his 9-1, five-inning performance Saturday against the Rays. I HOPE, that he has turned it around, and at the very least has his confidence and swagger back. At least it has now been two-straight games without giving up a home run for the Texas-native. This after five-straight starts of giving up at least two, including five on Aug. 23 against the Yankees. We’ll see for sure where he is at on Thursday against the Angels.

As for the rest of the staff, there are loads of questions. Matsuzaka made his first start since June 19 last night against Los Angeles and looked sensational. I was skeptical after he gave up seven runs in 9-1/3 innings over his first three minor league starts, but had hope after the right-hander was impressive in his final start for Class A Salem (one run on three hits over 6-2/3 innings while fanning seven). Let’s hope we continue to see the good Dice-K, and not the one with the 8.23 ERA from earlier this season.

Tim Wakefield is still experiencing back problems, but may return later this week. Wake was decent in two starts against Chicago since coming back from the disabled list, giving up just one run over seven innings in his first start, a no-decision, before taking the loss in his last start on Sept. 5. 

And then there is Paul Byrd, who hadn’t pitched all year until Aug. 30. That first start was brilliant, six shutout innings against Toronto. His second start couldn’t have been any different; 2-1/3 innings, seven runs on 10 hits. Start three was somewhere in the middle, two runs on six hits against Baltimore on Sept. 9. Who knows what to expect from Byrd on Wednesday against the Angels?

While we don’t know what to expect down the stretch from Dice-K, Wake and Byrd, one thing is for sure; two of them are going to be in our playoff rotation come October, and we need them to be effective. Let’s hope those two earn those spots through strong performances in September.

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