Jason Varitek
Beckett gets caught off guard
August 19, 2009 | Boston Globe | By Adam Gilgore
With Varitek sidelined, ace’s routine is disrupted
TORONTO - Josh Beckett is a man who relies on habits. He follows a meticulous schedule of bullpen sessions and workouts and reviews notebooks full of scouting reports on the four days between his starts. It is always the same, every detail perfect and familiar.
His preparation crescendos on the day he pitches, when he meets one last time with his catcher, Jason Varitek, and his pitching coach, John Farrell. “He’s so routine-oriented,’’ manager Terry Francona said.
At 4 p.m. yesterday, while Beckett glowered about the Red Sox clubhouse, his routine unraveled. Farrell had flown home to Cleveland to tend to a family matter. Varitek’s name had been erased from the lineup because of muscle spasms in his neck.
Since May, Beckett’s routine has made him perhaps the best pitcher in the American League and pushed him to the fore of the Cy Young competition. With an untried formula last night, throwing to catcher Victor Martinez for the first time, Beckett produced his first clunker since June, allowing seven runs in 5 1/3 innings and adding unwanted drama to the Red Sox’ 10-9 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Beckett exited with the score 7-7, having squandered a lead once as large as 6-2. He blamed only himself and not the circumstances. His velocity, pitch action, and location all faltered for a reason he could not pinpoint, and the catcher was independent of that.
“Victor did a great job tonight,’’ Beckett said. “It’s unfortunate [my] stuff didn’t equal what he was doing.’’
Beckett said he had not thrown one pitch to Martinez, even in a side session. “That doesn’t have anything to do with it, though,’’ Beckett added. “I felt comfortable with him. The guy’s caught two Cy Youngs, the last two. He’s obviously doing something right.’’
On June 14, when Beckett allowed a season-high 11 hits to the Phillies, he offered similar praise about George Kottaras, his cameo catcher that day. He believes when he takes the mound, he owns his results and who squats behind home plate is not a deterrent.
Numbers, though, suggest otherwise. In the three starts Beckett has made this season with either Kottaras or Martinez catching, he is 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA while allowing 30 hits in 16 innings. In the 21 starts he has made with Varitek, he is 14-2 with a 2.52 ERA.
Last night, Beckett insisted, he pitched poorly only because he had a bad night, simple as that.
“I didn’t have much,’’ Beckett said. “It was one of those days. It doesn’t have anything to do with health. I feel great. It’s just the stuff wasn’t there. I felt fine. I had energy and everything like that. When I went to make my pitch, it just didn’t come out.’’
When the Red Sox scored four runs by the second inning, they felt assured of victory. “Not that the game is over,’’ Francona said. “Good for us. We got the lead. We got Beckett on the mound.’’
Beckett had allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of his last 17 starts. In six of his last 12, he had allowed none.
Immediately, Beckett began to squander the lead. Randy Ruiz slammed a solo home run in the second. In the next inning, Travis Snider cranked one, also to the opposite field. The Blue Jays pounced on pitches early in counts, walloping fastballs that hummed at 91 or 92 miles per hour, a few ticks below his typical velocity.
Rod Barajas ended Beckett’s night with a home run, a two-run blast to center with one out in the sixth. By the end, Beckett had allowed nine hits and three home runs.
“It was a laser show out there when I was on the mound,’’ he said.
“He’s human,’’ left fielder Jason Bay said. “People forget that.’’
Before the game, Beckett stuck to his routine as much as he could. When Varitek was scratched, Martinez talked to Varitek for about five minutes about what pitches to call for Beckett. Martinez and Beckett chatted for about the same amount of time, going over signals.
“It wasn’t hard at all,’’ Martinez said. “He didn’t bring his best stuff. He was missing location a lot.’’
In the end, Beckett’s substandard outing may have cost him ground to Zack Greinke and Roy Halladay - today’s starter for Toronto - in the Cy Young race. But the Red Sox won and improved to 18-6 in games Beckett starts. That record is a reminder of just how good Beckett has been this year and just how much of an aberration last night was.
“A good pitcher is going to have that happen to him once in a while,’’ first baseman Kevin Youkilis said. “We won’t get that kind of performance from Josh, hopefully, the rest of the season.’’