Still, the long ball was the least of Way Back Beckett's troubles last night. Setting the tone for the Friday abomination, Beckett gave up seven earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. He's 11-5, but his ERA is 5.12.
``No excuse," he said last night, hours after he had been removed from the game. ``It was brutal. Just brutal."
Surrendering homers is an occupational hazard for a pitcher who throws hard and keeps the ball around the plate. Some of the best hurlers -- Blyleven, and Hall of Famers Robin Roberts and Ferguson Jenkins -- gave up hundreds of homers. But what's alarming is Beckett's failure to acknowledge he can't just blow away these American League hitters. Prior to this season, he'd never given up more than 16 homers in a season. In 2003-04, he pitched an aggregate 298 2/3 innings and gave up fewer homers (25) than he's surrendered this year.
Hate to do this, but we're looking at the reverse of the Bronson Arroyo Syndrome here. The American League is simply that much better than the senior circuit. Beckett's got electric stuff and a World Series MVP trophy, but he's going to have to do more pitching and less throwing to be effective in the AL in 2006. In his last three games against the Devil Rays, White Sox, and A's (not an offensive powerhouse), he's given up 25 hits and walked nine in a mere 17 1/3 innings.
Beckett disputed the notion, saying, ``When you make a poorly executed pitch, it gets hit. It doesn't matter what league you're in. The home run was a fastball and I left the ball over the middle of the plate."
Sometimes the hard throwers are also hard headed. When the Sox acquired this young flamethrower last winter, the only question was Beckett's ability to stay healthy. He had chronic blisters on his pitching hand. There've been no blisters this season, but American League batters are blistering too many of his fastballs.
