Rotational force

This season, Beckett has allowed just one home run in 39 2/3 innings, far off the 36-homer pace of last season, the worst of his career. And the swagger he developed when he was known as "Kid Heat" back in Texas is back.

"He's got that cocky [attitude], which I love," manager Terry Francona said. "For a while last year, he didn't have that, and we noticed it.

"He's a great kid. When you say something to him, you're going to get something back, but that's when he's feeling good about himself. He should feel good about himself.

"He's working hard, he's getting results, and whether he loses his next game or not, that's not going to derail what type of pitcher he is."

But as good as Beckett has been, you can make a compelling case that the best starting pitcher in the league has been knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who is scheduled to start the series finale Thursday night after Daisuke Matsuzaka goes tomorrow. Wakefield doesn't have the gaudy won-lost record -- he's 3-3, in part because he gets an average of 2.8 runs of support while Beckett has been getting 8.28 -- but he is among the league leaders in several important categories.

Wakefield's earned run average is 2.11, second only to Oakland's Dan Haren (1.75). Opponents are batting a league-low .197 against him, with lefties hitting just .125 (6 for 48). The opposition slugging percentage of .303 is also the lowest in the league, Wakefield having allowed just nine doubles and two home runs in 38 1/3 innings.

Not bad for a guy who, when spring training started, was slotted as the No. 5 starter, behind Curt Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, and Jonathan Papelbon, who since has moved back into the closer's role.