These are heady days over on Yawkey Way, and the return of Beckett is just one more brick in the wall of wonder that is the 2007 Red Sox season.
"This is a real special group of guys," said Beckett, whose seven innings of stellar work improved his record to 8-0.
There is something distinctly Patriotlike about the fall and rise of Beckett in this special spring. He was the winningest pitcher in baseball when he went to the disabled list. He appeared to be bound for a start in the All-Star Game in San Francisco before suffering an "avulsion" on his right middle finger while throwing a pitch against the Orioles in what turned out to be the most memorable game of this young season (a.k.a. the "Mother's Day Miracle"). Remember, boys and girls, this was not a blister -- it was an avulsion.
The Patriot Way holds that a team will plug gaps with unselfish players when a star goes down with an injury. This is how you can lose a Rodney Harrison and still make it to a championship game. The Red Sox got some unexpected heroics when Beckett went to the shelf. Rookie lefty Kason Gabbard came in and threw a Billy Rohr-type game. Meanwhile, Julian Tavarez continued to dominate the Yankees and the Sox kept rolling.
Boston led the American League East by seven games when Beckett left the May 13 game. When Beckett threw the first pitch of his return, the Sox led the AL East by 11 1/2 games.
There seems to be no limit to the positivity. Kevin Youkilis is Steve Garvey. Mike Lowell is Mike Schmidt. Dustin Pedroia is Bill Mazeroski and Jonathan Papelbon is Dick Radatz. Manny is Manny, and David Ortiz can take a few days off without anyone noticing. Theo Epstein is Red Auerbach and Terry Francona is Bill Belichick.
The Yankees have no pitching and the Red Sox have a glut of moundsmen. Did we mention that Jon Lester made another rehab start last night, and threw 95 miles per hour in five innings of shutout ball? Where to put him? What would they do with Willie McGee?
