Was Lackey disappointed in his first season in Boston?
“Honestly, I think it was overblown a little bit,’’ the big righty said yesterday. “I’ve only won more than 14 games once [19 in 2007] in my life. I think I led the team in quality starts and innings. Whatever . . . that’s kind of what comes with it.’’
What makes him think the negativity was overblown?
“I’ve been asked about it about 400 times since I’ve been here,’’ he said.
“I’m not saying I pitched great. I’m not saying that at all. I definitely could have pitched better. Absolutely. I agree with that. I’m not worried about last year, honestly. I feel good about this year and I’m kind of moving forward.’’
He’s moving forward with a new body, a new defense, and even more offensive support.
Lackey was a little lumpy in 2010. Today, he’s considerably more sculpted. He did a lot of running during the offseason. He said he watched tons of “SportsCenter’’ while on the treadmill in Newport Beach. He said he’s down to 241 from 252 last year, but the differential looks greater.
“Boy, he looks good,’’ said manager Terry Francona. “Any time somebody steps into camp, whether they’re 22 or 32, and they look like they worked really hard, we’re thrilled. It’s not an easy thing to do. When you become a veteran guy, it’s not easy to change your body. He’s obviously spent a lot of time and hard work doing that. We hope that translates to the field. I can’t see how it’s going to hurt him.’’
Carl Crawford should help, too. In every way.
Lackey made a veiled reference to his new left fielder when he said, “I definitely pitch to contact moreso than some of the guys and I think our improved outfield defense will definitely help for sure.’’
There’s code there. Lackey is telling you that one of the reasons for his inflated 2010 numbers was the Sox’ subpar defense.
