Back to Back Issues

Say what you will about positive MRI results and optimistic prognoses, but Josh Beckett's back issue is just that: an issue.


Regardless of its genesis - and the fact that he claims it feels much better today - Beckett's back required a lot more than Advil on Sunday night, which is the worst sign possible for the Sox. Just take a gander at the Boston rotation without him, and you'll understand why:

1) Jon Lester (yes, you read that right)
2) Daisuke Matsuzaka
3) Tim Wakefield
4) Clay Buchholz/Kyle Snyder
5) Bartolo Colon?

That's right Sox fans, you're currently counting on a guy who hasn't even pitched outside of batting practice - as of March 11 - to hold down one of your starting spots. Not exactly the way you want to head into a title defense. Granted, no one could have counted on Curt Schilling's shoulder issues being as severe as they were, and no one could have predicted Beckett - a guy coming off a career year - would be down for the count before the season even starts.

But then again, maybe he's not down for the count. He is, however, all but down for the season-opening trip to Japan, which will throw the team's rotation into turmoil before their first game against Oakland gets rolling. That Jon Lester - a guy whose spot in the rotation WMYM has been questioned within the last week - is currently a likely Opening Day starter is a stunning turn of events, even for Boston, where hardball melodrama is a perennial pastime.

That being said, Beckett's back issues certainly flared up at the right time. Rather than have the unquestioned ace of the team - and, really, of the entire American League - gimpy before the season allows for preventative treatment that could stave off a much longer absence later. If the back spasms had started in, say, late July, it's likely that Beckett would have been sitting on the pine for a good 2-3 weeks, which would have created a gaping hole among in the rotation and left the uber-competitive Beckett frustrated ... which in turn would have left him more susceptible to future injuries.

Not that such an unsavory hypothetical helps salve the wound Sox fans are feeling at the moment. Quite frankly - all Bartolo Colon potential jokes aside - the Boston rotation until Beckett returns has a lot of question marks. Could Lester blossom into a true star with the additional responsibility he claims he can handle finally thrown on his shoulders? Sure. Could Dice-K become the international superstar he was at the outset of 2007 and then again in the World Series? It's possible. Could Clay Buchholz emerge as a strong rookie of the year candidate? No question.

Of course it's also possible that none of those things could happen and Boston could find itself on the ugly end of a big deficit in the AL East standings in April, looking up at both the Yankees and (you read it here first) the tantalizingly dangerous Blue Jays.

Sox fans just have to hope they get more "actualized potential" than "dismal disappointment". Either one is equally possible.

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