(The following is being syndicated from The Captain’s Blog).
Maybe the grass isn’t always greener on the other side? While Yankees’ fans have been lamenting the historically poor performance of A.J. Burnett, Red Sox Nation has been home to an even bigger bust, both in terms of performance on the field and zeros on the pay check.
Following his latest meltdown against the Texas Rangers, John Lackey’s ERA ballooned above the six run level, placing him dead last (by over seven-tenths of a run) among all qualifiers in 2011. On a more historic scale, Lackey’s ERA+ of 68 ranks as the 65th worst rate compiled by a pitcher with at least 140 innings since 1901. In other words, Lackey hasn’t just been bad; he’s been down right terrible. Somewhere, Francisco Cervelli is clapping his hands very loudly.
Adding insult to injury from the Red Sox’ point of view is Lackey’s contract, which calls for the ornery right hander to receive $46 million over the next three seasons. By comparison, AJ Burnett only has two years remaining at $33 million, so financially speaking at least, the Yankees are in much better shape. That’s nothing to get too excited about, but in the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry, even small victories warrant a round of applause.
Tale of the Tape: AJ Burnett vs. John Lackey
*aWAR = fWAR + bWAR/2
Source: baseball-reference.com and fangraphs.com
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5 Responses to If John Lackey Is Having a Terrible Season and You Know It, Clap Your Hands
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TIQ IQ
If Beckett misses his next start, Lackey becomes Boston’s #2 unless you consider ancient Wakefield the #2 (I don’t no matter how bad Lackey has been this year.)
Lester/Lackey/Wakefield/Bedard/Miller – Holy ace-like #2 then three #4s and a #5 Batman LOL!
(Golf Clap)
I can’t stand the guy and his stats have been trending down for years but his wife does have cancer so maybe he just doesn’t have his head fully invested in the game. On the other hand, he might just suck.
John Lackey, will “endeavor to persevere”….props to “The Outlaw Josey Wales”…. Personally I hate looking at that grouper-like mug, he’s up there with Beckett and Papelbon in the race for the most obnoxious MLB player….
Did anybody see Cano clap his hands when he crossed homeplate today after the grand slam? I’m pretty sure we know how RedSuxNation/ESPN would have responded to this provocation.