If the results of our Red Sox Madness tournament tournament tell us anything, it’s that today’s start for Josh Beckett could be setting the tone for the season.
After matching up the sixteen most important players on the Red Sox 2009 roster in a head to head, NCAA tournament style bracket, Josh Beckett cruised to a 63-36 win in the finals over Dustin Pedroia.
In resounding support of the notion that top flight pitching wins championships, the Red Sox “Big Three” of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka went 7-2 in this tournament with the two losses being Lester’s and Dice-K’s to the eventual champion.
Given that, as a community, FireBranders think that Josh Beckett’s individual performance will have the most impact on the team’s overall success this season, I thought that we should take a look at the collective projection from that community for Josh Beckett this season from our “2009 For Better or Worse series”.
Looking projected at the 18-7 record and 3.38 ERA, I think it is safe to assume that most FireBranders are bullish about the outcome of the 2009 season with Josh Beckett leading the charge.
Misc. Red Sox Madness thoughts:
– I had pegged David Ortiz as the projected winner when I drew up the brackets. I still think that his performance will dictate how this offense comes together more than other single player. I also think his performance has the most potential for variance this season. He could be “good” or he could be “Big Papi”. If we don’t get “Big Papi” production out of Ortiz this year, the middle of the Red Sox lineup looks suddenly soft.
– Jacoby Ellsbury’s run past Ortiz into the Final Four and the support he garnered in the comments along the way cemented the perspective that there is a significant responsibility he holds setting the table for the rest of this offense. We all expect his defense in CF to be outstanding. He’ll need to improve upon his .336 OBP of last season in 2009. Looking at the community projections for Ellsbury this season, FireBranders expect improvement in this regard (projected .361 OBP).
– The power of the podcast may be solely accountable for Jon Lester’s comeback win over Kevin Youkilis in the closest battle (45-42) of the tournament. Lester trailed by four votes as we taped the show and a single mention of support for Lester from Paul Testa propelled, catapulted even, Lester to the win.
– I hope you enjoyed our Red Sox Madness tournament as a way to run up to Opening Day and provide a different, more playful, lens through which to analyze the team.
– Congratulations again to Josh Beckett, 2009 Red Sox Madness Champion. Who needs “One Shining Moment” when you have a Josh Beckett montage set to the immortal Sexyback?