If one relies on FIP, then over the past 30 days, Beckett and Lester have been the best pitchers in baseball.
Jon Lester leads every starter in the Majors with an FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching) of 2.00. Lester has allowed only 2.45 BB’s per nine, while striking out an awesome twelve batters per game-frame. And his home runs are at a more than manageable, 0.55 per nine.
Simply put, Lester the past 30 days has been dominant.
Beckett is no slouch either. His FIP is second in baseball at 2.36 over the past month. And watching him has been a privilege. Because when Beckett is on, he is as great as anyone in the game.
Josh has walked only 1.69 batters per nine over that stretch, while striking out slightly over nine as well. His BABIP has been low, .252, which has definitely helped. And since opposing hitters are still hitting line drives off of him, then luck is a factor. Although, Beckett has been great either way.
Both have dominated opponents recently, and it shows that their early season struggles were mostly built up on the ball not falling in gloves, but rather falling in as hits.
But don’t ignore that there are other factors involved.
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Awesome information. And these would appear to be sustainable numbers, as each of them have already been through their painful ST and April warmup which, barring injury, won’t recur this season.
Also, early in the season this normally solid defense was wracked with uncharacteristic errors and miscues, not just from Julio and Nick but from almost everywhere. I remember several which cost runs and games. That too has improved.
An interesting aside. Watching the dynamics in the dugout it appears Beckett, Penny and Lester are very tight, not in an exclusive way, as the entire team seems tight, but in a way pitchers share information. They are each fanatic about their game, and I wonder how much data and support is being shared, and how much this is contributing to their success. What an education for Lester. What an education about the AL East for Penny. What an education re: NL batters for Beckett & Lester.
It is obvious Penny is also benefiting from this mutual support, as he appears to be healthy and regaining his 2006 – 2007 Ace/All-Star form. Add in Wake, Smoltz, Daisuke, Buchholz. Phew!
As an aside: Smoltz fits in anywhere and has much in common with Wake, who is the Dean of the Dugout. Buchholz and Bowden would fit into this mix as the promising new kids on the block.
I wonder if Daisuke feels excluded by language and custom from this cameraderie, and if this is ultimately effecting his game. He may be learning English, but his grasp of the language wouldn’t allow him to “talk pitching” with Penny, Lester, Beckett.
Sure he has an interpreter, and Oki and Takashi are out in the bullpen, but it’s not the same. If you have travelled extensively in very different cultures, you will know how tough and isolating it can be. For the first time I realize how difficult it is for players coming straight from Japan, China, Korea, and how it may impact their level of performance.