I tell you, in my book, the absolute King of Moves — right after the one where you tell a girl you’re in town to be a pallbearer for an old woman you once helped across the street as a Boy Scout — is when a pitcher advances his own cause by knocking in a run or two.
It wasn’t enough that Josh Beckett, in a performance that was the absolute antithesis of Schilling’s Monday night showing, shut down the Braves on 4 hits over 6, he had to put the game just a little further out of reach with an RBI double. And unlike a lot of other pitchers — National or American League — Beckett looks incredibly comfy holding that bat. Unlike, say, Petey, who looked like a 12 year old boy about to go deep-sea diving whenever he slipped on the batting helmet.
I’ll admit that after seeing The Former Mr. Tweeden get dressed-down by the Rockies last week, I was a little concerned about how — or if — he’d bounce back. Silly me. And with the Yanks losing, we reclaim that nine game lead.
But now, without Schilling, who headed back to Boston for an MRI, how does the rotation shape up? Sure, he hadn’t exactly been setting asses on fire. But if he’s lost to us for an extended stretch of time, we’re simply not going to find anyone who can step into his shoes, giving us what we expected to get from him. I don’t like the idea of rushing Lester back; I think biding our time will pay dividends down the stretch, especially since we still have a comfy lead atop the division.
