How Josh Beckett and the Star Trek films mirror each other

Josh Beckett’s tenure with the Red Sox is in sync with the quality of the Star Trek movies. Don’t believe me? Don’t understand me?

Follow along… it is logical.

Josh Beckett’s first season in Boston (2006)
mirrored Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Both were eagerly anticipated by fans:

Red Sox fans were getting the 2003 World Series MVP who conquered the Yankees.

Star Trek fans were getting to return to the Enterprise for the first time in more than a decade.


Both were trying to recreate a success from 2 years before:
The Red Sox needed an ace to fill Pedro Martinez’s shoes and replicate the 2004 World Championship.

Paramount needed a science fiction blockbuster in 1979 to answer the staggering success of Star Wars.

Both were incredibly expensive:
Beckett cost the Red Sox budding superstar Hanley Ramirez, a good pitcher in Anibal Sanchez and a big fat $30 million contract extension.

Star Trek The Motion Picture was, at the time, the most expensive movie ever produced. It’s price tag was around $45 million.

Both were initially big let downs:
Beckett let up way too many homers, his ERA soared to 5.01 and Red Sox fans shook their heads. “This is NOT what we wanted in an ace.”

Star Trek The Motion Picture lumbered along with a not exactly action packed plot. And the flight through V’Ger was the longest and most dull special effects sequence in history, rivaled only by the laborious introduction of the Enterprise.

Both had some decent numbers, but not what was expected:
Beckett won 16 games and pitched over 200 innings, which would be fine for most pitchers. But for Pedro Martinez’s replacement, it was a let down.

Star Trek The Motion Picture grossed over $130 million world wide and made $30 million in profits for Paramount. Impressive, but not even close to Star Wars.


Both had, in retrospect, some bright spots:
Beckett pitched brilliantly out of the gate, winning his first three starts convincingly. He homered in a game against the Phillies. And on September 21, in his second to last start of the season, he out pitched Johan Santana in a game where the Twins were trying to take over the Division lead. Beckett went 8 innings of shutout ball.

There are some cool scenes in Star Trek The Motion Picture. The Klingons attacking the V’Ger cloud at the opening was neat. Spock’s spacewalk and mindmeld with V’Ger was a cool scene. And in retrospect, the film plays like a very good episode that happened to have some overlong special effects sequences shoved into it.

Josh Beckett’s second season in Boston (2007)
mirrored Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Both addressed what went wrong before:
Beckett stopped relying on his fastball and learned how to pitch in the American League with his breaking stuff and location. And along the way reduced the walks and homers that plagued his 2006 season.

For Star Trek II, they brought in a whole new creative cast and crew. And (get ready for some blasphemy) removing Gene Roddenberry in favor of Harve Bennet was the best thing to ever happen to Star Trek! The Wrath of Khan acted like Star Trek The Motion Picture didn’t even happen. It picked the story up with Kirk wanting the Enterprise back and, unlike the first movie, acknowledged the fact that the cast was old. Now the age of Kirk was no longer a distraction but part of the story and it worked big time.

Both obliterated all of the earlier doubts:
Beckett’s 2006 made people wonder if he was yet another National League pitcher who couldn’t make it in the American League. And some people started pointing out that his regular season stats weren’t exactly eye popping. Nobody was saying that after 2007.

Critics wondered if Star Trek was just a TV show that couldn’t translate to the big screen. I mean if they couldn’t make it work with a big budget and Robert Wise directing, what chance did it have? The new producers, writers and director solved that!

Both were so much better than anyone could have imagined:
Beckett was hoping for a good rebound season. What he got was a Cy Young caliber season where he played the role of ace and etched his name into Red Sox lore.

The Wrath of Khan became the gold standard of every Star Trek movie and episode since. It was more than a good Star Trek movie. It was a good MOVIE. Even non Trekkies (or Trekkers) admit that it is a heck of a good sci fi action film.


Both had a cool bad ass quality:
Beckett didn’t just win. He won with an unmistakable swagger and he was unflappable. Remember how the Red Sox were down 3-1 in the ALCS and Beckett had to save the season? He not only won, but he barely broke a sweat. The Indians hired his ex girlfriend to sing the national anthem. He didn’t care. Kenny Lofton tried to charge the mound, and Beckett shrugged. Nothing phased him.

Think Star Trek is nerdy? Check out Riccardo Montalban as Khan, chest out and out hamming William Shatner. There was nothing dorky about dropping creatures into Chekov’s ear. And Kirk was at his coolest, out smarting Khan and finding out he was a dad. Even Spock showed a unflappable side, lying in one scene taking one for the team at the end. The Enterprise was never cooler.

It just kept betting better:
Beckett just kept winning. On September 15th he faced off against the Yankees supposed ace Chien-Ming Wang and won easily. He opened the Division Series with a complete game shutout of the Angels. Won the ALCS MVP and probably would have been the World Series MVP if he got another start.

Wrath of Khan kept topping itself. The Khan sneak attack. The Genesis planet. Kirk screaming Khaaaaaaaan! The battle in the Nebula. And just when the film couldn’t get any better, Spock had a death scene. Are you kidding me?

The ending was not delivered goose bumps but promised more greatness:
Beckett won the opener of the World Series and set the tone for the Red Sox sweep. When they won, it felt different than 2004. There was the possibility of more titles on the way.

Wrath of Khan ended with the funeral of Spock. But then the camera swooped down to the Genesis planet with all new life forming from death… AND SPOCK’S COFFIN WAS INTACT! And the “Space The Final Frontier” monologue was said by Spock, not Kirk. You know what that means: There was going to be an awesome sequel with Spock in it!

Josh Beckett’s third season in Boston (2008)
mirrored Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Both had an impossible act to follow:
How could Beckett top his near Cy Young winning 2007 season where he built on his reputation of being an all time Post Season pitcher? He couldn’t.

Could The Search for Spock even come close to the awesome roller coaster that was Wrath of Khan? Nope.

Both seemed like hollow facsimiles of the previous triumph:
Beckett got some big wins to be sure. But he hovered around .500 around most of the season and his ERA hovered around 4.00. Not bad, but not great.

There were some nice scenes in The Search for Spock. But Christopher Lloyd was a poor man’s Khan. And destroying the Enterprise and killing Kirk’s son just didn’t hold a candle to Spock’s sacrifice.

Both saved the best for last:
Despite some bad outings against the Angels and Rays in the playoffs, Beckett won Game 6 forcing the ALCS to go the limit. It didn’t have the cool ending as 2007, but Beckett did his job at the end.

The Search for Spock felt a little cheap and slapped together after Wrath of Khan. But the finale on Vulcan and Spock raising his eyebrow was a great ending.

Josh Beckett’s fourth season in Boston (2009)
mirrored Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Both were fun if a little light and less ambitious:
Beckett won a bunch of games including a terrific opening day start against the Rays and a complete game shutout against the Braves. He also showed his fire was there when he threw at Bobby Abreu’s head and got suspended. The Angels got revenge by beating Beckett in the playoffs.

The Voyage Home had no intention of topping Wrath of Khan. There was no bad guy and no great sacrifice. There were funny scenes in San Francisco and a save the whales message. It was the big screen equivalent of The Trouble with Tribbles.

Both were a nice return to form:
While he didn’t dominate in the playoffs, Beckett became an All Star starter and along side Jon Lester, it looked like the Red Sox had their aces back.

The Voyage Home was no Wrath of Khan. But all the crew was back and in uniform. Rand and Chapel had cameos. Even Spock’s mom showed up to say hello. And at the end, a new Enterprise was introduced meaning that the series was going to get a fresh start.

Josh Beckett’s fifth season in Boston (2010)
mirrored Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Both looked bad right from the beginning:
Beckett started the season against the Yankees got clobbered, being chased in the 5th inning. He looked bad and it wasn’t going to get better.

The Final Frontier opened with Spock, McCoy and Kirk singing "Row Row Row your boat" around a camp fire. It was worse than embarrassing. It was Mystery Science Theater material.

Both tried but failed to fix things in mid stream:
Beckett sat out a start in May before getting his butt kicked by the Yankees again. He was put on the disabled list after the Yankee start. But when he came back, he was dreadful, watching his ERA rising to 6.67 in mid August.

The Final Frontier went through so many different script changes and reedits that I am convinced that none of the actors knew what the plot was from scene to scene.

Both were so bad that you wondered if there was any hope for the future:
Forget being an ace. A 30 year old pitcher going 6-6 with a 5.78 ERA could be filed in the “he’s done” bin.

With the incomprehensible ending on the God planet, a return to the camp fire and a fat and old cast, the idea of another Star Trek voyage seemed unlikely.
Both made you think “better leave it to the next generation”:

Beckett was no longer the ace. Buchholz and Lester had that title. Should Beckett step down and give the Michael Bowden and Felix Doubronts of the world a shot?

Kirk, Spock and McCoy? By 1989 they should leave the “boldly going” to Piccard and company.



So where does this leave Beckett for 2011?

The good news is that Star Trek VI was the best written film of the series other than Wrath of Khan and gave the crew a great send off. So things look good for the Sox and Beckett.

Bad news is the NEXT Star Trek film, Generations, blew a great chance to have Kirk and Piccard team up. The film was a mess. Which means Beckett will probably flop in 2012.

However Star Trek: First Contact was a terrific and fun film. The Borg on the big screen? Awesome. Which bodes well for Beckett and the Sox in 2013.

The last year of Beckett’s contract is 2014. Sadly Star Trek: Insurrection was so forgettable that I forgot I saw it while I was in the theater. Doesn’t look good for Beckett that year.

And if a team signs him for 2015, bad news. I couldn’t finish Star Trek: Nemesis. I am guessing Beckett won’t finish that season.

A ray of hope for 2016? The Star Trek reboot wasn’t bad. Maybe he’ll finish in style.


Live long and prosper, Josh Beckett.

(How often can I combine two different childhood obsessions into one post?)

Bobby jenks and his bond with Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon

Today the Red Sox took a flier on former White Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks for some bullpen depth. How could it hurt?

But as Jenks changes the color of his Sox, he has a unique bond with current Boston pitchers Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon:

All three were the pitchers on the mound when their team won the World Series.

Beckett tagged out Jorge Posada on a little dribbler to end the 2003 World Series for the Marlins.

Jenks got Orlando Palmeiro to ground out to end the 2005 World Series for the White Sox.

And Papelbon struck out Seth Smith to end the 2007 World Seris for the Red Sox.

Personally, I can't think of anything cooler in all of sports than being the pitcher to end the World Series. More than a game winning home run. I used to reenact clinching a World Series as a pitcher on our front lawn... jumping up and being mobbed on the mound.

And I've written a few posts like this one and this one about my fascination with the pitcher who got the final out.

I can't help but wonder if they will talk about it amongst each other in spring training.

They MUST talk about it. Heck, that's how I would preface every sentence. "As a man who clinched the World Series... I will order the chicken salad."

Maybe that's just me.

Thank you Hideki Okajima

The Red Sox non tendered Hideki Okajima the other day, thus ending his 4 year run in Boston. It was probably time. He had a mediocre 2010 and pitchers in their mid 30s tend to not improve over the years.

But before he goes off (and as a left handed reliever will inevitably find work) I ask my fellow Red Sox fans to tip their hats to him.

Remember this was the guy who was basically supposed to be Daisuke Matsusaka's caddy. A fellow countryman to keep the new ace company.

When he let up a homer to John Buck on the first pitch he ever threw, it looked like Okajima was Japanese for "Bust."

He didn't let up a run the rest of his outing... nor his next outing... nor the next one.
In fact he didn't let up a run in his next 20 outings.

And he had that bad ass delivery where he literally wasn't looking at the batter as he pitched. I have no clue how that worked... but it did.

His ERA was 0.42 in late May.
By the All Star break it was 0.82 and he was voted in by the fans (presumably by Red Sox Nation and the Nation of Japan) to the All Star Game.

As late as August 8th, his ERA remained sub 1.
Then his arm started to tire and the league caught up with him.

Theo and Tito rested him for a few weeks so he would be fresh for the playoffs... and he delivered.

He was unscored upon in the Division Series and ALCS, pitching 2 key innings in Game 7 against Cleveland.

Then, in the second game of the World Series, in a tense 2-1 victory, he pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings striking out 4.

He looked like a potential MVP candidate before letting up a homer in Denver. But he was a key player for the 2007 World Champs.

So off he goes to begin the journeyman part of his career. But thanks Oke-Doke. You combined with Papelbon in 2007 to give the Sox one of the best 1-2 bullpen punches in Red Sox history.

Something I DON'T want to hear from Giants fans

I do NOT want to hear Giant fans before this game saying crap like “I’d rather see the Giants clinch at home.”

You can’t be picky about how you want your franchise’s defining moment.

When the Red Sox were closing in on the 2004 World Series title, I had a couple of people who were RED SOX FANS say “I wouldn’t mind seeing them drop a few games and clinch in Fenway Park.”

I of course beat those people with ski poles.

We had been waiting 86 years for a World Series title after every sort of cruel near miss imaginable and these lunatics were thinking “Let’s tempt fate.”

It was the equivalent of having food air lifted into a starving country and one of the recipients saying “I’m going to wait. I hear the next airlift has better food.”

EAT THE FOOD! YOU ARE STARVING!

I heard more of this nonsense in 2007. “Oh it would be better to win it at home.”

So which games was I supposed to be rooting AGAINST the Red Sox? And remember in 2007 they had played a tough game against the Rockies in Game 2 and a back and forth Game 3… beating a team that had rattled off an incredible winning streak. Yeah, better let THEM refind their mojo so you can have your wittle party at home.

I will not have any tolerance of such insanity.

You root for your team to win.
When the Red Sox celebrated in St. Louis and in Denver… guess what? IT WAS AWESOME!

The only thing that compared to it emotionally was when the Red Sox won the 2004 ALCS and celebrated… in New York.

If the Giants win tonight, and I hope they do, you will be remembering this moment forever and reliving it in your head over and over.

And you won’t be thinking “Ah… it wasn’t that great.”

Haven’t you earned this, Giants fans?

I remember when my Red Sox won the 2004 and 2007 World Series, I got flack from a few of my Giant fan friends.

One of them, let’s call him Greg Lee… because that is his name… said “You couldn’t have been excited by those World Series. They were blow outs.”

I responded “Don’t blame the Red Sox for making those World Series boring. Blame the Cardinals and Rockies for not winning a game.”

The person we will call Greg Lee responded “Wouldn’t you rather have the games be dramatic?”

And I replied “I had enough drama as a Red Sox fan. Between 1986 and 2003 I had enough drama to last a lifetime. In 2004 I had to live through the 3-0 hole and facing elimination with Mariano Rivera on the mound. In 2007, the Sox came back from another 3-1 hole. I HAD DRAMA! I wanted a title.”

Then the hypothetical person I have dubbed Greg Lee asked “Wouldn’t you rather win the series at HOME?”

I responded “That would mean I would have to root AGAINST the Red Sox in a few games. I root for the Sox in every game. The celebration was sweet on the road.”

So now let me turn the question around.

If the Giants win big tonight… would you be excited? Wouldn’t you rather have a close series? Don’t you want the games to be dramatic? Wouldn’t you want to clinch the series at home?

Or have you earned a blow out?
Have you seen enough close calls that you just want to win it as fast as possible?

The brand of baseball the Giants have played has been called torture.

If the Giants win the next two games with ease, I have a feeling Giant fans will be quite happy… just like I was in 2004 and 2007.

The Red Sox said good bye to a beloved player properly

The World Series MVP became an official award in 1955 and only two Red Sox players have ever received it.

Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell.

One had his Red Sox career end so badly that he couldn't be more hated in Boston if he took a crap on Paul Revere's statue.

And the other got to have a dignified day in his honor to celebrate all he meant to the club.

Not bad for a guy who was the expensive potential deal killing toss in for the Josh Beckett trade.

I am glad to see Mike not enter my "All Ungraceful Exit From The Red Sox" roster.

Oh the Red Sox TRIED to make it awkward... the aborted trade in the off season and Mike wanting to be released this season.

But instead we have a salute to a World Series hero.

Alas, Carlton Fisk, Luis Tiant, Fred Lynn, Wade Boggs, Dwight Evans, Johnny Damon and Roger Clemens never got this sort of farewell.

Maybe management is just better now.

Farewell Mike.
Thanks for the big hits.