Josh Beckett Inches Closer to Return to Form in Solid Performance Against Mariners

Editor's note: NESN.com is going to tell the story of the 2012 Red Sox in Bobby Valentine’s words. Each game day, we will select the best Valentine quote that sums up the day for the Red Sox.

The Boston Red Sox have been waiting all season for someone to emerge as an ace in the rotation. They are still waiting.

The two most likely candidates to fill the ace role are, of course, the veteran staff leaders Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. While both have had streaks of effectiveness this year, they've also been far less than dominant, with neither one really pitching himself into a leading role on the mound.

Beckett, however, may have pitched himself a little bit closer to recapturing his metaphorical captain's armband with five innings of dominance. In the sixth inning, the wheels fell of a little bit — perhaps it can be chalked up to rebuilding arm strength after landing on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation — but through the first five innings, Beckett gave up just one hit, striking out four.

Only time will tell if a 32-year-old Beckett can fully recapture his youthful dominance, but it's clear that the right-hander is still learning to pitch to contact with decreased velocity and generally lesser stuff. In one sense, Beckett has been a bit unlucky, coming into Saturday evening with an excellent WHIP of 1.15 but an ERA that didn't quite match. Combined with a lower strikeout rate on the season, Beckett is not necessarily allowing more baserunners, but he has seemed to give up the big hits.

But where is Beckett now that he's had a chance to sort out his arm issues? His manager, Bobby Valentine, surmises that the former and (hopefully) future ace of the Red Sox has the stuff to rekindle that dominance.

"I saw that he's back," Valentine said after the Red Sox' 3-2 loss to Seattle on Saturday. "Just get his legs underneath him, and he's going to be fine."

While Beckett is certainly capable of making the necessary adjustments, the strikingly decreased strikeout rate — 6.43 per nine innings this year, as opposed to 8.16 just a year ago — clearly points to a pitcher who can't rely on the same shutdown stuff that he could in the past. The question now is how well can he learn to pitch to contact entering a new phase of his career.

Then again, maybe this is all much ado about nothing, and all of Beckett's first-half problems can be explained away by his shoulder issues. From here on out, we'll see which Beckett shows up.