John Lackey

Alright, I'm finally ready to talk some baseball.

Not that I haven't been paying attention, quite the opposite actually. Because of my line of work, I find myself watching more baseball than ever before—on Mondays and Thursdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, not to mention the nationally televised games on Saturday and Sunday.

I see more of Buster Olney and John Kruk then I do of my own family. I even hear Tim McCarver and Joe Morgan's voices in my dreams, which as you might guess, very quickly become nightmares.

As the old saying goes: "You can't win the World Series in April, but you sure can lose it."

Sadly, this looks to be the case for the struggling Red Sox—possessors of one of the MLB's highest payrolls. Their struggles are due in large part to a fragile relationship between a developmentally-minded front office and a rabid fan base desperate for big-name players and marquee deals.

When done correctly, a developmentally-oriented system can lead to great results—enter the Red Sox of 2007, whose mixture of young talent and big-name stars led to World Series glory.

The Red Sox find themselves tied for third place in the AL East (10 - 11) as of April 28th.  And as April comes to a close, the Boston Red Sox season thus far seems to be summed up in three words: Feast or Famine.

In winning efforts, the Sox outscored opponents 72 to 54.  However, when tossing one into the loss column, the Sox are outscored 25-60, a dismal number.

After a dismal start to the 2010 MLB season, fortunes are starting to turn for the boys of summer in Beantown. With a come-from-behind win over the bottom-dwelling Orioles, the Red Sox have been able to rattle off four wins in their last five outings, quickly approaching the .500 mark for the young season.

So far, nothing has been easy for the Red Sox. Starting the season against the defending world champion New York Yankees, along with the difficult Tampa Bay Rays and a much improved Minnesota Twins, things have not gone the way Sox fans have come to expect.

The proof is in the pudding.

The Tampa Bay Rays won their seventh in a row by defeating the Boston Red Sox 8-2 on Monday afternoon at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have now lost six of their last seven, which includes this four game sweep by the Rays.

Red Sox starting pitcher John Lackey had his first rough outing in a Boston uniform. He went just 3.1 innings, allowing eight runs, nine hits, and one walk, while throwing a total of 79 pitches. Lackey struck out only one batter, which occurred in the third inning.

Boston has long since had a reputation for jumping the gun when it comes to burying its sports teams. Historically speaking, patience in the Hub has been anything but a virtue.

So when the media vultures starting circling David Ortiz after exactly two games this spring, I was quick to defend the veteran slugger, asking for everyone to hold their horses before rioting in the streets.

But now? Hit the panic button. This team's in trouble.

Let’s set the debate aside for the moment over the Red Sox's shift in philosophy.

Volumes were written this winter (here and elsewhere) about the front office’s desire to transition the team more towards pitching and defense.

What can be said with near certainty is that once Theo and Company decided to head in this direction, it was clear the club should spend its $80 million on pitcher John Lackey instead of hitter Jason Bay.

The acquisition of Lackey did several things.

While questions regarding Tim Wakefield's age and Daisuke Matsuzaka's durability continue to swirl around the Boston Red Sox during the middle stages of spring training, new acquisition John Lackey has quietly gone about his business.

Putting up goose eggs.

Lackey arrived to much fanfare but has managed to slide into the background during a spring training where the hot topics have included a perceived lack of punch on the offensive side and the battle for the back end of the rotation.

The Yankees' bats were on fire last season. They led the league with 915 runs as one of only three teams to break 800 runs scored in 2009 (the Red Sox came in second with 872).

Enter John Lackey, who's now a member of a revered Red Sox rotation. With Boston and New York the clear one-two front-runners for the AL East crown, the Red Sox could certainly use some ice-cold pitching to cool down their nemesis in 2010.

But will they get it from Lackey?

Here are his career numbers against some of New York's finest hitters: