I think Josh should take the advice of Jack and sit it out. Jeff let him play and look what happened.

I agree...

 

Jack has managed many pitchers and has been in the game much longer than Josh. One might argue that Josh knows himself better, but I see it as a father/son relationship. Sometimes the father knows the son's limits better than the son does!

Everyone is competitive... teenage guys that race each other and end up dying in a car accident are over-competitive. Although Beckett obviously is far from a life/death situation, it is still analogous to the aforementioned overcompetitive nature. I don't think he's competing with anyone on the team, though. I just think he's pushing himself because he doesn't want to be left out. He's competing against himself, in my opinion.

 

You're right - no one here knows exactly what's going on. That doesn't mean we can't have our stipulations. However, what I think seems to be the case here is that the managerial staff is playing it safe with him, so that he doesn't overwork himself. It's the same reason a manager would take a pitcher out of the game after throwing too many pitches - so as not to overwork him and/or possibly cause or make an injury worse.

 

Then again, we're all just fanatics on here - so obsessed with the team, that we think we're part of it. Is it really that big of a deal for us to act like we know the players on a personal level? :whistle

 

Things shouldn't be taken so seriously! :unsure :

I respect your opinion. Your opinion as to why Willis got the start over Beckett is about as good as mine or anyone else's. My opinion is that he had the opportunity to pitch Willis (with the off day it was good to go) or Beckett, and chose Willis because he has been pitching better this season. I dont think it had much or anything to do with the blister. Like I said, its just an opinion.

 

I hope I didnt make anyone mad at me or anything. Just disagreeing.

 

As for the idiots...we can all agree that there are some idiots on this board. The people I have had intelligent conversation with (well, their part was intelligent...I dont know how coherent my ramblings were) are not idiots for sure.

My opinion is that he had the opportunity to pitch Willis (with the off day it was good to go) or Beckett, and chose Willis because he has been pitching better this season. I dont think it had much or anything to do with the blister. Like I said, its just an opinion.

 

Actually, your opinion is fact .

 

I guess some people missed this excerpt from the Sun-Sentinel article on Beckett:

 

Despite having the blister as a built-in excuse for not starting Beckett, manager Jack McKeon made no qualms about his reasoning. McKeon said the blister did not factor into the decision.

 

It came down to Willis giving the Marlins their best chance at a series-ending victory.

 

"I would be unhappy, too," McKeon said. "Let's face it. You've got a guy out there who's 8-1, on his regular turn. [beckett] had a slight something, but nothing to say he couldn't pitch. We just decided we were going to go with Willis.

 

"You look at our club and say who's your best pitcher? Why not take advantage of it? No guarantee you're going to win, but right now [Willis] is the most effective."

 

So McKeon started Willis because he thought it'd give the Marlins the best chance to win, and not because of Beckett's blister. Whether you agree with this decision or not is another issue (I agree with it), but McKeon did not skip Beckett's start because of a blister.

thanks! hehe