2011 Red Sox Community Projections: The Lackey Disaster

by Ben Buchanan on Jan 2, 2012 1:30 PM EST in Community Projections

Few players on the Red Sox had a more impressive year than John Lackey.

Oh, you may laugh and scoff, but consider this: only twice before has a pitcher managed 160 innings of work while playing as terribly as John Lackey did according to ERA+. The other two, for the record, are Jose Lima in '05 and Hub Pruett in 1927. Aside from a short stint of average pitching in July, Lackey was completely without merit for the season, offering up 6+ runs about as often as he managed a quality start.

Yes, John Lackey was historically bad, and that is, in its own special way, impressive. It's also unpredictable, it turns out.

	IP	Wins	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	FIP
John Lackey	160	12	6.41	1.62	6.08	3.15	4.71

Username	IP	Wins	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	FIP
RSNexile	220	15	3.90	1.30	6.70	2.80	3.80
Drabidea	210	15	4.00	1.32	6.85	2.40	3.70
Brogshan	208	15	3.79	1.28	6.99	2.43	3.85
Tarrsk	216	14	4.09	1.32	6.95	2.63	3.88
Jason A	213	19	3.69	1.28	7.04	2.45
Dsharp	222	16	3.93	1.29	6.82	2.37	3.73
Rogue Nine	218	17	3.82	1.25	7.20	2.30	3.95
GroundRuleTriple90	210	16	3.87	1.28	6.91	2.35
Totheights	228	16	4.11	1.21	6.66	1.98	3.69
Nuthinboutnuthin	211	16	3.81	1.34	7.02	2.92	3.77
Mmmmm	220	16	3.92	1.31	7.00	2.00	3.75
Theartolater	207	18	3.87	1.23	5.90	2.36	4.01
BoldandBrash	197	16	3.88	1.30	6.85	2.50	3.70
Remembering9ergods	210	17	3.98	1.32	6.80	2.80	3.85
Justin_Bobo	214	14	4.12	1.41	6.91	2.25
Steve Boyle	227	14	4.35	1.32	6.85	2.70
Mattsullivan	209	16	4.05	1.34	6.96	3.10	3.80
Westcoastredsox	223	16	3.94	1.30	6.75	2.75	2.80
AlohaSox	205	16	3.98	1.30	6.90	2.30	3.90
ThePanda	220	16	3.80	1.20	7.00	2.30
Gizmosandy	209	15	3.70	1.35	6.80	2.50
Alfredo	186	17	3.90	1.33	7.20	2.80
Royredd87	211	16	3.80	1.40	7.00	2.40

No, I didn't forget to add color. Lackey was just bad enough to thwart even the lowest expectations. Only Matt Sullivan even came close to being close with his BB/9, so maybe he gets the win? No, let's be honest, we're all losers when it comes to John Lackey.

You may remember that before the season started there was even some optimism surrounding our favorite albatross. He'd ended 2010 on a high note, came into spring training in good shape, and seemed to be refocused. And then the season actually started, and he went completely to hell. That'll teach us to hope. Carl Crawford, you're gonna have to prove it to us.

Sorry to start the year off on such a sour note, but we can always find solace in the fact that, thanks to his Tommy John Surgery, we won't be seeing much of John Lackey in 2012.

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Comments

Boy, were you guys wrong.

"Remember, it's not over until the fat lady drops one."

by n0va on Jan 2, 2012 1:48 PM EST reply actions

Depressing numbers are depressing.

by The Name is Dalton on Jan 2, 2012 3:19 PM EST reply actions

In retrospect....

… I should have just posted a picture of a turd.

The Year of Extreme Opinions
I apologize if this post has offended you in any way. Please retroactively ignore it. Thank you for your consideration.

by nuthinboutnuthin on Jan 2, 2012 4:20 PM EST reply actions

So glad I "forgot" to do this one

by BobZupcic on Jan 2, 2012 5:36 PM EST reply actions

I'm happy to see everyone else did as badly as me...

… usually, I’m the only one with no color at all!

I thought we’d never win it all. And then we went down 0-3 to the Yankees in 2004, and I thought it was the end of the world.

Wait ’til next year!

by AlohaSox on Jan 3, 2012 2:19 PM EST up reply actions

It's sad that Lackey would contribute more to this team

if his hand were bitten off by an alligator in spring training.

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash

by TheLoneDavid on Jan 2, 2012 7:25 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

It all comes full circle...

… to J.D. Drew and his alligator-killing ways.

The Year of Extreme Opinions
I apologize if this post has offended you in any way. Please retroactively ignore it. Thank you for your consideration.

by nuthinboutnuthin on Jan 2, 2012 8:12 PM EST up reply actions

be fair

The credit goes to the alligator there.

by RickD on Jan 3, 2012 10:19 AM EST up reply actions

What is the difference between fWAR and bWAR concerning pitchers?

Somehow Fangraphs has Lackey at 1.5 whereas B-Reference has him at a more reasonable -1.2.

Its hard to feel bad for the guy making 15M a year but…I still sort of do. I’ve never had a particular affinity for him, not on Anaheim or when the Sox signed him; he’s always been pretty tough to root for. But those numbers…just pitiful. Combine that with the wife battling cancer, the divorce and the public outcry over it all—that’s rough. You know he’s not trying to suck, you could see the frustration every time he took the mound. I’m really hoping that he can come back and be at least somewhat useful to this team after surgery—not just for the team’s sake, but for his.

by ritz on Jan 2, 2012 11:38 PM EST reply actions