Yeah, I'd say he rides for now. They'd definitely have to eat the contract to deal him. I don' t even mind Scutaro that much but Jed's been en fuego the past couple games.
IDK, there could be a number of reasons for that. AJ didn't have the postseason success. Also, AJ's a wildcard. When he's healthy, he throws a lot of innings and strikes guys out. But, with that, comes his walks, hit batters, wild pitches, etc.
He's done that 3 times and he's only had 2 terrible seasons (5+ ERA). Another thing people loved is how he stepped up in the postseason in '03 and '07.
If people thought highly of AJ then there's no reason they wouldn't think the same for Beckett.
And many discount Beckett now for that reason. But back when he was healthy and was pitching great, it wasn't wrong to think so. Obviously, now, he isn't in that group but I'll still defend Beckett because he's on the Red Sox.
I just don't think the fact that he's been injured is enough to discount him as a great pitcher. As evidenced by how well he does when he's not hurt. Again, I agree that he's not a prototypical ace or throw ace innings, but he's got the talent to be considered among the best pitchers. Just...
I agree that he's not a bonafide "ace", and idk who's hyping him up as this great ace, but he's a great pitcher. Also don't know what durability has to do with his actual pitching talent.