Doesn’t matter what team you cheer for, you have to give this man credit. He made a full recovery from cancer, pitched through the adversity of having most of Redsox Nation (Sadly including me) questioning whether he was ever going to be a quality major leauge pitcher, and has become the Redsox ace and one of the best lefties in the game.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7790
Look at his stats, 10-3/3.14/101K/146IP/1.31Whip. Those are Allstar stats, #1 worthy, and remarkable for a guy in his situation. Not only have his stats come along way, but hes advanced a ton as a pitcher, going from a guy who always gets behind to a guy who attacks hitters from the first pitch. And his stuff itself has been much better as he got his legs and body back. Last year he was like 87-90mph 4-Seamer, mid 80’s cutter, good curve, but little command with any of them. This year hes 92-95 4-Seamer, throws a high 80’s cutter thats regarded as one of the best in the game, same good curve, and the ability and aggresiveness to throw them where he wants.
Just had to make this post to draw attention to a guy who doesn’t get much attention, even in his own rotation (Beckett, Dice-K) but has quietly become one of the best in the game.