Red Sox Swagger: John Lackey Battles Both Critics and Breast Cancer

There is no doubt that many Boston Red Sox fans and critics will point to the 2010 season of starting pitcher John Lackey and say his first year with the Sox was certainly less than impressive. The 32-year-old went 14-11 with a 4.40 earned run average and saw his walks rise and his strikeouts decline. Lackey also gave up more doubles (59) than any other pitcher in the majors.

For a man being paid $18 million a year, Sox fans expect Lackey to at least be able to average one win for every million he’s paid.

However, Lackey was just one story in an unimaginable year for the Red Sox in 2010, with devastating injuries to many key players, including Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Many of the stories in spring training will focus on the returns of those key positional players, so Lackey will, to a certain extent, fly under the radar a bit. Still, much is expected out of a man who is being paid $82.5 million over five years, and Lackey understands that eyes will be upon him early, and he understands there is definitely room for improvement from his first year in Boston.

“Absolutely. I’m not saying I pitched great. No. I’m not saying that at all. I definitely could have pitched better. That’s not what I’m saying at all. I definitely could have performed better. Absolutely. I agree with that,” Lackey told reporters on Monday.

This offseason was also a big change for John Lackey. In November, his wife Krista was diagnosed with breast cancer and was receiving treatment in California. Lackey was seen wearing a pink “Power Balance” bracelet to further the cause of breast cancer awareness and was also wearing sneakers sporting the “Livestrong” motto for Lance Armstrong’s cancer charity.

Krista, a University of New Hampshire graduate, is apparently progressing well and Lackey told reporters the disease was thankfully caught at a very early stage. Krista was a driving force in her husband's decision to sign with the Red Sox following the 2009 season.

Lackey also dropped 12 pounds over the winter, down to 233 pounds and attributes the weight loss to an extended running campaign in California.

Lackey is slated as the fourth starter for the Sox, behind John Lester, Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett. While Lester and Buchholz are clearly the stars at the top of the rotation, it would be difficult for both of them to repeat their stellar performances of last season. And Beckett is a major question mark after suffering through one of the worst seasons of his career (six wins, 5.78 ERA). So, much more will be expected out of Lackey in his second season with the Red Sox.

September of last season saw Lackey vastly improve upon his numbers from the start of 2010, boasting a 3.46 ERA in the month with opponents hitting just .221 off him. If he can build upon those numbers, the lost 2010 season of John Lackey will be forgotten quickly.

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