Boston Red Sox: John Lackey and Their 5 Worst Big-Money Pitchers of All-Time

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In recent years, the Boston Red Sox have made numerous great offseason pickups.

David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling are just a couple that come to mind that have helped them win two World Series.

On the flip side, the Red Sox have also made some bad acquisitions that have come back to hurt them.

Here are the Red Sox five worst big-money pitchers of all-time.

5. Bret Saberhagen

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In 2001, Bret Saberhagen attempted a comeback to baseball after taking a year off.

For $5 million, the former Cy Young Award winner went 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts.

Not exactly $5 million worth of production from Saberhagen for the Red Sox.

4. John Burkett

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After pitching great in Atlanta and making an All-Star game in 2001, Burkett went to the Red Sox prior to the 2002 season.

In his two seasons in Boston, Burkett’s ERA never finished under 4.50 and he was nowhere near his All-Star form.

3. Matt Clement

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Despite making an All-Star game in his first season in Boston, Matt Clement was unable to live up to his contract with the Red Sox.

Clement had ERA’s of 4.57 and 6.61 in his two seasons in Boston and wasn’t around to pitch in the final year of his three-year contract.

Needless to say, the Red Sox got little return on their investment in Clement.

2. Daisuke Matsuzaka

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Besides his stellar season of 2008, Dice-K has never had a season with an ERA under 4.40.

In the past three seasons, Matsuzaka is just 16-15 for the Red Sox.

After dishing out more than $50 million just to talk to him, the Red Sox were surely hoping for more in return.

1. John Lackey

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John Lackey has been a bust since he has arrived in Boston.

After pitching great for the Angels, Lackey is just 25-19 with an ERA around 5.00.

Lackey has shown signs of turning around as of late, and if he can right the ship, the Red Sox will be hard to beat in October.