Josh Beckett: Why Red Sox Must Trade Struggling Pitcher to Turn Things Around

There are certainly a lot of issues that have contributed to the Boston Red Sox's embarrassing 12-19 start this season, but the biggest may be starting pitching.

The Sox have had the worst starting pitching in the league thus far, and a big reason for that is the poor form of Josh Beckett.

In six starts, Beckett has a 2-4 record and is currently sporting an awful 5.97 ERA. Considering the fact that Beckett is a two-time World Series champion and former World Series MVP, it might seem wise to let him work through his struggles.

But because of his strange antics, Beckett appears to be a toxic presence on the team.

Boston's downward spiral started late last season as it experienced one of the biggest collapses in baseball history.

Boston held a nine-game lead for a playoff spot in September but closed out the season 7-20 and was eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the season after a loss to the Baltimore Orioles, while the Tampa Bay Rays staged a dramatic comeback victory over the New York Yankees.

Shortly after the season ended, stories came to light about the hijinks of some of the Boston players. The most prominent of them was that Beckett and fellow starters Jon Lester and John Lackey would drink beer, eat fried chicken and play video games in the clubhouse during games they weren't starting.

While that may not have had any direct correlation to the team's collapse, it was a definitive sign that manager Terry Francona had lost control of his players.

Francona and the Red Sox parted ways following the season and he was replaced by Bobby Valentine, but the results certainly haven't gotten any better.

Beckett hasn't taken advantage of the fresh start in the least, as he continues to make controversial decisions.

Beckett was scratched from his scheduled start last week due to tightness in his lat muscle, but rather than using his off day to rest it, he decided to play golf with teammate Clay Buchholz.

Perhaps that wouldn't have been such a big problem, but Beckett followed up with an awful start on Thursday, as he allowed seven runs in just over two innings of work in a loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Beckett had a chance to redeem himself in the game but didn't, and when he had a chance to explain himself afterward, he was nothing but defiant.

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Beckett wasn't the slightest bit regretful about his ill-advised golf outing. Instead, he decided to defend himself in the media rather than simply admitting his mistake and moving on, saying, "I spend my off days the way I want to spend them. ... We get 18 off days a year. I think we deserve a little bit of time to ourselves."

Having time to himself isn't the issue here, though.

If Beckett had done a puzzle or gone bird watching on his off day, then nobody would have cared. The fact of the matter is if he was well enough to golf, then he was well enough to pitch.

I'm not sure if Beckett is oblivious or ignorant, but golfing when he was supposed to be resting was pretty much a slap in the face to every one of his teammates and fans.

If Beckett was performing at a high level, then the Red Sox would have reason to stomach his questionable decisions.

Truth be told, if he was being a model teammate, then his struggles on the mound wouldn't be that big of an issue as well.

Beckett is a great representation of what is wrong with this team right now, though, and the Red Sox need to rid themselves of an albatross. It's a very long season, so there is still plenty of time for the Red Sox to turn things around.

It seems to me Boston would be subscribing to the theory of addition by subtraction if it were to trade Beckett, and in this case, I believe that's the team's best option.