Who Will Be The Red Sox Opening Day Starter?

The Boston Red Sox have a plethora of pitchers. There's Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield. A normal rotation features five starters with somebody available to plug in when there's injury. The Sox have the ideal set up, however there is a debate about who will be the 5th starter and who will be the plug in. This is certainly an important discussion, however what is equally is important is determining who will be the Opening Day starter and the "ace" of the staff.

When asked the question "Who will be the ace of the staff?", most of the pitchers scoff at the idea that there is an ace and give credit to the rest of the staff saying they are all capable of the job. Obviously this isn't reality however. Daisuke Matsuzaka has proven to be too inconsistent, Tim Wakefield isn't reliable enough health-wise and Clay Buchholz is young and unproven. It comes down to the three J's: Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey.

Josh Beckett was the opening day starter for the Red Sox in 2009. For much of 2009, he performed like the ace. Beckett dominated for the meat of the season, but with poor performances at the beginning and end his numbers weren't ideal. He also made mistakes in the postseason that led to his demise as the era's best playoff performer. However, this doesn't mean that Beckett is no longer the ace type. He is a player the Red Sox can count on during a bad stretch when they need a win and a big performance. Beckett consistently can give you 7+ innings and quality starts.

Jon Lester was not seen as a power pitcher heading into 2009. He even struggled a bit at the beginning of the season. Once he got going though, it was tough to stop him. Lester went on an absolute tear and led the team in ERA (3.41), strikeouts (225) and ERA+ (138). At age 25, Lester has had two straight seasons where he has had an ERA under 3.50. In 2008, his ERA was a career best 3.21. It was the punch outs that made the difference in 2009 though and made him a "power pitcher". Lester struck out 152 in 2008. The jump to 225 had to do with adding a little zip to his fastball, executing on breaking balls and going deeper into games. His improvements and late season consistency earned him the start in Game 1 of the Divisional round of the playoffs.

John Lackey has been the opening day starter for the Los Angeles Angels in 2007 but has not filled the role since. This is mostly because of early season injuries. He was certainly viewed as the ace of the Angels despite not starting on opening day in 2008 and 2009. Lackey has been a man of consistency since 2005. He has compiled a 69-38 record and put up a 3.49 ERA. He is a top notch pitcher and would certainly be the ace of just about every other staff without question. He also made his mark in the postseason last year, showing he can perform big in big games.

The label of "ace" and being the opening day starter doesn't necessarily mean anything in the grand scheme of things but it is still an important decision to make. After coach Terry Francona released his spring training rotation this morning, it lined Beckett up for opening day with an extra day of rest and it lined Jon Lester up for opening day on normal rest. It almost certainly rules Lackey out of the equation. It leaves many questions in the air though: who will start on opening day? Who should start on opening day? Has it already been predetermined? Will spring performances effect the decision or not at all?

Who do you think will start opening day for the Boston Red Sox in 2010?