Staff ace Josh Beckett has been all the rage for local and national media folks alike, but for my money, there's one stud pitcher in the Sox rotation that I believe has been just as instrumental - if not more so - to the team's success.

Now I admittedly haven't been following the Red Sox as closely as I should have been this entire season, but it's about time to say Jon Lester is having a hell of a season, huh?

173.2 IP, 27 starts, 2 complete games, 196 strikeouts, 55 walks, 3.58 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, .243 batting average against... if the Sox could muster a little more run support in his starts and he had a more appealing record than the 11-7 mark at which he currently sits, we'd be talking possible Cy Young contender. The stat that really caught my eye was Lester's strikeout mark - after whiffing 152 last year, he has easily eclipsed that mark this season in six less starts. He's got six starts of double-digit Ks, including a ridiculous three start stretch from May 31 to June 12 in which he struck out 12 (Toronto), 11 (Texas) and 11 (Philadelphia) in consecutive appearances. Making the season all the more impressive is the fact that he was sporting a 2-4 record with a 6.51 ERA through his first eight starts.

Looks like the Sox made the right call in not wanting to part with him in the Johan Santana (who, by the way, had season-ending arthroscopic surgery after a very mediocre season) trade talks.