Kapler on D&C: Lester will return to form

Former Red Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler joined Dennis & Callahan on Wednesday morning and took an optimist's approach toward the first-half struggles of starting pitchers Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

"There's no way around it. It's not a pretty picture," Kapler said. "That performance in the first half of the season if you ask Jon, you ask Josh, they're not going to be comfortable with their performance. They're not going to be proud of what [was] going on in the first half of the season.

"It probably bodes well because, like I said, you always go back to track record. If the guy is struggling for that long a period of time, he's got a consistent track record and he hasn't lost his stuff, which neither one of those guys have, the expectation is that there's a lot of success right around the corner. You just try to be as patient as you can. You keep running them out there. Those guys are quality starters. You ask anyone at the beginning of the season about Lester and Beckett at the beginning of your rotation, everybody's going to be jumping for joy even though last season wasn't perfect. It's still elite stuff, it's still extraordinary experience [like the] World Series championships. There's not a team out there that wouldn't like to have Lester and Josh in the rotation."

Added Kapler: "A guy like Lester, I know there's a lot of huge games coming, I know Red Sox Nation can be impatient, but this guy's going to perform, and he's going to perform at a high level. He's going to be one of the elite left-handed pitchers in the American League."

Outfielder Carl Crawford made his season debut Monday after a long stint on the disabled list and is 4-for-7 with three stolen bases in his first two games. Kapler said Crawford might be responding to an improved relationship with manager Bobby Valentine, contrasting his situation to that of Kevin Youkilis, who feuded with Valentine before being traded to the White Sox.

"Maybe Carl needs a different type of support and he's getting it from Bobby," Kapler said. "In the case of Youkilis maybe it was just the right situation to be around a guy like Robin [Ventura]."

Kapler said it is possible for certain players to succeed under different managers.

"The answer is unequivocally yes," Kapler said. "It could be a positive or negative and it doesn't necessarily have to be a good relationship with the manager. If you have a poor relationship with your manager it can be fuel for your fire. If you have a great relationship with your manager it could put your mind and heart at ease and you can go up to the plate with a clear mind. It really depends on the character and the personality of the player involved."

Kapler, who played with Crawford in Tampa Bay, said he had no idea if Crawford would succeed in Boston once the contract was signed.

"He was a nice fit in Tampa," Kapler said. "I happened to believe in him [and] in his abilities, thinking that he's arguably [one of the] top-five most talented players in all of baseball. He's actually come off to a pretty good start since he came off the DL."

Kapler also addressed David Ortiz and his level of performance of this season.

"The guy has been an incredibly hard-worker, arguably the greatest clutch hitter in Red Sox history [and] an amazing teammate," Kapler said. "From a clubhouse standpoint he's stood up, said the right thing [and] gotten his team behind him so far this season. I'm not surprised by what David is doing. It's pretty cool that he's doing it at the age that he's doing it. This guy keeps working and working and working, impacting the baseball. He's made adjustments mechanically that have allowed him to get to pitches that he couldn't get to last year. The beginning of last year was very tough for him. So the adjustments he's made mechanically have been amazing. He looks loose, he looks slow with his front side in terms of getting his foot down early and on time. He's able to see the baseball."

To listen to the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Red Sox news, visit the team page at weei.com/redsox.