Josh Beckett's Back Spasms Are Cause For Concern, For ALL Of Us.

Good morning on this Sunday, the first full day of Eastern Standard time. Wow, it seemed like Daylight Savings time came and went in a fortnight (that's two weeks). But now to more important news, news that provided quite the scare to Red Sox fans and coaches. Josh Beckett, our ace and "savior", stepped on a soft spot near the mound while throwing his warm up pitches before his scheduled Saturday start and did something to his back. Spasms ensued and he walked off the mound into the dugout before throwing a single pitch. Little Manny Delcarmen, who has an ERA of 0.00 (I like that!) so far this spring, became the spot starter and tossed two scoreless innings in a 5-2 Red Sox loss, but all eyes were focused on Josh Baseball, as I like to call him. Hey, it worked LAST year, why stop now? Here is what he and Sox pitching coach John Farrell had to say...

"We'll just have to wait and see how it feels tomorrow" was Beckett's only comment three hours after he felt back spasms and called catcher Jason Varitek to the mound following his sixth warmup pitch. "I think everybody holds their collective breath hoping that the severity of this is manageable," pitching coach John Farrell said. "Obviously, missing a start today is short term. But, again, it's too early to speculate when he'd be on the mound next."
Beckett, the only 20-game winner in the majors last year, was examined Saturday and "will be examined thoroughly" again Sunday, said manager Terry Francona, who didn't want to risk letting him pitch.
"If a kid like Beckett ever threw a pitch and hurt his arm because he was favoring his back, we wouldn't be able to live with ourselves," he said. "We wouldn't do that with anybody."

Peter here, and AMEN to that, Tito. YOU ARE THE BEST. And we all know it's going to be a long season, so we hope and we pray that Beckett will be our starter for that magic game in Tokyo, Japan, Red Sox International, which is the season opener. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something, which I'm sure will be during the NESN 1pm telecast of the Sox/Dodgers game today.

Please click on the title of this post for an article written by Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. He will tell you all you need to know about our Josh. Yes, OUR Josh, for he represents the 2008 Boston Red Sox, reigning world champions. I must say I'm a bit underwhelmed by our pitchers effectiveness so far, but I also know it's REALLY early in March. We have to remember it's an abbreviated spring training schedule for the club before they journey to Japan, and I hope that doesn't hurt the club I love to love.

Thanks for stopping in yet again. Your comments are always welcome. You know that! And as always, BE SAFE. BE WELL. Forever.

I hope you didn't forget to turn those clocks ahead. If you haven't already, you might be an hour behind the rest of the nation, except for Arizona and Puerto Rico. And boy, did we get a boatload (I could have used another word) of rain Friday night and Saturday, so, because I live near a river (the Farmington river) and in its valley, my road to civilization might be cut off, just until tomorrow. Imagine, stuck at home on a Sunday, no plans scheduled on my "calender of events," with a full refrigerator and a 6 pak of Miller Light. OH, THE HUMANITY!!! Will I survive?? The answer is a resounding yes.

Please don't forget this. I can't wait to read any and all of your comments, my Constant Readers, and I hope your day will be a GREAT one. In fact, I know it will! Love you all and see you soon.