The medical reports on Josh Beckett are back! Here’s the latest according Red Sox medical director Dr. Tom Gill (via Ian Browne of mlb.com):
“Josh was evaluated today at the Massachusetts General Hospital by the Red Sox medical staff, including team foot and ankle specialist, Dr. George Theodore. Josh experienced pain in his ankle while pitching last night. His examination was consistent with an ankle sprain. An MRI was performed that confirmed no other injury to his ankle tendons, or his Achilles tendon. We will re-evaluate his symptoms and availability later this week.”
Obviously, Beckett will miss his scheduled start on Sunday against the Rays. Considering how much time he would have missed had he sustained ligament damage, one start is a reasonable price to pay. With LHP Erik Bedard sideline with a strained knee ligament in his left leg, Terry Francona’s had to maneuver the rotation a bit for the next turn. Starting with the three game set against the Rays, the Red Sox will send John Lackey to the mound on Friday; recent call-up Kyle Weiland on Saturday; and co-staff ace Jon Lester on Sunday.
For Weiland, this will be his third start of the season for the Red Sox. In his previous stint, he went 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA and a 4/5 K/BB ratio in 10 innings. Understandably, he’s pretty excited about getting another opportunity to prove his value to the big league club.
“It’s a great opportunity and it’s nice they chose me to take on that game. I’ve just got to stay within myself and look back and learn from the last couple of starts and understand that the same pitches that get guys out in Triple-A get guys out here. Try not to do too much and stay within myself. Hopefully I got some things out of the way early on. It’s just a learning process. I’m looking forward to it.”
Barring any other injuries, this will likely be Weiland’s only turn in the rotation. After this, he’ll be returned to the bullpen where he’ll be asked to work mostly in low leverage situations.
In other news, Clay Buchholz took another step today towards returning to the fold for the Red Sox this season. For the second straight day, he threw on flat ground at distances of 50 to 90 feet. Provided he continues to progress, he could be given an opportunity to throw off of the mound by as early as next week. Despite the positive steps in his recovery, he’s remaining cautiously optimistic.
“I don’t want to rush back as far as throwing off a mound — just the slope and gravity and everything. I’ll try to throw light off the mound. It definitely won’t be as many throws as I’m throwing right now.”
(snip)
“If I was to go out and throw in three days and it doesn’t feel quite right, we’d probably take a step back. There’s definitely no timeline. If everything goes right and I’m able to not have any setbacks and get off a mound and start working my way back up, I’m not sure the end of the season is going to be the right number. If we do what we want to do in the postseason, get there and play well, that’s what I’m really hoping for.”
Considering the limited amount of time remaining in the season, it’s unlikely Buchholz would be ready to pitch by the time the ALDS rolls around. Still, neither the Red Sox nor Buchholz have ruled out a return by the ALCS or World Series. If he does return, it’s all but a foregone conclusion he’ll pitch out of the bullpen, as there’s just not enough time for him to get stretched out to start. For more insight as to how the Red Sox could use Buchholz during the playoffs, check out Tim Britton’s (of the Providence Journal) piece discussing the possibilities.