While rain clouds pounded New England, a cloud of uncertainty fell of Fort Myers today as Josh Beckett was a late scratch from his Spring Training start this afternoon. Beckett was throwing his pre-game warm up pitches, when his plant foot slipped wrenching his back. Apparently it was a violent enough misstep to cause back spasms that would prevent Beckett from continuing his start.
After calling Terry Francona, Jason Varitek and others to the mound, Beckett walked off the field and went straight to the trainer’s office. At this point, there is no further detail on Beckett’s condition other than taking a wait and see approach and further assess the condition of his back tomorrow.
There’s really no way to tell right now if this is something that will have a tangible effect on Beckett moving forward. But it is enough to cause a little worry for a team that is relying on the him to be their ace again in 2008. We’ll update the situation as we learn more.
