By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON _ Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett threw a 58-pitch bullpen session today at Fenway Park. The right-hander is still scheduled to start on Friday in Texas.

"He threw all his pitches with good intensity," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "Everything is fine."

Beckett concurred.

"Everything went good," he said. "I'm good for Friday. . . I'm clear of mind and it was a lot easier to go at it this session with full intensity, knowing everything is OK."

The plan for Friday will be to cut his outing short.

"It makes it harder to win the game, but it's the best way since he has not started a game (Aug. 12)," added the manager. "We'll steadily get him back to where the game determines when you take a guy out. But everything went well health-wise and everybody was pleased."

Francona admitted that a pitch count of 70-75 pitches would be "a bit much" for Beckett on Friday.

"It's hard not having him pitch, but it's the right thing to do," he said.

Beckett takes a some positive out of his brief hiatus in the fact he got a little bit of the rest.

"We got the big hurdle behind us by going to see the doctor," Beckett said. "Today's bullpen was good stepping stone. . . After you went through what I went through, it didn't matter what time of year it was, it's just nice to get back out there. Hopefully I can get out there every fifth day and help this team win some ballgames."