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March 16, 2008
Red Sox manager Terry Francona just made it oficial that Josh Beckett will not travel to Japan with the rest of the team on Wednesday. Instead, the right-hander will stay in Florida to continue to rehab his ailing back.
"He will not go to Japan, which I think we're using common sense," said Francona. "We're trying to do things in the correct order, and he completely understands."
Beckett played catch with pitching coach John Farrell back in Fort Myers this morning and Francona said the pitcher felt no pain. Beckett played catch at 60 feet and then progressed to 75 on flat ground with "no concerns."
"He did fine," said Francona this morning from Bradenton where the Red Sox will face the Pirates. "He had no concerns and that's what we were shooting for. He'll ramp it up a little more (Monday)."
Beckett will play long toss on Tuesday, and best case scenario, he'll throw a side session on Thursday. Farrell reported to Francona and told the manager the ball came out of Beckett's hand good.
There's still no timetable on his return at this point, but the Red Sox will use caution and progress slowly with this.
While the Red Sox are barnstorming around the globe, Beckett will remain at the spring training facility. The team is trying to figure out which members of the medical and training staff will stay behind to work with Beckett at City of Palms Park. There was some discussion about sending him back to Boston, but the team decided it was best to keep him in Florida, probably for the warm weather.
If he continues to progress, there is a possibility he could make a minor-league rehab start.
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 11:28 AM | Permalink
