Even as the Red Sox headed back to Boston with a 6-3 road trip behind them, the news wasn't all roses and sunshine as ESPN reported that ace Josh Beckett will miss his second start since being roughed up by Toronto nearly two weeks ago.
In lieu of Beckett, the Sox will be throwing the Dice Friday night as they try to put a little distance between themselves, the Ozzies, and the Twins in the ever fluid Wild Card Chase.
Francona insists that Beckett's trip to Alabama (sans a banjo on 
his knee) and Dr. James Andrews is purely precautionary, however it's a bit unsettling when you consider that the Sox playoff hopes, much less World Series hopes, ride on a healthy Beckett.
I suspect they are going to do one of two things. They're either going to shut Beckett down for the season, or they're going to give him a couple more weeks off and try to tread water. At that point, he'll probably try and soldier through the stretch run/playoffs and then have offseason surgery like Papi did last year.
That's pure speculation, I'll confess, but if his situation hasn't gotten markedly better at this point, it's not going to get better without medical attention. You can only rest so much afterall.
I also think that if Beckett were remotely healthy, he would be out there tossing rocks at Ozzie's boys tomorrow night, or over the weekend. The stakes are high, and our fellas need all the help they can get in what could be the team's biggest series all year.
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