Beckett's numbness real cause for concern

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BALTIMORE -- Boston Red sox pitcher Josh Beckett, complaining of "tingling and numbness" in the fingers on his throwing arm, will have his next scheduled start pushed back to next Tuesday. "We want to be cautious and do the right thing," manager Terry Francona said. While the manager was vague about the situation -- he said Beckett slept on it awkwardly prior to his last start on Sunday -- Beckett said the condition is something he's been dealing with for a while. "I have some numbness in fingers (specifically his pinky and ring finger) that I'm not used to having," the ace right-hander said. "As far as pain goes, there's not very much pain with it. We just have to figure out what it is because you don't want it to get so bad where it ends up being a really bad problem." The Red Sox may be downplaying Beckett's situation publicly, but in a worst-case scenario, it could turn out to be a more serious matter. Dr. Robert Shalvoy of University Orthopedics in Providence, R.I. does not know the reason for Beckett's numbness, but he understands the possible ramifications of the pitcher's symptoms. "The Sox need to treat this pretty seriously," said Shalvoy. The Sox can shut Beckett down and let the symptoms go away, but as the nerves in the elbow continue to weaken, it's possible Beckett could need surgery in 2-3 years, according to Shalvoy. The doctor also said that if the Red Sox decide to have Beckett go for a MRI the results will certainly show abnormalities because the pitcher has been throwing hard for a long time. Shalvoy, who has not examined the pitcher, said normally the type of symptoms Beckett is experiencing take six weeks to go away. "This is a big deal for the organization and for Beckett," Shalvoy said. "He won't get better by missing a start." Shalvoy, who has preformed ulnar collateral ligament surgeries, described Beckett's issue as "prime symptoms" for any pitcher who will eventually need Tommy John surgery to repair the damage. Beckett had been scheduled to start Saturday in Toronto. Instead, Jon Lester will pitch Saturday and Daisuke Matsuzaka will pitch Sunday. After an off-day Monday, Beckett will start against the Yankees in New York next Tuesday. "It's something I've been dealing with," Beckett said. "At some point in time we just have to figure out what the hell it is. Obviously, it's not what I want, but at this juncture (being pushed back) is something that needs to happen because there's something going on." "I've never dealt with it on this level on a day when I was pitching," he said. "Some days were bad and some days were good, but I never had to deal with it on this level on a day when I pitched." When asked if he thought his symptoms were more serious, Beckett said he didn't think so. "That's what we are trying to stay away from. Anytime something is wrong with your arm and you're a baseball player, especially a pitcher, you obviously think the worst first. But I've been reassured by people that it's not that (serious). It's unfortunate. It's a bad time of year for it to happen." Beckett said he's being tested but has not had a arthrogram, which is a test where dye is injected into the area and then an x-ray is taken. The test can be used to check for aneurysms. "No, I haven't," he said. "I'm not a big fan of those arthrograms because they cause a lot of unneeded soreness. If it gets to that point, we'll do whatever we need to do. I don't think that's what it is, though." After Beckett's poor start against the Blue Jays last Sunday at Fenway Park, in which he lasted only 2 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs on eight hits, Francona claimed the pitcher was healthy. The manager said as much in Baltimore on Monday, but finally acknowledged a problem yesterday.(Contact Joe McDonald at jmcdonal@projo.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)