« Here are the lineups | Main | Tigers ready for tough series »

Wait and see on Beckett

The Red Sox are going to wait as long as possible before deciding whether Josh Beckett could make his next start, which is scheduled to fall on Friday against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway.

Terry Francona said Beckett threw soft toss this afternoon and would "give him the next couple of days" to determine if more healing is needed in the right middle finger. Beckett suffered a skin separation of the finger in Sunday's 6-5 win over Orioles which forced him out after four innings. It is not being called a blister, which has felled Beckett during his career with the Marlins.

"We'll use common sense," Francona said. "We're not going to rush into it. Let's let the healing process begin and see how it's going."

Sox GM Theo Epstein was in the office during Francona's pre-game meeting and it appears the two were meeting about possible alternatives if Beckett is unable to make a start. The Sox have candidates on the squad including Kyle Snyder and possibly Joel Pineiro, though Pineiro was never stretched out during spring training.

In other news:

* Manny Ramirez reported for treatment at 10 a.m. this morning and afterward considered himself ready to play tonight, according to Francona. Ramirez' leg tightened up on him yesterday and he came out of the game. Ramirez has had hamstring issues in the past.

*Mike Timlin, who has been on the DL, was to be examined by Dr. Thomas Gill today.

*Terry Francona on Gary Sheffield: "Someone made the mistake of hitting him last week and got him going."