Red Sox' Beckett Thinks 'Everything Is Good' With Thumb
BOSTON (CBS) - Red Sox starter Josh Beckett says his right thumb feels fine.
"I think things are a lot better now. I had some issues the last few weeks of spring training. We've been getting through them, but I just didn't think it was something we should be 'get through' for six months," Beckett said from Detroit, where Boston will open the season Thursday against the Tigers.
Beckett Talks About His Thumb:
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Beckett spent Monday in San Antonio, followed by Tuesday in Cleveland getting the thumb looked at. There was some concern that Beckett would have to miss his scheduled start on Saturday because of the ailment, but he said there was no doubt on his end that he would pitch.
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"I have a guy in San Antonio who I've had some luck with in the past with this injury, so I went to him just to clarify some things. Then I went to Dr. Graham [in Cleveland] because that's what they wanted me to do," said Beckett. "I think everything is good. There was just one concern that it had something to do with my ligament, much like Andrew Bailey's deal, and it wasn't."
Bailey is out until at least the All-Star break after needing surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb.
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Beckett is not sure what his injury is, but he has pitched with it the past 18 months. The recent scare came when it did not respond to a cortisone shot, so Beckett went on the doctor tour
"I had a couple of cortisone injections in there, and it just didn't respond as well this time. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't more damage in there," he said. "There are a bunch of little bones in there that have a lot going on."
