Beckett Has Little to Say About Oblique

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 10 -- The Boston Red Sox have moved beyond speaking of right-hander Josh Beckett in terms of health and now use words like "routine" and "normal" to describe their goals for him the remainder of the postseason. However, questions remain about his recovery from a strained oblique muscle, and Beckett is shedding no new light on it.

Asked Friday night, the eve of his Game 2 start in the American League Championship Series, whether he can be at his best the rest of October given the physical issues he is dealing with, Beckett answered coyly, "Yeah, I'm going to be the best I can be."

Asked directly about Beckett's health, Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said: "He's fine physically. The farther he's removed from the problems of last week, he can concentrate on his routine and concentrate on pitching instead of trying to get [healthy]."

Beckett, arguably the most accomplished postseason pitcher of his generation, skipped his final start of the regular season because of the strained oblique -- an injury that often requires weeks of recovery for pitchers -- then labored through five difficult innings in Game 3 of the division series against the Los Angeles Angels.

Swing Away

Rays Manager Joe Maddon twice green-lighted his hitters with 3-0 counts in Friday night's Game 1 loss -- once in the sixth inning with rookie third baseman Evan Longoria, and the other time in the eighth inning with veteran first baseman Carlos Peña, who at the time represented the go-ahead run. Both batters flied out to right.

"We're down by two, and there's two guys on," Maddon said of Peña's situation. "That's a three-run homer staring us in the face, so I was good with it."

Veteran designated hitter Cliff Floyd said the frequent green light is one of the things the Rays' players appreciate about playing for Maddon.

"You can call it anxiousness or not, but I'd take my chances with 3-0 with those guys up there [at the plate] any time," Floyd said.

Crowd Control

The Rays took measures to try to keep Friday night's crowd from being dominated by Red Sox fans, the way regular season games at Tropicana Field between the teams typically have been for years. Still, the visiting dugout was surrounded during batting practice by blue-and-red clad members of Red Sox Nation, and they were a vocal presence.

The Rays' ownership decided to put ALCS tickets on sale before the Red Sox-Angels first-round series was decided, in hopes of dissuading Red Sox fans from snatching them up.

Stuart Sternberg, the Rays' owner, said he has fielded ticket requests from friends who are Red Sox fans. "But," he said, "I just can't bring them into this place wearing red."