Reports from the Boston Globe tell how Josh Beckett has tweaked his back prior to a spring training game against the Florida Marlins.  Unable to start the game, he was diagnosed with lower back spasms.  After taking the mound at City of Palms Park yesterday he threw one warm up toss to Jason Varitek and grabbed his lower back.  After a few more tosses Tito had him pulled from the mound.

Maybe Beckett's not used to the few extra pounds he put on before training and it is throwing off his technique... just kidding.  Tito is going to keep him out of spikes for the next week to relieve the pressure on his back.

Details from the team report the soreness could have been caused from uneven mounds and fields.  Tito reports that back spasms are a common occurrence among players (to prove it, Julio Lugo has also missed the last week with back problems). 

In his Extra Bases blog, Dan Shaugnessy quoted Tito as saying how Beckett performed "way better than expected" in an early workout this morning.  Curb your expectations, though, as it is still too early to tell if we will see Beckett start in Dice-K's homeland against Oakland.

Cordially,
The Ignorant Bostonian