Beckett experiencing 'numbness, tingling'

via d.yimg.com

It was safe to say Josh Beckett's struggles the other day were due to an injury, and now he's saying he has felt numbess and tingling in his arm:

Beckett said he slept awkwardly on the arm before Sunday's start against the Blue Jays, a start in which he gave up 8 runs in 2 2/3 innings.

"Just something I've been dealing with," Beckett said. "At some point in time, just got to figure out what the [heck] it is. Obviously it's not what I want, but I think at this juncture it's something that needs to happen. Obviously there's something going on."

Beckett said the numbness remains in his pinky and ring finger, and has been there since Sunday, though it has improved over time. There is "not very much pain at all with it," he said. "You've got to figure out what the [heck] it is. You don't want it to get so bad to where it ends up being a really bad problem."

It appears that this isn't exactly a new problem for Beckett. While he said he has never dealt with it "on that level," including on a day he's been on the mound, it is something that he and the team have monitored over time.

Beckett's start has been pushed back from Saturday to Tuesday. The starters in Toronto will be Paul Byrd, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka with Beckett's start being pushed back.