FORT MYERS, Fla. — Josh Beckett is "feeling better" a day after suffering a mild concussion when he took a ball off his head during batting practice at City of Palms Park.
Beckett will be kept from doing anything outside on Tuesday and will be reevaluated Wednesday, according to manager Terry Francona.
"I'm feeling better today. Felt like I got hit in the head," Beckett said Tuesday morning in the Red Sox clubhouse.
The 30-year-old said he went through a range of emotions after getting beaned near his left temple by the errant ball, which had been struck off the bat of staffer Ino Guerrero, who was trying to send a ball back toward the infield.
"You go through a bunch of different emotions," Beckett said. "First, you're pissed because you don't know what happened. Then I tried to walk but I felt dizzy and took a knee. Just kind of go through everything.
"I really didn't know what happened. I didn't know if I got hit by a ball from another field or what."
Beckett said that Monday was "nerve-racking" as he struggled just going up and down stairs, but he slept well and the headaches went away in time. His wife woke him up once just to check on him, but otherwise he had no issues getting through the night.
As for how he progresses this week, that remains up in the air. The right-hander's scheduled start Thursday against Philadelphia has not been canceled yet, but the club is preparing to shuffle things around.
"In regards to his start, we'll do what's in his best interest," Francona said. "If he can start, good. If he can't, we can either push him back, throw a side. We'll just do what's in his best interest, but the first thing is to make sure he can do his activities and it doesn't set him backwards.
"[Pitching coach Curt Young] is going right now through our pitching. Obviously, we have a ton of pitching, and he's writing it in now as if he's not pitching, just to make sure we're set. But we have plenty of pitching. I don't know who would start, but we'll figure it out."
If he is scratched Thursday, Beckett does not anticipate a lengthy delay before he is in a game again.
"If I have to miss Thursday I don't think it will be [next] Wednesday before I pitch," he said.
Both Beckett and Francona said that Guerrero is upset about the incident. Everyone involved was happy it was not any worse.
"Yeah, he feels terrible," Beckett said of Guerrero. "At first I was pissed, but I knew he didn't do it on purpose. It was one of those things. Was it stupid? Yes, it was very stupid. I think he realizes that now, but no sense making it worse than it was."
Beckett said that the only other time he can recall being hit in the head with a ball was last April in Kansas City. In a game in which he outdueled Royals ace Zack Greinke, Beckett was buzzed in the back of the head by a David DeJesus liner.
Beckett also remembers one concussion from his past. How did he get it?
"A fight," he said with a smile that seemed to suggest Beckett will be just fine.
