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Postseason Insider: Beckett says his OK, others think differently

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 6, 2008 at 7:57 p.m.

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Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett said he felt fine physically, even if the results were not as strong as he has become expected to produce in the postseason. Red Sox officials agreed.

Scouts, however, were left to wonder if the strained right oblique, which sidelined Beckett for 13 days led to the decision to start him in Game 3 of the American League Division Series instead of Game 1, was bothering him.

“Physically he might be fine, but mentally, well let’s just say he didn’t cut loose,” said one scout.

It was more than the non-Beckett like postseason stats.

Beckett’s fastball was in the low 90s, and he was hesitant to establish the fastball early in the game.

Beckett worked five innings in the Red Sox 5-4, 12-inning loss, giving up four runs on nine hits. That was the first time in 10 postseason starts he has worked less than six innings. That was the most hits he has allowed in a postseason start. And the four runs equaled the runs he allowed in 30 innings a year ago when he was the World Series MVP and went 4-0 in the postseason.

THANKS, BUT . . .

Manny Ramirez had an impact with the Dodgers, where he had 53 RBI in the 53 regular-season games after being acquired from Boston, and went 5-for-10 with two RBI in the Dodgers sweep of the Cubs In the National League Division Series.

Ramirez has been on a good behavior, trying to redevelop a free-agent market after his pouting session that helped him for his way out of Boston.

Word, however, is that the Dodgers realize he doesn’t fit their long-term needs. A defensive liability in a ballpark that puts an emphasis on defense doesn’t compute over the long-term, and Ramirez is looking for a five-year deal. Owner Frank McCourt already has an expensive education on the problems of signing free agents with the likes of Jason Schmidt, Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre, and will be hesitant to go overboard again.

Agent Scott Boras has let it be known through his media outlets that the expectation is for at least five years and $85 million in a deal for Ramirez.

TEED UP

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon designed a T-shirt that reads: “All Aboard Maddon’s Bus. There’s a Different Driver Every Night.” The T-shirts are being sold in St. Petersburg, and Maddon has named the John Challis Courage for Life Foundation to receive the fees.

Challis was diagnosed at the age of 16 with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, an adult form of liver cancer.

PROUD

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf handled the White Sox elimination from the postseason by losing to Tampa Bay in the AL Division Series with class.

‘‘This was a fabulous year. Nobody really gave us a chance to be in the postseason. Look at the injuries we had to overcome. If (Carlos) Quentin doesn't go down, we win the division earlier, we get a chance to get our pitching set up the way we want to.

‘‘I'm proud of these guys. I think we had a good year. Twenty-two teams went home before we did. And we lost to a better team.

“I thought we had a chance to win this game. And I thought if we'd won this game, then we would've won the next game. But we lost to a better team.”