Beckett's next start pushed back to Friday

Instead of pitching on Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Red Sox starter Josh Beckett will take the mound on Friday against the Tigers, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe.

Tim Wakefield will pitch tomorrow.

Beckett, who was taking batting practice, suffered some back spasms and will get his back checked out.

“We’ll get him checked out in the morning,’’ [manager Terry] Francona said. “He had a stiff back the other day a little bit, and he was kind of starting to swing the bat and he felt it and it grabbed him a little bit. We’ll get him checked out.’’

On the season, Beckett has an ERA of 7.46, a WHIP of 1.66 and opposing batters are hitting .311 against him. He's allowed five (or more) earned runs in four of his seven starts.

Monday Night Links

''He said, 'Good luck. Sincerely, Ozzie.' And couple more phrases,'' said [Cubs manager Lou] Piniella [of a note left by Ozzie Guillen]. ''It wasn't twitted, and I'm appreciative of that.''

Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee had a pain-free catch for a second day in a row.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum threw seven scoreless innings in tonight's win over the Astros.

Albert Callaspo might start at third base for the Royals on Wednesday.

In his first at bat of the season, Mets third baseman David Wright homered.

And Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones homered twice.

Meanwhile, Braves rookie phenom Jason Heyward crushed a home run in his first-ever at bat in the big leagues.

Blue Jays closer Jason Frasor said of his blown save today: “Unfortunately, I have 48 hours to think about it. I’m six years older than I was when I first started blowing games, so it’s a little easier.”

The Red Sox will give Josh Beckett $68 million over four years.

Meanwhile the Pirates have the lowest payroll ($35.4 million) in baseball in 2010.

Shameless plug(s) of the day: Check out our 2010 fantasy football (quarterback) rankings or weigh in on a McNabb-versus-Kolb discussion on our football forums.

Mid-season Awards: A.L. Cy Young

There is a lot of baseball left to be played this year - roughly, half the season.

That being said, I made my pick a couple of weeks ago for N.L. Cy Young based on all the games played (pitched) up to that point. While I may or may not change my choice (see who here), I'm back at it to pick his A.L. counterpart.

Later this weekend, I will pick my Mid-Season A.L. MVP as well. (Click here to see my N.L. MVP.)

Drum roll please ...

A.L. Cy Young: Zack Grienke, Royals - Grienke got the season off to a perfect start with 38 scoreless innings to begin the season. Although Grienke has hit a bit of a rough patch (losing three of last five decisions), he still leads the majors in ERA (2.00) and is one of only five 10-game winners in baseball.

He has five complete games, which also leads the majors. He is second in the American League in strikeouts (120).

The Royals recent slide has knocked them 11 games out of first in the A.L. Central and has put them 13 games under .500. In the games Grienke (10-4) doesn't get the decision, the Royals are 23-42.

Runner-up: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - It doesn't get much better than Halladay. He began the season with 13 straight starts of 7 innings or more. In addition, Halladay has thrown three complete games trailing only Grienke.

He's one of only five pitchers to win 10 games on the season. He's third in the A.L. in ERA (2.56) and has given up the fewest walks (14) of pitchers who have thrown 100+ innings. Grienke is the only other player with fewer than 20 walks (19)and 100 innings pitched.

Honorable Mention: Edwin Jackson, Felix Hernandez, Mark Buehrle, Justin Verlander, Matt Garza, Nick Blackburn (MIN), Jered Weaver, Kevin Millwood, Josh Beckett

Check back later this weekend for my A.L. Mid-Season MVP

Josh Beckett won't appeal reduced suspension of five games

Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who appealed his six-game suspension by MLB, had his suspension reduced to five games and he won't appeal.

"I don't support this at all. If it was up to me, we would have gone through this whole process. It could have eventually been a lot worse if we had gone through with the whole thing. Everybody has got to answer to somebody. When your boss tells you to do something, you do what's best for the team."

Although Beckett won't appeal, he doesn't agree with the suspension and says "I don't think I deserve even one game."

Beckett will make his next start on Saturday against the Yankees.

Beckett appeals six-game suspension

Major League Baseball suspended Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett for six games after determining that Beckett, who is "shocked," intentionally threw at the head of Bobby Abreu last week.

Beckett has appealed the decision, which means he will likely make his next scheduled start on Saturday against the Orioles.

"We were pretty shocked," Beckett said before the Red Sox's game against the Athletics in Oakland, Calif. "I think the appeal speaks for everything that we feel. I respect the job they have to do, but I don't agree."

Whether the league upholds or reduces the suspension or not, it's always scary when someone who throws as hard as Beckett does comes close to someone's head.