CLEARWATER, Fla. -- For a moment, after 252-pound Ryan Howard had thrown down his glove and raised his arms, challenging 222-pound Josh Beckett, it looked as though the two might go. Power pitcher vs. power hitter, with bat and ball nowhere in sight.

 

Perhaps Beckett realized he was in over his head, even if he wouldn't acknowledge as much (''I wasn't too worried about that," he said later). Perhaps the heat of the moment passed. Regardless, the scene yesterday here at Brighthouse Networks Field provided a glimpse of the intensity bottled inside the new Red Sox ace, whose camp, to that point, had been amazingly nondescript.

 

The situation: Howard, who clubbed 22 homers in 88 games last year as NL Rookie of the Year, launched a ball to center in the sixth inning with a man aboard and the Phillies behind, 3-1. Howard was slow out of the box, watching in flight what had the chance to be his team-record 11th spring homer. The swirling wind held the ball up, and Adam Stern parked himself under it just shy of the warning track. Beckett, displeased with Howard's sauntering, let him know it.

 

''He was jogging after a pop up," Beckett said. ''It's not like I wanted to fight the guy. I wanted to make a point. You look like a jackass whenever you hit a ball like that and you're pimping it and you're out. I'm kind of about respecting the game. Even if it is a home run, I don't think it's the right thing to do. I'm not the type of guy to not say anything.

 

''I was just expressing my concern with the way he's playing the game. He didn't do that last year. He won Rookie of the Year, he hit a bunch of home runs, I guess you get one year in the big leagues and things just change."

 

Howard's take: ''See, I'd hit it, and at the contact point I didn't know where it went. If I was going to do something like pimp it or whatever, he'd have known."

Beckett spoke his piece and, Howard said, ''For me it was over. I really wasn't thinking about it anymore."

But, when Howard went out in the top of the seventh to play first base, Beckett, standing in the dugout, kept hurling words his way.

''That's where I handled it wrong," Beckett said. ''That's probably where I should have been a bigger man. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's my fault."

Howard, on what he heard Beckett yell: ''He's like, 'Fly ball.' He threw in some curse words and called me a couple names. I was like, 'It's over,' but he started popping back off."

 

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Is it just me or has this been an ongoing thing with Beckett? It seems to me he worries more about others then himself.

 

Continued: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds..._daytime_drama/

he did it with kenny lofton. can't remember if it was in 2004 or last year.

Needs to stop thinking about others and just concentrate on himself. Its ST not the middle of the regular season, who cares if a guy doesn't hustle. Clearly the wind knocked the ball down and it should have been out.

And he did the same with a ball Victor Diaz hit off the wall of the jagged corner in center field at Dolphin Stadium.

And he did the same with a ball Victor Diaz hit off the wall of the jagged corner in center field at Dolphin Stadium.

 

 

yup, he did. diaz hit the ball like 434, which is the distance from homeplate in the triangle.

Just beam him one in the center of the back about 96 mph he will get your opinion then.

pretty messed up of beckett to keep the flame going but i still would of beaned howard though

Ever since the 2003 WS Beckett has had this holier then thou attitude.

he did it with kenny lofton.

 

 

just a tad different in size compared to Howard

 

 

heck I would stand up to Lofton

more to the story.....

 

The Phillies cleared their bench, and the bullpens emptied. The Sox remained in their dugout, and no punches were thrown.

"If I had got it, if I was going to pimp it or whatever, he would have known," Howard said of the fly out. "But I was looking up to try to see where the ball was and I started running. ... The dude is a good pitcher. He had good stuff. His stuff was working nice. But that's just uncalled for. Let it go."

Phillies righthander Cory Lidle was irritated that Beckett made such a big deal about it.

"Everyone I've ever talked to who has played with Josh Beckett says no one likes him," Lidle said. "And that's why. There's no reason for him to say anything. He chooses to, and people don't like him for it."

 

And everyone made him out to be a choirboy compared to AJ.......Josh is just as big a punk.

Don't understand why Beckett is concerned with other players and the way they play the game when he himself cannot even string together a full healthy season. Perhaps he should be checking himself?

This kind of altercation is not good in the East Coast media, he needs to learn that they will write anything and everything about the smallest little incident. Its a far cry from south Florida, at least they are too lazy to report anything like this, then again they are too lazy to report most things about the Marlins.

more to the story.....

 

The Phillies cleared their bench, and the bullpens emptied. The Sox remained in their dugout, and no punches were thrown.

"If I had got it, if I was going to pimp it or whatever, he would have known," Howard said of the fly out. "But I was looking up to try to see where the ball was and I started running. ... The dude is a good pitcher. He had good stuff. His stuff was working nice. But that's just uncalled for. Let it go."

Phillies righthander Cory Lidle was irritated that Beckett made such a big deal about it.

"Everyone I've ever talked to who has played with Josh Beckett says no one likes him," Lidle said. "And that's why. There's no reason for him to say anything. He chooses to, and people don't like him for it."

 

And everyone made him out to be a choirboy compared to AJ.......Josh is just as big a punk.

 

Josh is a big time competitor, plain and simple. Any ways, I wouldn't take the word of that mealy-mouthed Philly about what teamates think of Josh.

It seems like they are both at fault to me...Howard for being cocky and arrogant(with is also the basic chemical makeup of Big Tex too) and Big Tex getting ticked.

 

Who'd win in a throw down though? My moneys on the Texan.

Beckett yelled at Lofton because the Giants were stealing signs.

 

Really, why does anyone have a problem with this? I'd rather see my pitcher get pissed off if someone is showing him up and actually deliver instead of seeing him just smile and bob his head after giving up 3 runs.

I hope we are not going to have a ex-Marlin bash thread for every little thing that happens this year.

 

If he is this pumped up during ST, I'm going to like him even more then I do right now. I saw it happen on NESN and it was pretty awesome. Josh threw a couple F-bombs down during the whole thing right at Howard. You have to have pretty big nads to go after a guy as big as Howard.

 

He did have this to say:

'''That's where I handled it wrong,' Beckett said. 'That's probably where I should have been a bigger man. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's my fault.'

I hope we are not going to have a ex-Marlin bash thread for every little thing that happens this year.

 

If he is this pumped up during ST, I'm going to like him even more then I do right now. I saw it happen on NESN and it was pretty awesome. Josh threw a couple F-bombs down during the whole thing right at Howard. You have to have pretty big nads to go after a guy as big as Howard.

 

He did have this to say:

'''That's where I handled it wrong,' Beckett said. 'That's probably where I should have been a bigger man. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's my fault.'

Not bashing. Just pointing out a flaw that he has had over the years.

 

 

And TSwift he got pissed at Lofton for flipping his bat sarcastically when he drew ball four (which Lofton has always done).

 

Its not really a problem what Beckett does it just seems like he worries himself over what other players are doing then taking care of himself. What annoys me is a comment like this:

 

?I was just expressing my concern with the way he?s playing the game. He didn?t do that last year. He won Rookie of the Year, he hit a bunch of home runs, I guess you get one year in the big leagues and things just change.?

 

Why does he care so much how others are playing the game when he can barely make it through a season himself.

 

And Spike Ryan Howard would tear Beckett inside out.

You're right, Lofton was for flipping the bat.

 

It was Randy Winn who was stealing signs.

You're right, Lofton was for flipping the bat.

 

It was Randy Winn who was stealing signs.

I gotta admit I loved the whole Randy Winn incident. But there have been quite few too many incidents.

Ryan Howard is a punk.

josh is a big competitor and this shows it. i have always liked him and always will. i do agree with some of you who have said that he needs to chill a little more and channel his competitiveness in an appropriate way (i.e., not at other players).

Josh being Josh but thats what we like about him.

I hope we are not going to have a ex-Marlin bash thread for every little thing that happens this year.

 

 

oh instead we are gonna celebrate them ... you are gonna have a good time with his outbursts

 

good times

 

:mischief

 

'That's probably where I should have been a bigger man. I'm going to go out ...'

 

 

well Josh we knew who the bigger man was to begin with

Ryan Howard wins.

 

You don't say this:

 

"If I was going to do something like pimp it or whatever, he'd have known." - Ryan Howard

 

And not be the winner. Just an amazing quote.

I still get pissed when I remember the Lofton bat flip.