Beckett, who tweaked an already tender back on a pitch to Alex Rodriguez on Tuesday night in Yankee Stadium, said he never even thought about the back before that pitch but wonders whether having the teams play on that wet, cold night was the right thing to do.
"We play that game the other night in less-than-favorable conditions for everybody," said Beckett, who was formally placed on the DL on Wednesday. "We're probably lucky it wasn't worse than it actually was.
"It's just frustrating when you have to go out there and play in those conditions, especially when you have a back injury. Basically on one pitch it cost you two starts."
The right-hander said that his plant foot slipped a bit on the pitch in question with one out in the fifth. He was removed one batter later.
Beckett had already missed one start due to a lower-back strain suffered while swinging the bat in the cage early last week. The 11 days off between starts was apparently not enough, another frustrating factor for the Red Sox' Opening Day starter.
"The whole thing, it could've been dealt with different," said Beckett, who is 1-1 with a 7.29 ERA. "Ten days wasn't enough the last time, so we're gonna give it 15 days this time."
Beckett will miss a scheduled start on Sunday in Philadelphia, and then another on Friday at home against Kansas City. He hopes to be ready five days after that.
Beckett said he feels better at this stage of the recovery than he did in the first few days after suffering the original injury in the batting cage earlier this month. But the 30-year-old admitted that the discomfort "can be miserable" and he feels it just standing in place.
He will travel with the team to Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, while continuing to get treatment. There is no timetable for Beckett to start throwing again.
