Josh Beckett continues to experience numbness in his hand and won't start on Tuesday. He could go as early as Friday.

"It's gotten better," he said. "We had the one day (Friday) where it kind of came back. That's why we decided to do what we did. It has gotten better. The treatment and stuff is definitely working."

Francona intends to be "overly cautious" with Beckett, who is 11-9 with a 4.34 ERA in 23 starts.

It seems to be caused by the way he sleeps, so they are putting a cast on his arm at night to protect the arm.