Few teams can match the pitching depth of the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox, but even Boston can ill afford to lose a pitcher the caliber of 20-game winner Josh Beckett.

Beckett, who has been dealing with back pain this Spring, left Saturday's schedule start before the game even began after loosing his footing on his first warm-up pitch. The team is hoping that the injury is minor and just spasms rather than a much more serious injury such as a bad disk.

"I think everyone holds their collective breath and is hoping that the severity of this is manageable," Red Sox pitching John Farrell told the Boston Globe. "Obviously missing a start today is short term, but again, it’s too early to speculate when he’d be on the mound next."

Boston's Potential Rotation Candidates
Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Tim Wakefield
Jon Lester
Clay Buchholz
Bartolo Colon-(minor-league contract)
Curt Schilling-(shoulder injury - expected to be out until at least All-Star Break)