Beckett's Sox teammates, meanwhile, gave him the reception his moment deserved -- at least the one dictated by baseball custom. Beckett, who had chided Phillies strongman Ryan Howard for excessive admiration of what he thought was a spring training home run, circled the bases with his head down, barely acknowledged the raised fist of on-deck batter Kevin Youkilis, then ducked into the visitors' dugout -- where not a soul moved off the bench.
''It was perfect," said Curt Schilling, who denied being the ringleader (''There were a lot of them.") of the silent treatment that greeted Beckett. ''It was one of the better ones that I've ever been a part of."
The neglect was temporary, of course, Beckett ultimately being engulfed by mates impressed by the first home run hit by a Sox pitcher since Marty Pattin took Bill Parsons of the Brewers deep in Fenway Park Sept. 26, 1972, back when men were men and American League pitchers were still required to take their hacks.
But Schilling, who will open the Yankee series tomorrow night at Fenway, was more impressed by Beckett's work on the mound, Beckett raising his record to 6-1 despite some back stiffness resulting from his slip on the mound in his last start that required him to be worked on between every inning.
''The last two games he's pitched basically 14 dominant innings," Schilling said. ''He went out there with a game plan. You could see it, just the way he's moving the ball around. He's still throwing, but he's got more of a plan. With that stuff, he has the chance to be . . . something."
Beckett the hitter, of course, had the benefit of some extra batting practice, having played for the Marlins until this season.
''Being a younger guy and playing in the National League, he's always hit," said Youkilis, who played third base flawlessly last night, singled and tripled, and scored twice. ''Everyone hit in high school. He probably hit a lot in high school, he got to the major leagues sooner than others, so he got to hit a lot.
''But it's definitely impressive, what he did. Helping out your own cause is always huge."
