Florida placed RHP Josh Beckett on the disabled list on May 31st. Beckett developed a blister on the middle finger of his right hand during his May 25th start and then ripped the skin of the blister during his May 30th start, causing him to leave the game in the third inning. He was not pleased with the Marlins' decision to send him straight to the disabled list, but given Beckett's history of blister problems, Florida wanted to deal with the issue immediately. The club hopes that by sitting him now they will eliminate the possibility of the blister becoming a lingering problem. Since the Marlins' past experiments developed an effective therapy for Beckett's blisters, his recovery simply should be a matter of following the treatment regimen.

Beckett has been able to maintain most of his arm strength by throwing with a covering over the blister, though the rules obviously prevent him from applying that strategy in a game. He may throw without the covering today, and if all goes well, he'll pitch a bullpen session later in the week. Beckett will be eligible to return from the disabled list on June 15th, and the plan is for him to make a start either on the 15th or in the four days after that date, since an off day allows the Marlins some flexibility with their rotation. The 24-year-old has already worked fairly hard this year and was on pace to pitch significantly more innings this season than he threw in 2003, so this minor problem should be a nice break for his arm and help keep him fresh for the second half of the season.