Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

While seeking to explain Josh Beckett’s struggles on the mound in 2006, people often turned to the old baseball axiom about pitchers with a “million dollar arm and 10-cent brain.”

Apparently, the focus was on the wrong body part. The first six weeks of ’07 prove that Beckett’s brain may also be worth seven digits. It’s the middle digit on his pitching hand that’s more worthless than a penny stock.

Beckett left his Mother’s Day start against the Orioles due to the mother of all finger injuries; an “avulsion” of the skin on his right middle finger. In doctor-speak, an avulsion is a “tearing away.” In normal people-speak, an avulsion is a blister. If you’re not familiar with the right-hander’s history of blister problems, here’s a brief recap;

The fickle finger of fate first turned on the then Florida Marlins hurler May 1, 2002, when a blister on his right middle finger landed him on the disabled list. That call for Mayday wasn’t enough to rescue Beckett, and the same ailment sent him back to the DL June 5th. The third time proved to be the charm, as a late August visit to Injuryland cured the rookie long enough to lead the fish to a World Series title with a complete game shutout of the Yankees in Game 6. Somewhere, Rollie Fingers was smiling.

Blisters never developed into a problem in 2003, probably because a two month stint on the DL with an elbow injury kept the calluses well-formed. However, smooth skin led to another hiatus on May 31st, 2004. Barely back from that dermatologists dream, a back strain (probably the strain of finding another blister) cost Beckett 15 more days of activity. Granted his freedom from the DL the day after Independence Day, Beckett was disabled again July 6th with…you guessed it; a skin tear to his right middle finger.

Baseball’s most famous finger incident of 2005 wasn’t Beckett’s 6th and final blister related trip to the injured list on June 5th. That honor belonged to Rafael Palmeiro’s pointed denials at the Congressional panel investigating steroid use in baseball. Apparently in Washington, a wagging finger coincides with a lying mouth, though best we can tell neither Palmeiro nor President Clinton developed blisters.

Beckett completed the 2006 season, his first in Boston, without a single skin issue landing him on the DL. It was also his worst season in the major leagues. Fast forward to 2007 and a pitcher who found himself at the top of his profession again, only to find his skin problems have returned. Coincidence? Not if you believe our potential Cy Young winner is caught in a Catch-22 of stinking out the joint or developing blisters in the finger joint.

Perhaps Red Sox Nation can offer suggestions to help alleviate the problem, much like Marlins fans used to. Skin experts say to stop throwing the minute you feel a problem developing, though Beckett is understandably hesitant to allow such an unmanly exit from a ballgame. Perhaps he should lie and say he’s suffering from one of those famous groin strains fellow Texan Roger Clemens develops. You know, the ones Rocket Roger never seems to get when tossing seven shutout frames, only when he’s chased from the mound after four and a third innings of 5-run, 11-hit ball.

Ultimately, there may be no cure for Beckett’s blister issue. But if the Red Sox don’t put a finger on the problem, it could very well cause an avulsion of their World Series aspirations.

If you have any home remedies for finger blisters, give them to us and we’ll be happy to pass them along to the Red Sox and Josh Beckett!