BOSTON -- For Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox, getting jeered at Fenway Park has become par for the course. Ed Reed Pink Jersey . The embattled starter did nothing to help restore his reputation Thursday night, getting booed off the field in the third inning of Bostons 8-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians. It was Bostons 11th loss in its last 12 home games and it happened to come a day after word surfaced that Beckett was playing golf last week a day after he was scratched from his scheduled start with a sore lat muscle in his back. That angered Red Sox fans, who got in plenty of taunts before Beckett was pulled after 2 1-3 innings with Cleveland leading 7-1. "I think it was directed at me," Beckett said. "Smart fans." Beckett was unrepentant about his golf outing, saying what he does on his day off is his business. But what he failed to understand, it seemed, was that fans were upset about him golfing when he was supposedly too sore to pitch rather than about him simply hitting the links on a normal off day. Jack Hannahan hit a two-run homer and Jason Kipnis had a solo shot off Beckett (2-4), who gave up seven runs on seven hits and walked two. "You never want to get booed at your home stadium," said Indians left fielder Johnny Damon, a former Red Sox star very familiar with being booed at Fenway Park. "Hes a great pitcher. Had a bad night. He helped bring another championship here, but as we all know that can get lost in time." Michael Brantley went 4 for 5 with two RBIs for the Indians. Derek Lowe (5-1) pitched six effective innings against his former team, allowing two runs and nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts. He was as solid as he needed to be with the Indians offence taking full advantage of Becketts struggles. "He knows how to pitch with a lead," Cleveland manager Manny Acta said. "He had a lot of traffic throughout his outing, but he always seemed to make that pitch when he had to." Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 11 with a leadoff homer in the seventh, cutting Clevelands lead to 7-3. But that did little to lift the sombre mood at Fenway Park. Boston, last in the AL East at 12-19, has dropped eight of nine overall. Beckett, who has a 5.97 ERA, was booed just a few hours after manager Bobby Valentine downplayed the uproar over the pitchers golf outing. In his postgame interview, Beckett grew more terse each time his golf outing was mentioned. "We get 18 off days a year," he said. "I think we deserve a little bit of time to ourselves." Its not the first time Becketts off-the-field decisions and commitment to the team have come into question. After last season, it was revealed that he was among a group of pitchers who ate fried chicken and drank beer in the clubhouse during games on days they didnt pitch. The first homer was Hannahans two-run shot into the Boston bullpen, where a few relievers got up and started stretching their arms as it became apparent Beckett would not be out there for long. It got worse in the fourth when Kipnis led off with a homer, Asdrubal Cabrera singled and Travis Hafner walked. Beckett got a mock cheer when Carlos Santana flied out for the first out of the inning, but the boos came right back when Shin-Soo Choo followed with a double. Brantley was up next and one fan yelled "FORE!" when he lined a foul ball down the right-field line, but all the chuckles quickly subsided when Brantley doubled to left-centre. It was the second straight double for the Indians, ending Becketts night. Fans cheered when Valentine came out of the dugout and immediately signalled to the bullpen for lefty Andrew Miller. "Its challenging every night," Valentine said. "The guys are doing a great job and I tip my cap to them and the offence. We were a bloop away from getting back into this game four different times." There wasnt much to cheer for again until Pedroia came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth, but he popped out to second on the 41st pitch of the inning by Vinny Pestano. NOTES: The Red Sox paid tribute before the game to public address announcer Carl Beane, a day after he died after having a heart attack while driving. The Red Sox went without a PA announcer for their game against Cleveland as part of the tribute, which also featured a moment of silence after a series of still photos were shown on the centre-field monitor. ... RHP Clayton Mortensen was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket to make room for Daniel Nava, who started in left field. "He pitched plenty well to stay on this staff, but he has an option and we needed a spot and luckily hes the kind of professional guy that understood totally," Valentine said. ... Valentine said 3B Kevin Youkilis (back) was expected to start throwing again Thursday or Friday, but there was no word on when he could return. ... It was Brantleys fourth four-hit game, tying his career high. ... Lowe made his second appearance at Fenway since he helped Boston win the 2004 World Series. Ray Lewis Game Jersey . And the Miami Heat are suddenly up against it as they try to tie their second-round playoff series on the road today against the Indiana Pacers. Ed Reed Youth Jersey . -- Wide receiver Donald Driver is hinting he has a deal in place to return to the Green Bay Packers. http://www.officialusravensshop.com/paul-kruger-jersey . -- Tosaint Ricketts certainly didnt look like an unemployed soccer player. Terrell Suggs Jersey . Alejandro Gomez and Mariano Izco gave Catania a solid halftime lead as Inter was roundly booed throughout the first period. The game changed in less than 10 second-half minutes, however, as Diego Forlan helped Inter hit back with the teams first goal in six games before Diego Milito levelled. Torrey Smith Elite Jersey . They had co-owner Will Smith sitting courtside and playing along to the cameras. They brought Julius Erving back in the fold.TORONTO -- As it tabled its first offer in the latest round of NHL labour talks, the NHL Players Association presented itself as a partner looking to help fix the leagues problems -- but not one willing to bear all the burden. Flanked by superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said Tuesday the unions offer includes a smaller percentage of revenues for players and an expanded revenue sharing program to help struggling teams. "We do believe that the proposal the players made today, once implemented, can produce a stable industry ... that can give us a chance to move beyond the recurring labour strife that has plagued the NHL the last two decades," said Fehr. By the unions calculations, the deal could see players give up as much as US$465 million in revenue if the league continues to grow at an average rate for the next three seasons. The proposal includes delinking the salary cap from hockey-related revenue and setting a fixed rate -- increasing by two per cent for the first year, four per cent for the second and six per cent for the third. Afterwards, the players would hold an option to have the fourth year revert back to the current system, where they are entitled to receive 57 per cent of all revenues. The belief from the NHLPA is that owners would be able to pocket more profits over the first three years of the deal, some of which could be dispersed to struggling franchises in an effort to strengthen the league overall. "I like it a lot," Crosby said of the proposal. "I think, as Don said, its addressing the issues that the league has. (Were) making sure as players that we do our part to help those (struggling) teams out, but also holding the teams accountable. "At the end of the day, its going to take both (sides) to do that." The current CBA expires Sept. 15 and the NHL has said there will be a lockout if a new agreement isnt in place by then. After receiving the unions offer, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he hoped that the league would be able to examine it closely enough so that it could be discussed when talks resume Wednesday. Ray Rice Black Jersey. "Its clear to me that they didnt put it together in an hour or two, and as a result were going to need to take a little bit of time to evaluate it," Bettman said. The most surprising part of the unions proposal was that it didnt call for the removal of the hard salary cap the league won coming out of the 2004-05 lockout. Fehr indicated that the union decided to work with that concept because the owners felt strongly about the need to keep it. The union boss called the proposed revenue sharing plan "significantly expanded, more aggressive and more targeted" than what currently exists. It would see more than $250 million spread around each season. "In essence, when you boil it all down, what were suggesting is that the players partner with the financially stronger owners to stabilize the industry and assist the less financially strong ownership groups," said Fehr. The proposal comes after the league laid its offer out on July 13. It called for an immediate 24 per cent decrease in player salaries -- accomplished by lowering the unions share of revenue -- while introducing new contract restrictions, including a five-year cap on contracts. According to the NHLPA, its proposal doesnt include "significant" changes to rules governing players contracts. With the Sept. 15 deadline looming, it appears the talks have started to take on more urgency. Both sides have said repeatedly that theyre anxious to avoid a lockout, especially after an entire season was lost the last time they negotiated an agreement. Since then, the union has installed Fehr as its executive director and the players seemed thrilled with the crafty first proposal he unveiled Tuesday. "Everything that weve done has been well thought out," said Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza. "Theres a reason behind our proposal. The biggest reason is because we want to try to find a way to play and find a way to reach a fair agreement." Added Fehr: "The players want a new CBA and they want it soon." ' ' '
