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The story, per AP:

"Beckett thought Howard took too long to admire his long fly ball to center that was knocked down by the wind and caught in front of the warning track. Beckett yelled at Howard, but nothing happened during the inning.

Beckett looked back into the Phillies dugout as he walked off the field following the sixth. After Howard ran out to his spot at first base, he threw his glove down, looked into Bostons dugout, talked back to Beckett and walked toward him. Beckett was restrained before he stepped back onto the field and no one threw any punches or shoves.

'Im about respecting the game. Even if it is a home run, I dont think its the right thing to do,' Beckett said. 'Its not like I wanted to fight the guy, but I wanted to make the point that you look like an idiot when you do that and its an out. It was my fault. I shouldve let it go. He didnt do that last year when he was hitting a bunch of homers. I guess one season changes you.'"

The story went on to say Howard claimed he lost the flight of the ball and was simply trying to figure out where it was. Looks like just a big misunderstanding more than anything.

And anyone who watched the game should realize, if they hadn't before, that this pretty well illustrates just what Josh Beckett is all about. He is a ferocious competitor, even in a "meaningless" spring training game. Did you see his reaction to the double play that ended an inning? If he loses, he's going to take it personally. This is the sort of guy you love to have on your side, and you hate when he's a member of the opposition.

I don't mind a guy who gets intense and shouts encouragement at his teammates after they make a great play, or exchanges words with his opponents. Punching a wall is another matter, but I've never heard of Beckett going that far. It looks to me that his emotional makeup was a big reason why he won the WS MVP award. He's a fire-breather, and he's going to fight for his team as long and as hard as he possibly can.