" Boston ace Josh Beckett, who always seems to be upset about something, is ticked off at Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long for mentioning that Beckett takes too long between pitches, which can throw off the rhythm of the hitter.

That was the word from new Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine in comments made Saturday at the Red Sox "Christmas at Fenway'' event.

Long, reached by The Post yesterday, said he was merely stating the obvious to Valentine and the ESPN broadcast crew at the time and that it was Valentine who ran hard with his own comments about Beckett's pace, backing up Long's point of view.

Long is not losing any sleep over the fact that Beckett is upset with him, telling The Post, "I kind of think this is humorous.''

On an ESPN telecast in August, Valentine criticized Beckett for his slow pitching pace, saying, "That's a half hour added to this game of him standing around and us sitting around watching him do nothing.''"