“The couple of days that I’ve been here and seen them, the work ethic is just unbelievable. They’re always in here, doing weights and conditioning. They’re always busting their [butts] trying to get better. They’re never satisfied. That’s what I’ve seen the last couple days, that they’ve won a lot of games, won a couple World Series, but they’re not satisfied still. They work hard. That’s something I want to take to my workouts.’’
But it’s possible that the next generation of Sox pitchers won’t have Beckett to trail around the player development complex.
With the 29-year-old Beckett in the final year of his contract, there are no guarantees the sides will reach agreement on an extension. Not that Francona has any doubts that Beckett will be focused on this season, rather than his contract situation.
“I just know how he approaches things,’’ Francona said. “I know how Theo [Epstein] approaches things. I’ve heard their communication. It’s not a concern.’’
Although it’s obvious that losing Beckett would affect the team on the field, it’s harder to quantify what Beckett has meant to some of the younger members of the staff. He’s not a vocal leader in the clubhouse, but it’s always Beckett (and now Lester) whom the coaching staff and management entrust with their young talent. It happened with Clay Buchholz, and now it’s happening with Kelly.
“I think it would definitely help out this organization, not only on the field but off for however many years they sign him,’’ Lester said. “Obviously, he’s helped me out a lot as far as preparing, just being a professional. It’s not necessarily because he sits down and he says, ‘This is what you need to do.’ He just does it and you just learn from it.
