BOSTON -- Newly-hired pitching coach John Farrell has been watching lots of videotape of the Red Sox with whom he'll soon be working.

But Farrell knows from experience that the most important part of his job will be establishing good relationships with his pitchers.

"Part of my responsibility is to build trust with them," said Farrell, meeting with reporters in the home clubhouse at Fenway Park.

Farrell also talked about putting together the proper programs and correct environment to help pitchers succeed.

"A pitcher has to be prepared physically, mentally and fundamentally," said Farrell, hired last month after the Sox decided not to retain Dave Wallace. As the director of player development for the Cleveland Indians, Farrell worked with minor-leaguers and helped them prepare for their transition to the big leagues. Next spring, two of his most important projects will be relievers Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen , who pitched well at times last year, but also struggled mightily, particularly in the second half of the season.

Farrell theorized that Hansen and Delcarmen struggled because they were unsure of how to handle failure for the first time in their careers.

Added manager Terry Francona : "We asked a lot of (Hansen and Delcarmen). They pitched extremely well at times. But when they hit some bumps in the road, we had nowhere (else) to go. But they're going to come back and be good. We think their future is very bright.

"They had a tough time of it (last season). But they'll learn from it and be very good.

Papelbon 'feeling great'

Another of Farrell's challenges will be helping Jonathan Papelbon move from the closer's role in the bullpen back into the starting rotation.

Through his off-season throwing program, Papelbon will have to build up his arm strength. Once he accomplishes that, he'll need to rely on additional pitches to expand his repertoire.

Farrell noted that for Papelbon to succeed, he'll need to rely less on strikeouts and more on ground-ball outs to help him minimize his pitch count.

"That will be a key to making him a starter who can eat up innings," Farrell said.

Francona said Papelbon has returned to Mississippi and his shoulder, which forced him to miss the final month of the season, is "feeling great."

High spirits for Lester

Francona said that due to privacy concerns he was unable to say much about Jon Lester 's battle with cancer, but revealed that he has been in touch with the pitcher, who was diagnosed late in the season with a form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

"His spirit is unbelievably positive," said Francona, "and he's feeling fantastic."

Lester is undergoing treatment in his native Washington.

Around the bases

The club had no updates on its coaching staff. The Sox must still fill a coaching vacancy in the bullpen and there are growing indications that Bill Haselman may not return as first-base coach. . . . The Sox announced the hiring of a number of scouts to help replenish some recent losses in that department. Three new area amateur scouts have been added and a fourth was promoted from part-time to full-time.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340