BECKETT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Time and again, Josh Beckett has said he’s healthy enough to be the dominating postseason pitcher his teammates and the rest of the baseball world are used to.

The Red Sox ace didn’t prove that in the ALDS against the Angels, where he lasted only five innings in his start and allowed four runs on nine hits with four walks and six strikeouts. More troubling is the fact that he threw 106 pitches in that brief outing.

Well, yesterday afternoon he reassured everyone he’ll be ready for Game Two of the ALCS against the Rays.

“I’m going to be the best I can be,” he said tersely.

Beckett’s health has been an issue since the start of spring training, when he suffered a lower-back strain. It flared up at times during the season while he was dealing with an elbow problem. Then in the final weekend of the regular season, he suffered a right-oblique strain that forced the Red Sox to push his ALDS start back.

These problems clearly curtailed his effectiveness in the last series, but the Red Sox are hoping he’ll return to form tonight. After all, it’s the postseason, and that’s when Beckett is at his best.

“I don’t think that the idea of playing in these games of this magnitude [is] too big for him,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “He thrives on that and enjoys it. You have to be a very good pitcher to begin with regardless of how you feel mentally. If you don’t physically have the stuff to do it, you’re probably running upstream a little bit.”

Pro pitchers are creatures of habit, and Beckett is a prototypical hurler. He has his routine and sticks to it with military precision. During the last couple of weeks, however, he hasn’t been able to enjoy his daily routines because of the discomfort.

“I try to keep it as normal as possible,” he said. “The last five days have kind of gotten a little more normal as far as being able to do everything that I generally do.”

When he was injured during spring training, Beckett said the added offseason rest would benefit him during the regular season. Now that it’s October, and his team is attempting to return to the World Series, the lack of pitching down the stretch may have affected his performance.

“Sometimes two weeks off might be good for you and sometimes it might not be,” he said. “Sometimes it might be more beneficial than others. I really don’t know.”

When he does take the mound tonight, he knows he’s facing a very tough Rays lineup.

“There are a lot of challenges,” Beckett said. “I think one through nine, as far as situational hitting goes, they are probably about as good as they came in the major leagues this year. You’ve got to make sure that you put yourself into a good situation because they can hit with runners in scoring position.”

He says he’s ready. He says he’s healthy. The real question is, which Josh Beckett will show up?

jmcdonal@projo.com