A&A: Justin Masterson, pitcher

It's hard to believe that Justin Masterson still is awaiting his first Opening Day with the Red Sox. A year ago, the sinkerballer began the season as a starting pitcher with Double-A Portland; this year, he's an integral part of perhaps the deepest bullpen in the major leagues.

A year ago, he went 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA as a starting pitcher but dropped his ERA to 2.36 as a reliever; in the playoffs, he allowed two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings.

What have you learned from being around a pitching staff as talented and experienced as this one?
"Nothing jumps out at you; it's not like a life-changing experience or anything. But you see how each guy goes about their business differently. They know what makes them good, and they stick to that. It gives you a chance to see how they do it and take some things away from that and really figure out who you are as a pitcher also."

When you come in for your first couple of springs, do you make a point to look around to see how someone like Josh Beckett handles himself?
"You notice it. There's an aspect of, you want to see what makes them good and how they're successful. But you also want to make sure you do your own thing, too. You have to remember that even though he does that, that doesn't mean it's going to work for me. You definitely, when you come in, you take a look. For me, it's better to have a broader knowledge of what's going on rather than saying, 'Well, this is how I do it.' You take it in. You take a look at everyone, whether it be a guy at the top or a guy at the bottom. You see what you might like or dislike, throw in your two cents' worth."

What did you see out of Beckett last year while he was struggling?
"He was doing the same stuff he was doing when it was working well. He stuck to his plan. Whether it be the body maybe not feeling as good as it had or some unfortunate circumstances as far as not catching breaks, he just let it. But what I saw was that he continued to stay on what he knew made him good. He didn’t veer from that. If something goes wrong, you can’t be like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to change everything!’ You’ve got to remember that this also made you good – so stick with it and things will turn back around."

Have you seen a difference in Jon Lester this spring after the year he had last year?
"There’s definitely a whole lot more confidence – not that it wasn’t there before, but when you have success, and he was definitely a workhorse for us last year, it builds in your mind. You say, ‘OK, I’ve been here and I know what I can do and what I want to do.’ He’s taken it upon himself to be more of that go-to guy."

Is there some excitement about how deep and talented this pitching staff is?
"Absolutely. You look down through, and even guys who are here today (jerks head toward the locker of Daniel Bard), guys who will be in Pawtucket and whatnot, guys who will be in Double-A and working their way up, there’s a lot of quality guys. It’s like, ‘Man, somewhere else, they might be in the big leagues right now.’ That’s a testament to the organization and how much quality pitching we have – on paper. Of course, the season hasn’t begun, so we don’t really know what’s really going to take place. Maybe it won’t work out as well as we hoped. That’s what makes it exciting."

Does that make it more fun to come to the ballpark, even just to sit in the bullpen and watch the starters pitch?
"What’s great about this team in general, besides the talent, is the quality of individuals who, all by themselves, they want to come and watch other guys pitch. They want to watch the game to see how well the starters are going to do, and you’re rooting for every other bullpen guy that’s going out. And that’s even before having such great talent, which makes it probably even more like, ‘Oh, man, there could be something special about what’s going on.’"