Beckett has guts... No, Really.

This photo surfaced in Spring Training of 2008, causing many in Red Sox Nation to call foul. We wondered how a player making millions of dollars could show up so out of shape, and then Becks never seemed to be quite right all year, going on and off the disabled list for a variety of reasons, and winning his lone playoff decision on grit alone.

Now, we're two years into the future, and after a good 2009 (17-6, 3.86 ERA), Beckett shows up to camp looking like this:
Obviously, it's nowhere near as bad as it was in 2008, but it is a bit troubling. However, there's more than one way to look at this... You can be critical and suspicious, and accuse Beckett of spending more of the winter at McDonald's than the gym, or you can look at it logically.

Everyone is a different size and shape: I'm sure that many of you have struggled with your bodies in some way or another - most people experience frustratingly ineffective exercise/diet plans in their life; we all have that friend who couldn't gain weight even if he had an IV delivering straight lard into his bloodstream.

(Ahem... Clay Buchholz...)

It seems most likely that Josh Beckett has worked very hard, but that his body is simply shaped that way. He certainly has a very round face in comparison with his body, and one look at his legs will tell you that the righty has definitely not been neglecting his workouts... Still, he might want to take a leaf out of Jon Lester's book, and simply keep his shirt tucked in while he plays.

I don't know about you guys, but I prefer men with meat on their bones to stringbeans, anyway.