FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Two days after Josh Beckett left Boston, heading for Los Angeles, one of the pitcher's closest friend on the team, John Lackey, defined the situation.

"It had gone too far here for him. I don't think it would have ever come back," said Lackey of the public's perception of Beckett.

A few days later, Beckett would agree with his buddy's assessment, telling WEEI.com, "It wasn't going to turn around."

That debate came and went. Immediately, the next conversation turned to Lackey. Despite not pitching for the entire 2012 season, he still had lived a similar existence as Beckett -- popular within the walls of the clubhouse, but one of the chief targets for a fan base's bubbling-over animosity toward the Red Sox.

Whether it was because of a dangling elbow ligament, poor production, defiant media sessions or simply an affiliation with what was perceived as a chief part of the problem, it was hard to fathom that Lackey could go down anything but a similar road to the one traveled by Beckett. He could utter lines like he did last August -- "I think I can pitch and not worry about the other stuff. I'm comfortable with the guys in this room and that's what's important" -- but, that, in Red Sox Land, can often ring hollow.

But here we are, and it sure seems as though Lackey has taken at least the first steps down a path few thought he would be navigating.

As we sit here right now, the Red Sox starter has at least given off the image of someone who is easing his way into an about-face. What was once a John Lackey who seemingly would rather invite the clubhouse kids to perform his Tommy John surgery than associate with members of the media, now readily holds court with the press without a hint of the animosity for which outsiders had typically braced themselves in the past.

He is healthy, seemingly happy and, so far, productive. Perhaps the Josh Beckett baseball card (next to one of former Angels teammate Jered Weaver) affixed to the top of his locker serves as a reminder of what could reside around the corner, but with two weeks left in spring training, Lackey actually has started to stiff-arm the negative momentum of his first three years with the Red Sox.

Whether you like Lackey or don't, for those witnessing Red Sox spring training thus far, the alteration has been one of this camp's most notable eye-openers.

"I hope so. I hope that's true," Lackey said when asked if he sensed negative perception was being chipped away. "It's a little bit different being down here. I don't know what's going on up there. I don't read a whole lot of stuff, anyway. I'm just trying to work hard, handle my business right now, and hopefully the on-the-field results will come and those things will take care of themselves.

"There's always going to be overreaction, both positive and negative. So I'm going to try and stay in the middle, keep working and see where we end up at the end."

The outsiders have taken note, as have those on the inside, those who always painted a dramatically different picture of the pitcher.

"That goes with anybody coming off surgery the season prior, or even when he wasn't playing last year still getting bashed for stupid stuff," said Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz. "He just knows in his mind ... once he hits his stride I don't see anything altering the direction he wants it to go. The Red Sox wouldn't sign him if he didn't have some kind of special attribute he can bring to the table. That's why everybody around here has seen the old John Lackey, laughing, cutting up and just hang out without anything going on in his head wondering about what they're going to ask him today. I think that would be easier for anybody."

Added fellow starter Jon Lester: "I think the perception of John, I think the biggest thing is that people haven't seen him fully healthy. People have to realize what he did for two years was pretty remarkable, pitching with no elbow. Hopefully now it's a fresh start for him. He feels like it's a fresh start, pitching without pain. He can get back to being him."

There is an enormous caveat in this situation, however. It's one that even Lackey acknowledges readily.

None of what is taking place this spring means anything if performance doesn't accompany persona.

It now has been well-documented what Lackey dealt with physically throughout his first two seasons with the Red Sox, pitching with an elbow ligament even the Angels' doctors suggested needed surgery after the '09 season. In the clubhouse, he was applauded for simply pitching 375 innings without a healthy elbow ligament. Outside the Red Sox' inner sanctum, he was the guy who went 26-23 with a 5.26 ERA in 61 outings while carrying a five-year, $82.5 million contract.

There is encouragement this spring in regard to the rediscovery of his pre-Red Sox success. The stuff has seemingly returned, as has been the spring training hitters' uneasy reactions to Lackey's offerings. The numbers don't mean much, but the results thus far are helping this once-unthinkable metamorphosis take shape as a possibility heading into the '13 season.

"I don't think it's done yet. I'm going to have to pitch well," Lackey said regarding the potential change in how he might be viewed. "In this room, it was always fun, and that's my main concern. If I pitch better, the other stuff will kind of take care of itself.

"I've been there a few years now. It's part of the deal."

Lackey's new lot in life could be due to a lot of things. Weight loss. One year older and wiser. The acceptance of everything that comes with playing in Boston.

But, ask his teammates, or himself, and there most likely is one thing most responsible for the change -- a new elbow ligament.

"There aren't many people who have had to go through something like Lack has gone through," Buchholz said. "Ten-plus years in the big leagues, signed a big deal here and people call it underperforming, but every time I look back at it, the dude was broke. The year before he signed here, the doctor in Anaheim told him he needed to have surgery. He was like, 'No, I'm just going to go until it breaks.' For people not to know about that and have the deal he signed being structured around it, that's where the negativity came from on his side. People were bashing him because he didn't throw like he threw in 2007. Well, yeah, that's because his elbow wasn't blown up [in 2007]. Now, coming into spring, knowing he's fully healthy and can throw a baseball without any kind of issue eases his mind and he knows he can go out and do what he does, which is eat up innings when he's out there and put his team in a good spot to win."

Added Lester: "You're dealing with stuff for so long and trying to get to the next one, and then the next one, and having to go through that. Now he doesn't have to worry about how he's going to feel between starts. He doesn't have to worry about treatment on his elbow and worrying about the other stuff he had to worry about before. It's just back to pitching and being him."

Who knows? We could arrive at this year's trade deadline and find ourselves having those same sorts of debates regarding Lackey that could be found with each mention of Beckett a year ago. Without production (and with a big contract), the verbal daggers always are readily available.

Still, a month and a half into his fourth spring training and Lackey has left an impression many believed would never be surfaced. Maybe he hadn't reached the point of no return, after all.

"I can't think that far ahead. I have to think about tomorrow," Lackey said. "As far as the rehab, spring training and everything, up to this point it's going about as good as I could hope for. The way my command is coming. The way my arm feels. It's been pretty positive, for sure."