Nothing has changed. Nothing had changed … except for the results.

Josh Beckett’s workouts leading up to the most recent start hadn’t changed one bit, throwing the exact same number of pitches in his side session as he always did, and going through the physical regimen that had separated himself from his contemporaries.

“With most pitchers we cut back at this time of year, but he didn’t want to,” Red Sox strength and conditioning coach Dave Page had said the day before Beckett’s Game 2 start. “He doesn’t want to change anything. I knew he would do that because he likes it. It’s his suit of armor.”

So, after an unappetizing, 4 1/3-inning, eight-run interruption, the beat went on.

As has been his ritual throughout the entire season, Beckett made himself available for media queries on the day after his start. He then went about kicking off his next four days of preparation for the next time out.

For Beckett, life continues as scheduled … all the way to a possible Game 6.

“I felt fine going in,” said the Red Sox pitcher Sunday regarding the subject of the day, his Saturday night outing against Tampa Bay in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. “I got the first two outs and I felt great about it. We approached them a little different, and that’s my fault.”

The whispers among the media regarding whether or not he might make his next start was nonsensical to the pitcher. And so was the use of his recent oblique injury as a crutch when deciphering exactly what happened at Tropicana Field.

In an earlier media gathering during the Red Sox’ workout day, Beckett grew perturbed at the thought that the cause for the most recent outing, and his slightly diminished velocity, could be traced to lingering physical woes.

“I felt fine,” he said. “Do you guys know something that I don’t know?”

The reality is that while the rest of the world attempts to decipher the intricacies of Beckett’s worst post-season performance, he has a fairly solid grip on what happened. And that is why, as was evidenced by his responses to Sunday’s inquiries, he has little use in joining the analysis. He has shifted into pre-game, not post-game.

To Beckett’s way of thinking, this wasn’t like that start against Anaheim. Getting the mound for the American League Division Series match-up had been the focus – the long-toss, side session, and, as he called it, the “chemistry” (or medicine). He would worry about the other stuff once on top of that pitching rubber.

This one was different.

For Beckett, this was less about the radar gun and whatever was making it register slightly lower than usual, and revolved more around strategy and execution. And, in a small way, that is a step in the right direction.

After two stellar starts against the Rays, he decided to mix things up a bit in terms of approach. And when the new plan hit a snag due to a culmination of missed location, a changed philosophy by the Tampa Bay hitters, and not his usual stuff, it left Beckett leaning more on the drawing board than the trainer’s room.

“My velocity was down, but a lot of people pitch from 86 to 88 (mph),” he said. “It was like one of those adjustments on top of an adjustments.”

And then there were those other guys’ adjustments.

“We kind of said as a team to make him throw strikes, and we did a good job of it,” Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro had said after the game. “I think we took a different approach this time.”

“His mannerisms on the mound didn’t change much, but you could tell immediately he wasn’t himself,” said Rays outfielder Cliff Floyd. “You have to tip your hat to our team for capitalizing. That’s the thing in the playoffs, when you seen an opportunity you take advantage of it.”

Beckett has come to grips with his lot in life, as a post-season legend who will continue to face obstacles this season on the way to building upon his reputation because of a series of circumstances. And the cause for this reality stretches beyond just his recent battle with a physical ailment. This cross to bear comes from a season full of roadblocks, forcing the righty to discover momentum in what have been sometimes unenviable timetables.

So comes the next challenge for Beckett -- if the Game 6 opportunity presents itself – altering those questions from “What happened?” to “What will happen?” It’s a road Beckett understands will most likely be rockier than normal, but still promises to be one he has a shot at navigating, just the same.

And for the pitcher, that’s good enough news for now.