For most teams, starting pitching is the top item on the shopping list every winter. The Red Sox hope to be stocked for years to come.

“You can’t have an elite organization without starting pitching,” general manager Theo Epstein said after signing Josh Beckett to a four-year, $68 million contract extension Monday. “And for us, there’s the added expectation of having starting pitchers who can succeed in the AL East. It’s hard to acquire. It’s hard to draft and develop.”

Now that Beckett, who turns 30 on May 15, is signed through 2014, the Red Sox have signed or control their top four starting pitchers, including John Lackey, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, through 2014.

“I guess I look at things differently that most people,” said Beckett, who made the deal possible by not insisting on a fifth year. “A lot of people look at what they lost, or what they didn’t get. I’m looking at what I gained here — four more years of stability, four more years with an organization that you know is going to put a competitive team on the field. That can’t be underestimated. A season gets long when you’re losing 90 games.”

Click here to read the full article – By DOM AMORE of Hartford Courant

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The Boston ace hurled his second shutout of the season, leading the American League East front-runners to a 6-0 win over Kansas City at Fenway Park. It was the 11th win of the season — and career victory No. 100 — for Beckett, who allowed just three hits while striking out seven.

Click here to read the full article – By John Barone of MLB.com

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Below are links to memorabilia available for Josh Beckett.