On this trip, they don't speak same language

With the temperature at 97 degrees, even in the evening, Jon Still welcomed the air conditioning.

It didn't matter that some of his roommates were protesting the chill, he was happy to have the cold air blowing away the stifling Dominican night. He simply wasn't used to it. And it didn't help when he and the other two American players accompanying him to the Red Sox Dominican Academy each got sick for a couple of days.

But the program - sending three American prospects to spend 10 days at the academy - was still considered a success. So, in the next few days, the organization will finalize a list of players to send next time. In this case, the five or six chosen will head to the Dominican at the end of October or beginning of November, scheduled to coincide with the start of the Dominican Instructional League.

"We've talked about this a lot, that the assimilation of our Latin players is a big [issue]," said Mike Hazen, the Sox' director of player development. "It's a pretty big challenge for them. The assimilation always goes in one direction, our foreign players need to learn English. It's never, 'Let's have our American-born players see what it means to them and their family.' It was one small way that we felt we could help educate a small population of our American-born players."

After vice president of player personnel Ben Cherington conceived the idea last year, the front office chose catcher/first baseman/designated hitter Still (22), along with outfielders Ryan Kalish (19) and Reid Engel (20), to go to the Dominican last fall. Still and Kalish spent most of the season with low Single A Greenville, though Still was eventually promoted to high Single A Lancaster; Kalish played with short-season Single A Lowell. The three were chosen based on their leadership abilities - though not on their knowledge of Spanish. (Kalish and Still claim just a few Spanish phrases, even after their trip.)

"I gained a lot of respect for [the Dominican players]," Still said. "I knew what I felt like when I went down there to visit, so I know it's the same when they come here. A lot of people just take it for granted, they should be understanding how we live. You would be the same if you went down there. They work really hard to learn English. It's just tough for them. You gain a lot of respect."

Kalish, whose season was cut short by an injury to the hamate bone in his wrist, said they worked out in the mornings and played games in the afternoons, similar to the schedule in Florida. Though they did get some perks, such as living in smaller quarters with air conditioning, while the rest of the players at the academy lived in a barracks-style room, the message came through.

"They're out at 5:30 in the morning, some of those kids, working out, because they want to get out of there so bad," Kalish said. "For us, it was really easy. We didn't wake up till 8. So when we got downstairs, we saw some kids that had already worked out, like full workout. It's like, 'Wow. These kids really want to make it.' "

Go west, young men
Along with the previously announced participants in the Arizona Fall League - righthanded pitcher Kyle Jackson, lefthanded pitcher Hunter Jones, first baseman Aaron Bates, and shortstop Jed Lowrie - Hazen confirmed that pitchers Jose Vaquedano, 26, and Daniel Haigwood, 23, will also be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox. Vaquedano and Haigwood are currently with Double A Portland. The Fall League season opens Oct. 9.

One more player from the Red Sox system, most likely a catcher, will be named to play for the Solar Sox.

End is near
With Lowell finishing its season tonight, all the Sox' minor league affiliates will have ended their regular seasons . . . Triple A Pawtucket finished 67-75, 16 1/2 games back in their division . . . Portland made the postseason after winning a one-game playoff with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to come in second in the Northern Division of the Eastern League. Trenton ran away with the division by 12 1/2 games. The Sea Dogs beat the Thunder, 3-2, in 13 innings last night to even the best-of-five series at 1-1 . . . Lancaster will play the first game of the California League divisional finals tomorrow. The JetHawks' Bubba Bell was named player and rookie of the year. Lancaster's Chad Epperson was named the league's top manager . . . Greenville went 29-41 to finish second to last in the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League . . . Nick Hagadone, 21, finished his season with Lowell Wednesday, pitching another three scoreless innings. After allowing five earned runs in his first appearance, Hagadone never allowed another earned run over 23 innings, including 32 strikeouts.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.