Ordonez would work out fine

And why not? Both are All-Stars (Ordonez four times, Rodriguez seven times). Both are perennial Triple Crown candidates. And both live in the offseason in Miami.

Now, if the Red Sox and Rangers can untangle the final snag in their monthlong effort to swap Manny Ramirez for Rodriguez, Ordonez and his Miami workout pal could be united in the heart of Boston's batting order. The Sox plan to send Nomar Garciaparra and Scott Williamson to the White Sox for Ordonez once the Ramirez-for-Rodriguez deal is finalized. And the fruits of the Miami boot-camp regimen soon could start paying dividends for the Sox.

Never mind that A-Rod needed to push Ordonez a bit two winters ago to fully invest in the training program. When Ordonez balked after the first day of weightlifting and track work at Camp A-Rod, Rodriguez gave him a little nudge.

"I told him, `You're either in or you're out. We start at 7:30 [a.m.] If you're late, you're not allowed to work out,' " Rodriguez told The Sporting News in March. "This year, he came and committed 100 percent."

Not that anyone but A-Rod has ever accused Ordonez of slacking. Ordonez, a low-key, soft-spoken superstar, may be the anti-Rodriguez in terms of charisma. But while A-Rod certainly would command the spotlight in Boston, Ordonez quietly would continue to rank among the hardest workers in the game, if his first five full seasons with the White Sox are a reliable indicator of his professional ethic. It's little wonder he has said he would have worked construction if he hadn't played baseball.

At 29, Ordonez is accustomed to playing in the shadows. In Chicago, he was dwarfed by his massive teammate, Frank Thomas, on the South Side and by his right-field counterpart for the Cubs, Sammy Sosa, on the North Side. But he proved nearly as mighty as any right fielder in baseball over the last five years, driving in more runs (590) than any other but Sosa (650).

Though glory has eluded the unheralded Ordonez, financial rewards have not. He is due to earn $14 million next season as he completes a three-year, $29.5 million contract he signed in 2001 after he became the first player in American League history to hit at least .300 (he hit .305), with 40 doubles, 30 homers (he hit 31), 100 RBIs (he knocked in 113), and 25 stolen bases. Not bad for the youngest of seven children whose father worked construction and drove a cab in the coastal town of Coro, Venezuela. The White Sox signed Ordonez for $3,000 in 1991 after the Astros cut him from their Venezuelan camp.

The Sox would nearly break even in the deal with Chicago since Garciaparra is due to earn $11.5 million next season and Williamson, who earned $1.6 million last season, could command about $3 million next year in salary arbitration. The only question could be how the Sox would realign their outfield if they also retained Trot Nixon and Johnny Damon. While Damon's below-average arm would make him a logical choice to move to left field, Ordonez and Nixon would lack Damon's range in center. Both Ordonez and Nixon have spent nearly their entire careers in right field, where they ranked second and third best behind Juan Encarnacion at the position last season in zone rating, a statistical formula considered a better evaluation tool than fielding percentage.

Regardless of the defensive alignment, Ordonez would go far to replace Ramirez's production at the plate. Like Ramirez, Ordonez has power to all fields. He hit .317 with 29 homers and 99 RBIs last season, one homer shy of reaching 30 homers and 100 RBIs for a fifth straight season. A righthanded batter, he is a career .307 hitter with a .365 on-base percentage, and he has hit righthanded pitchers (.307) virtually as well as lefties (.308).

Even better for the Sox perhaps, Ordonez has flourished at Fenway Park, batting .368 (39 for 106) with three homers and 15 RBIs.