He's dealing with it just fine

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- While many were wondering how Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra felt about nearly being traded as part of the Red Sox' effort to acquire Alex Rodriguez, no one paid any mind to another player who would have changed teams if A-Rod had come to Boston.

But now it can be told: The psyche of minor league pitcher Jon Lester, who would have accompanied Ramirez to Texas, was unscathed by the experience.

Yesterday, Lester arrived for the 10-day, minor league minicamp the Sox are running for 40 invited prospects, as well as any players who were here this winter voluntarily working out.

"It was exciting," said Lester, a 20-year-old lefthander who was the team's No. 1 draft pick in 2002. "Real exciting. Yes, sir, I thought the deal was pretty much done.

"My dad happened to be looking on the Internet and he saw it in the Boston newspapers and called me and told me about it."

Lester never talked to anyone with the Sox about the proposed deal.

"At first, of course you want to be with the Red Sox all the way through," he said. "But if you have to move on, you hope that was best for me.

"It was very flattering. It's something, even if it didn't happen, you can someday tell your kids about."

Lester was 6-9 with a 3.65 ERA last season pitching for Augusta in the Single A South Atlantic League. He comes into camp projected to start for Single A Sarasota in the Florida State League.

Opening nod

If anyone needed him to make it official, manager Terry Francona did so yesterday, saying that Pedro Martinez is his choice to start the season opener in Baltimore against the Orioles April 4. "That's not a secret," Francona said . . . Pitcher Curt Schilling was absent yesterday, tending to what Francona said was personal business. Schilling had the club's permission to attend a grievance hearing against his former agent, Jeff Borris of the Beverly Hills Sports Council. The pitcher handled his own negotiations with the Red Sox when he agreed to an extension last November. Schilling was expected to be back for today's workout, which will be a two-hour abbreviated session ending at 11 a.m. so the Sox can participate in a charity golf tournament . . . Before yesterday's workout, the team had a meeting about how to deal with the media . . . The Sox have sold 106,000 tickets for spring training games, with only 10,000 left, 3,000 of those for their last spring exhibition, against Pittsburgh March 31 . . . The Sox plan to announce procedures to purchase tickets for the Green Monster seats as well as the new right-field roof seats early next week. The Monster seat prices, which last season were $50, are expected to be varied this season, the price depending on location and, in some cases, the opponent. Some seats for Yankee games, for example, could cost as much as $100 . . . Johnny Damon's concerns that the Sox may not want him to bat leadoff appear unwarranted. Wednesday, Damon said he thought the Sox were thinking about batting Pokey Reese leadoff, but that isn't going to happen. When Reese plays, he almost certainly will hit ninth, and while Francona will have different lineup combinations, depending on the type of pitcher the Sox are facing and what kind of defensive alignment he wants, Damon remains the logical candidate to bat first.

Unwelcome mat

In the aftermath of the BALCO steroid scandal, Major League Baseball issued a statement yesterday in which it said it will strictly enforce its rules regarding access to clubhouses, dugouts, and playing fields. The rule currently states: "Only the following groups may be granted full or partial access to the areas listed above: players, MLBPA representatives, managers, coaches, trainers, club physicians, accredited media, commissioner's office representatives, and designated club personnel. Other persons such as friends, associates, agents, attorneys, personal trainers, etc. may not be granted access to the restricted areas. Credentials that would permit access to those restricted areas may not be issued to such prohibited persons." Several top players, including Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, both of whom testified before a grand jury in the BALCO case, have had personal trainers who enjoyed clubhouse access. No Sox player has a personal trainer who has appeared on premises on any kind of regular basis, but many players on the Sox have had friends and family members in the clubhouse, and this week David Ortiz has had a personal valet, holding his clothes as he changes into uniform . . . Garciaparra's agent, Arn Tellem, is due in next week to meet with Sox officials regarding a contract extension for the shortstop, but general manager Theo Epstein cautioned that Tellem's presence should not be construed as a sign that a deal is imminent. The sides have had talks in recent meetings and they've been cordial, but the Sox have not yet indicated any change of position from their stance last December, when they dropped their offer to Garciaparra from $15 million to $12 million a year over four years . . . Martinez declined yesterday to be interviewed on radio station WEEI, telling the show's host, Gerry Callahan, he was weary of criticism he has heard on the airwaves, most recently regarding his absence from camp last week, when he was attending to a family member's surgery . . . New closer Keith Foulke remains on his own program. He has a slight calf strain, but even without that tweak, Foulke planned to delay throwing off the mound for a couple of weeks, and plans to throw no more than eight or so innings all spring, according to a club official . . . Sox brass remain sanguine about Damon's long hair and beard. "We'll let the players police themselves about it," an official said. "If, for some reason, it affects his play, I'm sure somebody will say something." . . . Former Sox special assistant Lee Thomas has a similar role this spring with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Sox are one of the clubs Thomas will be scouting . . . After going back and forth with Fort Myers city officials for months in a dispute over parking for spring training, the sides agreed to raise the cost by 50 cents, to $5.50. The Sox had sought an increase to $7.