Sox don't want to chew on this issue

In a recent interview in the Red Sox clubhouse, Curt Schilling was asked about what he would tell kids who might emulate their major league heroes in the use of smokeless tobacco -- or spit tobacco or snuff.

"Don't start," he said. "It's a horrible, disgusting, dirty habit. There's so many more complications to it than the average addiction. But it's a health risk. I've never smoked. I just know that it's a hard thing to beat."

Another hard thing is getting Red Sox players to talk about their dipping -- the term for putting a pinch of tobacco between cheek and gum.

Pokey Reese, sitting nearby, has just bought a log -- a shrink-wrapped bulk package of cans of snuff -- for an upcoming road trip. Reese is probably one of the friendliest and most approachable guys on the team. Just don't ask him about his "dip."

"I'd really rather not talk about that," said Reese. "For what? We've been talking about it for years and nothing's changed. That's what we do. I don't want to talk about that situation."

Another Red Sox player didn't even want his name used. "I really don't want to talk about it," he said. "I'm not proud of it. I don't like doing it and I'm actually gonna shut it down soon. I know it's not good.

"I don't want to go on the record because if kids then see me out there using it, it's a contradiction. I don't want to be a hypocrite."

Although high schools, colleges, and the minor leagues have banned spit tobacco, Major League Baseball has not, and the players' association refuses to support a ban.

"We don't supply it," said Red Sox trainer Jim Rowe. "We try to get guys to stop but it's difficult in the middle of the season. It's an addiction. The ball club provides bubble gum and pumpkin and sunflower seeds instead."

Before batting practice, manager Terry Francona puts his fingers in a pouch of Lancaster and works it into a ball in his cheek. Then he spits into a cup, a liquid punctuation between sentences.

"Actually, I'm very uncomfortable talking about it," said Francona, who did not chew last season. "I know it's not good for you. I go through periods where I do too much. I don't ever touch it until I get to the ballpark. I also have children. When the season's over I go home and never even look at it. Then the season starts back up . . .

"I just like it. When you're sitting in the dugout managing, you get fidgety. If I put seeds in my mouth, my mouth goes raw. It helps relax you, that's basically what it is. I'm not bragging about it. It's not something I'm happy with."

He says chewing tobacco doesn't help baseball players perform better.

"No, that's silly," he said. Nor does he think he should be held up as a role model for kids. "They don't need to chew tobacco to be like me. If their parents can't tell 'em about it, then their parents aren't doing a good job."

"Sometimes I just don't feel good when I do it," said David Ortiz. "It kind of gets me dizzy." David McCarty, a Stanford graduate, said he chews "out of boredom." Johnny Damon said, "I got addicted to it during the baseball season and during long drives."

Trot Nixon stopped after the 2002 season and gained 29 pounds. But he has stopped dipping.

"Yeah, and it's not easy. I train myself to not want it anymore," he said. "There's really no magical way to doing it, just stopping it. I've always said I can't guarantee anything about it, whether I'll do it again or not. I did it a long time, 13-14 years. You try to supplement that with something else. Mine was food. You quit chewing tobacco, you gain weight because you need something in your mouth."

Derek Lowe says he chews only during the baseball season. He mixes spit tobacco and bubble gum.

Why chew at all? Lowe smiles. "I think it's because your job allows you to spit at your work site," he said. Lowe says it doesn't do anything to help his pitching performance.

"Nothing," he said. "It just wastes time. One hundred percent. It's just a bad habit. I didn't do it as a reliever, I just do it as a starter."

Last year, Lowe had skin cancer surgery, which put a scare into him. He has appeared in area schools telling kids the importance of sunscreen and recognizing abnormal skin cells. Of all people, why is Lowe chewing tobacco?

"You would think a person would be smarter than that," he said, "but the only thing I can possibly say is at least I don't do it the other six or seven months of the year, which is a poor excuse. The only time I do it is here."