Bump in road for manager
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Terry Francona was in a car accident yesterday, which you know if you happened to be listening to his appearance on WEEI. While on the radio via cellphone, the Red Sox manager was rear-ended. He was not injured, he said.
"I could see him coming," Francona said later in the day. "I was in a turn lane, and I could hear [tires] squealing. I braced. He hit me pretty hard.
"It's just a pain in the neck, not literally. I just have to get it fixed. The back rear passenger-side lights are all broken. Some dumb truck was trying to get through a yellow light."
Francona said he was traveling from City of Palms Park to a golf course to organize an event scheduled for today for his staff. Contrary to what he said on WEEI, the other driver did not have a Yankees bumper sticker on his vehicle.
"I was joking," said Francona.
The accident abruptly ended the interview, something Francona saw some humor in later in the day.
"Next time someone asks me a tough question or a dumb question," he said, "I'm going to say I had a car accident."
Sinker away
Derek Lowe has shown up at the Sox facility each day the last couple of weeks, throwing and fielding alongside players who are still members of the organization. Given that he's now a Dodger, he had drawn a few perplexed glances from Red Sox prospects.
But all of that came to an end yesterday when Lowe walked out of City of Palms Park. He said he planned to drive today to Dodgers camp in Vero Beach, which is a three- to four-hour trek.
Asked by a reporter which route he'd take, Lowe said, "I don't even know. I'm going to go tonight and get on Mapquest and kind of find a route. I'll figure it out."
Lowe might live here in the offseason, but this is a guy who chartered a plane last year to fly to Jupiter from Fort Myers (about 140 miles) for a spring training game.
Spreading his word?
Francona mentioned on WEEI that he'd like to have Patriots coach Bill Belichick visit spring training camp and speak to the team, presumably about defending a championship. "I don't want to put Bill in a tough spot," Francona said later. "I understand he's busy. I don't want to put pressure on him. We'd like to extend an invitation to come and address the team." Belichick dropped by camp last year while on vacation but did not speak with the Sox . . . Keith Foulke arrived yesterday, joining Wade Miller, Matt Mantei, and Trot Nixon as regulars in town ahead of schedule. Come tomorrow, those four beautiful words can be strung together: Pitchers and catchers report. Position players arrive Monday. The first full-squad workout is Tuesday . . . The Red Sox officially announced the signing of 37-year-old Japanese righthander Denny Tomori to a minor league pact and filled the lone vacancy on their 40-man roster by acquiring infielder Alejandro Machado from Washington for a player to be named later or cash. A switch hitter, Machado stole 30 bases and hit .306 last season, split between Single A Brevard County (.355) and Double A Harrisburg (.280). Despite being just 22, he has played six minor league seasons with four organizations. "Sometimes it's a red flag to see a player with his fifth team at 22," said general manager Theo Epstein. "We checked out his makeup. He's got a good report, good work ethic, a good citizen. It might be a case of other teams asking for him. We're excited to have him." Machado is likely to be at Double A Portland or Triple A Pawtucket this season.
