Epstein contract no rush job

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It's only a matter of time before the Red Sox make a push to extend Theo Epstein's contract, Sox chairman Tom Werner said yesterday. The 31-year-old general manager received a three-year pact in November 2002, and that deal expires at the end of this season.

"My sense of that is there's going to be a position for Theo here as long as he wants it," Werner said yesterday. "I'm not terribly concerned about that. We'll address it in good time. Everybody's been very focused on just getting ready for spring training."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman's contract also is up at season's end, and Cashman jokingly asked a few reporters Sunday what the Sox intended to do about Epstein's contract.

Epstein, meanwhile, said he's plenty happy with his hometown team and doesn't plan on going anywhere.

"I'm under contract, and this is where I prefer to be, so it's not a big issue at all," he said. "We're busy trying to win in 2005 and trying to build a farm system that can sustain our success over a long period. The team and its goals are much more important than any one individual."

Nixon resurfaces
Trot Nixon spent five days in Orlando, visiting Disney World with his wife and two sons. He returned to the Sox facility yesterday for the first time since making comments that sparked a week's worth of Alex Rodriguez-bashing. Nixon said he has nothing personal against A-Rod, but he was bothered by a comment Rodriguez made this winter about working out early in the morning while other players sleep or take their kids to school.

"It struck me, maybe it struck other ballplayers," Nixon said. "We all know Rodriguez is a phenomenal athlete, very gifted. There's other guys who work out real hard, too. Maybe he didn't want it to come out that way.

"It's just the point I made. I think the fact where everybody else is in their bed sleeping or taking their kids to school just rubbed me wrong."

Nixon backtracked a bit on his statement about Rodriguez not being the "Yankee type."

"When they asked, `Do I think he's a Yankee?' I said he's only been there one year," Nixon said. "When I think of Yankees, I think of the [Jorge] Posadas, the [Derek] Jeters, the Bernie Williamses, [Mariano] Rivera, Paul O'Neill, even though he's retired, Reggie Jackson," Nixon said. "He is a Yankee, but in the same sense, when I was asked that question, I thought of Jeter and those guys more than I thought of Rodriguez."

Met with questions
Doug Mientkiewicz, a recent arrival to Mets spring training, addressed the World Series ball controversy in yesterday's New York Times. "I'm not sorry I kept it," Mientkiewicz said. "I'm sorry it happened as it did. It's depressing. It definitely took something away from the World Series. They made it sound as if I was taking away the trophy and sprinting down Yawkey Way with it." Mientkiewicz also downgraded the Sox-Yankees rivalry. "It wasn't what everyone made it out to be," he said. "I expected to see tanks on the field and bombs being thrown at each other. The Twins-White Sox is just the same to me." Evidently, Mientkiewicz was looking the other way when riot police ringed Yankee Stadium during Game 6 of the ALCS . . . Kevin Millar may appear on an episode of Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Millar said he's working on a date for the taping, which would be done during spring training, and hopes to persuade a few teammates to participate . . . No word on who orchestrated the move, but the veteran Sox pitchers traded ends of the locker room with the prospects. Evidently, the veterans didn't enjoy sitting next to the media's gathering spot . . . The prevailing sense is that the Sox will issue World Series rings at the home opener and incorporate other events into the day. Possibilities include a display of the rings on the warning track at Fenway Park and a fund-raising dinner. "The only preference I have is that people have waited 86 years for this," Werner said. "Let's do it in a way that will make as many people connect to it as possible." . . . Doug Mirabelli, who felt ill Sunday and was sent home early, worked out yesterday . . . David Wells threw 55 pitches in a side session. "He might be 42 [actually 41], but that arm isn't," manager Terry Francona said . . . The Sox will hold their first team meeting this morning. "We'll meet for a half-hour, maybe longer, depending on how long Larry Lucchino and John Henry want to talk," Francona said. "They have open time."