Ramirez, Arroyo bail on the chief
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- So much for the recently minted US citizen, Manny Ramirez, meeting the president. Ramirez was a no-show for yesterday's morning workout and did not travel to Washington for the Red Sox' White House visit.
Manager Terry Francona twice said the slugger had an "excused absence" but provided no details. A straight-faced Johnny Damon said he heard Ramirez's grandmother was sick and Ramirez was with her in Miami. This, presumably, would be the same grandmother who Ramirez claimed died in July 2001, delaying his arrival at the All-Star Game in Seattle.
Francona said Ramirez will be back with the team today.
Bronson Arroyo also did not make the trip to the White House. Francona said Arroyo's wife was ill.
Short workday
A dozen reporters encircled Matt Clement yesterday, soliciting his thoughts on his Sox debut scheduled for tonight, his expectations for the coming season, and the meaning of life.
Well, the last topic did not come up, but, given the zealous media attention two days into March, Clement had to laugh.
"I didn't know it'd be that exciting," he said.
Most likely, his debut -- and the Sox' spring training opener --will not be. He will pitch one inning, maybe two, against the Twins at City of Palms Park (7:05 p.m., NESN). But the 30-year-old, signed away from the Chicago Cubs this winter, will put some stock into his inaugural showing.
"This is your time to work on maybe throwing a certain pitch or to a certain location or using a different method of getting guys out," he said.
For Clement, that will mean locating his fastball and commanding his cut fastball, all the while making sure not to be throwing across his body.
"The slider is the pitch I sometimes rely on a lot, usually a pitch I don't have to work on a lot," he said. "My slider becomes better when my fastball is good and the location of my fastball is good. The important thing for me coming out of the first few spring training games is my ball is moving the right way. When I'm throwing my four-seamer or cutter, it's cutting the right way, it's not coming back over the plate."
The underlying theme: control. Clement walked 77 batters last season, more than any Sox starter. Derek Lowe led the rotation with 71 walks, followed by Tim Wakefield (63), Pedro Martinez (61), Arroyo (47), and Curt Schilling (35).
Clement, though, puts greater value in his strikeouts-to-walks ratio than his walks total, as does the Sox' front office. His 2.47 strikeouts per walk in 2004 ranked 26th in the majors.
Opening display
If tonight's game goes off as scheduled -- rain is expected -- the lineup will be: RF Jay Payton, 2B Mark Bellhorn, C Jason Varitek, 1B Kevin Millar, SS Edgar Renteria, 3B Kevin Youkilis, DH Roberto Petagine, CF Adam Hyzdu, LF Billy McMillon. Those you will not see tonight: Ramirez, Damon, David Ortiz, Trot Nixon, Doug Mirabelli, Bill Mueller, and Ramon Vazquez. All will be unavailable . . . Today is the first of 32 spring training games in 30 days. That includes six split-squad games: tomorrow vs. Northeastern University and Boston College; Saturday at the Twins (Fort Myers) and Reds (Sarasota); and March 31 at the Twins (Fort Myers) and Diamondbacks (Phoenix). The team has just one offday, Friday, March 18 . . . The Sox will debut close to 300 new seats today, all in the form of folding chairs . . . Schilling will throw at least one more side session, if not multiple sessions, before throwing batting practice to hitters, Francona said. Do not expect Schilling in a game soon . . . George Lombard hit a ball halfway up the wall of the covered batting cages over the right-center-field fence of Field 5 yesterday. The cages are about 100 feet beyond the fence, meaning the blast probably measured in the 450- to 470-foot range. 