Millar poised to ride wave

Kevin Millar has emerged after several weeks of soul searching and trying to work out his flaws in the batting cage, sometimes when the lights are turned out and not a soul is lurking at Fenway Park.

Millar has a loose, fun-loving attitude, but in a contract season in which the team brought in first baseman John Olerud, Millar has sensed the pressure.

Millar wears his heart on his sleeve and his emotions have been stirred because of criticism he believes is unfair, considering his performance in the second half of last season (he hit .319 with with 13 homers and 49 RBIs after the All-Star break).

''One thing I'm not going to do is give up," said Millar. ''That's just not my personality. As rough as it is, I never quit and never have in my life. Something just clicked with a lot of video time and a lot of cage time when the lights aren't on and there aren't a lot of people around. I've done a lot of work. Thank God it's clicked in and hopefully it's been worth the wait."

Since Olerud arrived May 27, Millar is hitting .400 (18 for 45) and reached base eight consecutive times before he tapped out to the pitcher in the seventh inning of Wednesday night's 6-1 win over the Reds.

He has raised his average from .244 May 27 to .278.

''I feel great," said Millar. ''I'm seeing the ball well. It locks in and you just ride that wave. Hopefully, it just stays around for three months."

A mere tweak in his batting stance might have aided his turnaround.

''I turn my shoulder in more -- you're able to see my number where earlier you could barely see the '1,' " Millar said. ''I wasn't closing out well. I was getting beat on pitches. Right now I feel comfortable. My setup is good before the results. I have a shot in the box before the pitch is made."

Millar has probably spent more time with hitting coach Ron Jackson than any player on the team, with the possible exception of Manny Ramirez.

''Hitting is a constant adjustment," said Millar. ''There's books on us on how to attack us. So you make little adjustments during the year, but nothing dramatic. This was just a little thing where I wasn't closed off. I took the video and saw it when I was going good as opposed to when I was going bad. I figured it out and it's worked out."

Is Millar kicking himself for not detecting the flaw earlier?

''No, that's just baseball," he said. ''You hit .400 for a month. You hit .180 for a month and that's why they call it an average. At the end of the year, you're always around where you're going to hit. I always joke around here with the red panic button everybody has. This clubhouse is a bunch of veterans and they can hit. We've done it for years so I don't think anyone in here is going to hit .380 and I don't think anyone is going to hit .180."

Schilling back in town

Curt Schilling returned from an extensive conditioning assignment at the Athletes' Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz., late Wednesday, and will have his surgically repaired right ankle reevaluated by Dr. Thomas Gill prior to tonight's game against the Pirates. Schilling was tested at the Biomotion Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital prior to leaving for Arizona June 1 and is likely to return early next week for more testing. The next round of tests will give Gill's staff a strong indication of Schilling's progress . . . In Thursday's The Hartford Courant, Keith Foulke said, ''It's very possible that this might be my last year [in Boston]. Baseball's a business. I've been traded before, and I didn't expect it." Foulke said he doesn't like being in the newspaper or on television. Asked about his weekly radio segment on WEEI, he said, ''That's fine. That's more answering questions about different things. And I get a free truck. If you give me a free truck, I'll talk to you more." Asked if he likes to close as opposed to starting, Foulke said, ''I like to pitch. Honestly, what I like about closing, I love the first and 15th day [of the month]. That's payday." Foulke reiterated he will not talk about his health . . . Bryan Lambert of Auburn, Maine, and Brandeis University was signed by the Washington Nationals and has reported to the Gulf Coast rookie league. Lambert led NCAA Division 3 pitchers with 12 saves and also had a 1.38 ERA . . . The 14th Can & Cash Drive conducted by the Red Sox' wives is July 2-3 at Fenway Park. Two hours prior to the games against the Blue Jays, the wives will hand out autographed pictures of a Red Sox player (while supplies last) to fans who bring $5 or five nonperishable food items. All cash and food collected throughout the weekend will be donated to The Greater Boston Food Bank, which serves over 600 hunger-relief agencies in eastern Massachusetts.