They'll be in position

Co-general managers Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, appearing at the Boston Baseball Writers dinner last night (no, there was no surprise appearance from Theo Epstein), pledged to fill the remaining holes in the Red Sox roster very soon.

Who will be the new shortstop and center fielder?

''We'll have somebody there," Tim Wakefield said. ''Obviously, Johnny [Damon] will be missed. It was disappointing to see him go to New York. But I keep saying that's the nature of the business of baseball. It's unfortunate that it has to be that way, but you have to move on. You have to look forward and you try to fill the holes the best you can. Just like Nomar [Garciaparra] was traded. You say, 'Omigosh, one of the best shortstops in the game has been traded,' but Orlando Cabrera came in and did a great job. This is the same situation."

Asked if he was surprised by Damon's departure, Wakefield said: ''You know, I couldn't get a feeling for that. I know he wanted to come back here, but I knew there were a lot of other teams interested in him because he's such a hot commodity. Great leadoff hitter, great center fielder, sometimes things like that happen."

Wakefield said he has talked with teammates about the club's transition.

''Nobody's panicking," he said. ''Like I said before, it's just business, and when we get to spring training, we'll sit down the veteran players, and we'll go, 'This is what we have to do, this is what we have,' and we'll get it done.

''I'm sure the people in the front office are saying the same thing."

New addition

Wakefield's wife, Stacy, gave birth to the couple's second child, Brianna Grace, Dec. 29 in Boston. ''The delivery itself was just three minutes, literally. Unbelievable. She pushed three times and the baby was out." . . . Even as he watched his Florida Marlins being dismantled two years after winning a World Series, Josh Beckett has observed the changes sweeping through the Red Sox roster. But there's no comparison, he said, between the roster demolition because of financial reasons by the Marlins and the changes the Sox are undergoing. He expressed great confidence in the Sox' moves. ''It's one of those things every baseball team is going to go through, this stuff," he said. ''Your superstar is going to end up being gone and they're going to trade people, you're going to get new guys, everything like that. It's part of baseball. I didn't think too much about it because I know what kind of organization I came to here, just from talking with people. I know we're going to have a top-line center fielder coming in and I know we're going to have a top-flight shortstop." No, Beckett didn't have a scoop. ''I'm not sure, but I know they're going to get something done and that's the great thing about playing for the Boston Red Sox," he said.

Tavárez sealed

The Red Sox made the Julián Tavárez signing official, coming to terms on a two-year deal for $6.7 million . . . New second baseman Mark Loretta spent the day house-hunting. He, too, endorsed the direction the club is taking. ''I'm somebody who's a firm believer in pitching and defense that wins," he said. ''I really think Josh Beckett was the best pitcher in the National League the past three years. He was a dominating force. I think that with him and [Curt] Schilling, [Matt] Clement, [Bronson Arroyo], and Wakefield, that's five deep pitchers, and you don't see that on many teams. I've never been on a team that has that kind of starting depth. And the bullpen, don't forget about Guillermo Mota. He was as dominant as [Eric] Gagne in LA. Mota is as good as it gets as a setup guy. I wouldn't say the Red Sox have gotten worse, they have just gotten different." . . . White Sox GM Kenny Williams, honored by the Boston writers as Major League Executive of the Year, attended the dinner despite only recently recovering from surgery for kidney stones . . . The 67th Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America Award winners: 2006 Judge Emil Fuchs Memorial Award -- Lenny Merullo; 2005 Red Sox Most Valuable Player -- David Ortiz; 2005 Boston Red Sox Fireman of the Year Award -- Mike Timlin; New England Player of the Year -- Chris Carpenter; Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year Award -- Jon Lester; Manager of the Year Award -- Ozzie Guillén; Jackie Jensen Award -- Damon; Red Sox Pitcher of the Year Award -- Wakefield; Tony Conigliaro Award -- Aaron Cook; Former Boston Red Sox Player Award -- Rich Gedman; Good Guy Award -- J.P. Villaman; Dave O'Hara Award -- Bob Ryan; Special Achievement Award -- Jason Varitek; Special Achievement Award -- Mike Lowell.