Gonzalez is McKeon's pick

Correction: Because of a reporting error, the position Charlie Wagner played was incorrect in the quiz about the nicknames of Red Sox players in Baseball Notes in the Feb. 5 Sports section. Wagner was a pitcher.

Jack McKeon has had Ozzie Smith early in his career, Garry Templeton, Barry Larkin, and Pokey Reese, among others, play shortstop for him.

''Alex González is the best I've ever had," said McKeon, insisting he's not just blowing a cloud of cigar smoke about the free agent the Red Sox just signed last week. ''Definitely the best I've ever had, defensively.

''He's the whole package, man. He and [second baseman] Luis Castillo were together for over four years, and he was the greatest guy I've ever seen on the pivot, just spectacular.

''People say, 'Oh, this guy can't replace [Edgar] Renteria. For my money, he can. Yeah, Edgar might hit 20 points higher, but he ain't going to field with this guy. This guy is special.

''I'll tell you one thing. Those Boston pitchers are going to love having him and Mike Lowell on the left side of the infield. Pick up the phone and call [Josh] Beckett. I'll bet you two bits he's glad they're there. Vacuum cleaners. Gold Glovers.

''Lowell, you look at his body, you might think he's a little slow, but he has great hands and good range. Him and González, they're going to make that pitching staff better."

It's understandable why McKeon is partial to the Florida boys. González and Lowell were both important components of the Marlins team that McKeon managed to a World Series title in 2003, and Beckett pitched the clinching Series win against the Yankees. McKeon was replaced as manager of the Marlins after last season by Joe Girardi and remains with the club as a consultant to owner Jeffrey Loria, but predicts good things in Boston for all three of his former charges.

McKeon on . . .

González: ''He's steady. He's a guy who's got some power, too, and in your ballpark you're going to see a lot more power. There are things that go unnoticed with him because his batting average is low, but I'm telling you, this is a guy who will get some key hits for you and win you some ballgames.

''Nothing bothers him. He's very quiet. You probably won't get 500 words out of him all year. He just minds his own business and plays. You'll like him."

Lowell: ''I really think he'll rebound this year. Last year was the first time as a Marlin he ever faced any real adversity on the field as a player, and all of a sudden he tried to do too much. But he's got the kind of power, he's going to be reaching that Wall a lot."

Beckett: ''He's just starting to put it together. I thought he was going to be a 20-game winner last season, and if it wasn't for the blister problems, he could have easily had 18, 19 wins. I hope he gets off to a good start, I really do, so he doesn't start putting pressure on himself.

''He's a cocky kid, like [Carl] Pavano. He'll tell you to go to hell. But I love the kid, I love his competitiveness. A super kid, one of my favorites. I'd be getting on [him], riding him, and sometimes he hated [me]. He might not talk to me for four or five days. But then he started to see the results, and realized that I was trying to do things for him, trying to help him be a 20-game winner.

''People talk about [A.J.] Burnett, how he had the greatest arm in the National League. And he does. But you've got to have more. If someone said to me, who'd you take, [Burnett or Beckett], I'd say, 'No question, I'll take the guy Boston got. Because he's a winner.

''Don't worry about his shoulder. Hell, no. If we'd still been in the race at the end last year, he would have made his last start for us. We just gave him a breather."

Welcome back?

An update from outfielder Gabe Kapler, who signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox and has an invitation to big league camp after undergoing surgery for a ruptured Achilles' tendon: ''I'm doing great. My rehab is really starting to come along. I have made a decision to be smart about this thing and really get it to 100 percent so I can come back stronger and faster than before. Could it be like Tommy John, where guys come back throwing harder than before?" . . . What to make of reports last week that the Sox renewed talks with the Angels about Manny Ramírez? The obvious conclusion is that John W. Henry, who directly spoke with Angels owner Arte Moreno about a Ramírez deal this winter and is suspected of initiating that contact again last week, wants to be able to tell Ramírez and his agent, Greg Genske, that the Sox exhausted all avenues. But asking the Angels for their best young players -- Ervin Santana, Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick, whom the Angels have adamantly maintained they would not move in a Ramírez deal -- reinforces the theory that the Sox feel they're better off with Ramírez back. The Angels, with Garret Anderson no longer the force he once was, could use a big bat behind Vladi Guerrero, which is why they won't close the door on a Ramírez deal, but one Red Sox source said he is convinced it won't happen. Neither Henry nor Genske responded to e-mails seeking comment . . . Johnny Damon was the latest to weigh in on the Ramírez matter, telling YES interviewer Michael Kay: ''Manny really wants out of Boston, just so he can relax and chill. If he played for the Mets, he probably wouldn't be able to chill much. But I think the Yankees would be a perfect fit for him, as well as for David Ortiz."

History lessons

He had yet to see the movie, ''Glory Road," about the Texas Western basketball team that won an NCAA title with five African-American starters, but Sox CEO Larry Lucchino is well acquainted with the story. Lucchino was a member of the Princeton team that went to the Final Four in 1965, the year before Texas Western won it all. ''I just remember the integration -- and I use that word advisedly -- in all the games we played in the summers in Pittsburgh, and finally it made it to the big event," said Lucchino at last week's observance, sponsored by the club, marking Jackie Robinson's birthday. ''I was playing against players who had the skills the Texas Western players had when they were reaching the top of the mountain in college basketball. So it wasn't much of a surprise to see a Bobby Joe Hill or Willie Worsley stripping the ball from Louis Dampier at midcourt." Lucchino, who starred at Alderdice High School in Pittsburgh before going to Princeton, said that 12 of the 16 schools playing in the Pittsburgh public leagues were predominantly black, ''as I remember," but the racial divides came down on the playgrounds during the summer." . . . Jeff Bagwell is facing a potentially bitter end to his storied career in Houston, a development that all parties would like to avoid. The Astros filed an insurance claim to recoup $15.6 million of the $17 million Bagwell is scheduled to earn this season; Bagwell, meanwhile, is determined to report to spring training to show that he can still play despite the degenerative condition in his right shoulder . . . Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte said last week he'd be surprised if Roger Clemens doesn't return for the 2006 season, a decision the Rocket has not yet made public. ''That dude throws year-round. He's an animal," Pettitte said. ''When Roger's ready to talk about it, he'll talk about that. But I know one thing: He's trying to get himself ready to play in a [World Baseball Classic] game."

Also known as . . .

Whether Covelli Loyce Crisp succeeds in making Sox fans forget Damon remains to be seen, but ''Coco" Crisp gives us a great excuse to recall some of the great nicknames Sox players have had over the years. Pete ''Cave 17" Lincoln, who left his mark on Lunenburg High School senior English students (including yours truly) as well as on the town's softball fields, came up with this quiz:

Match the man to the nickname:

Manager: ''Pinky."

Third base coach: ''Wave 'Em In."

Starting pitchers: ''Spaceman," ''Oil Can," ''Rocket," ''Gentleman Jim," ''The Barber," ''Old Folks," ''Smoky Joe," ''Boo."

Relievers: ''The Monster," ''Flash," ''Steamer," ''Way Back," ''Tomato," ''El Guapo," ''Sparky," ''Soup."

First base: ''Dr. Strangeglove," ''Boomer," ''Golden Greek."

Second base: ''Pumpsie," ''Felix the Cat."

Shortstop: ''Rooster," ''Ducky," ''Needle."

Third base: ''Broadway."

Left field: ''Splendid Splinter," ''Doc," ''Hoot," ''Yum-Yum."

Center field: ''The Little Professor," ''Psycho," ''The Grey Eagle."

Right field: ''Dutch the Clutch," ''Hawk," ''Dewey."

Catcher: ''Birdie," ''Pudge."

DH: ''Cha Cha," ''Big Papi."

ANSWERS

Manager: Mike Higgins.

Third base coach: Wendell Kim.

Starting pitchers: Bill Lee, Dennis Boyd, Roger Clemens, Jim Lonborg, Sal Maglie, Ellis Kinder, Joe Wood, Dave Ferriss.

Relievers: Dick Radatz, Tom Gordon, Bob Stanley, John Wasdin, Jack Lamabe, Rich Garces, Albert Lyle, Bill Campbell.

First base: Dick Stuart, George Scott, Harry Agganis.

Second base: Leonard Green, Felix Mantilla.

Shortstop: Rick Burleson, Dick Schofield, Johnny Pesky.

Third base: Charlie Wagner.

Left field: Ted Williams, Roger Cramer, Walter Evers, Troy O'Leary.

Center field: Dom DiMaggio, Steve Lyons, Tris Speaker.

Right field: Clyde Vollmer, Ken Harrelson, Dwight Evans.

Catcher: George Tebbetts, Carlton Fisk.

DH: Orlando Cepeda, David Ortiz.

Said ''Cave 17," ''If I had to pick, I think 'El Guapo' [The Handsome One] would be the best."