Hot spots in Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- What we know is that he hates baseball, even though he makes more than $7 million per year to pitch for the Red Sox. We know that he had surgery on both knees last year after shutting it down with a 5.91 ERA in 43 games of abysmal action. We know that he made comments that fans found insulting and he finished the year watching the Bruins at the New Garden while his teammates toiled in the playoffs in Chicago.

We also know that he was just about the most valuable Red Sox player in the magic ride of 2004 and we know that his status is the No. 1 question the Sox must answer over the next six weeks.

Keith Foulke: Can't live with him, can't live without him. Can't stand him sometimes. But the Red Sox need him as much as they need Theo, Manny, Schill, or Big Papi. Maybe more.

Look at the competition in the American League. The Yankees have Mariano Rivera, the best postseason closer in history. The Blue Jays went out and got flamethrowing B.J. Ryan. The White Sox have a Coke machine with feet who throws 100 miles an hour (Bobby Jenks), the Angels have the incomparable Francisco Rodriguez, and the A's have reigning Rookie of the Year Huston Street.

The Red Sox? They have Foulkie, who fell apart physically and emotionally in 2005 and returns to spring training with a need to rehab his career and his reputation. But don't expect him to change his ways. In a rambling interview late yesterday afternoon, Foulke demonstrated the same defiant attitude that's marked his tenure in Boston.

''I'll never be channeled toward baseball," he said. ''That's just not going to happen. I'm not a baseball fan. I actually find baseball kind of boring. It's not my life. Pitching is something I enjoy doing. I'm probably going to get a lot of people that are a little chapped at me for saying that, but just don't take it the wrong way. I can't sit around and watch nine innings of a baseball game. The reason why I play this game is that I love the camaraderie with my teammates and I love to pitch. All the downtime of baseball is what I don't like.

''Obviously, it never feels good to be walking off the mound and having hometown people be disappointed and booing you, but the hardest part is always coming in and looking at your teammates. I'll always be my toughest critic. I don't listen to what you guys write or say. I'm still getting paid. It's still my job. They haven't fired me yet or traded me yet. So, no matter what comes out in the media, it doesn't bother me. If I'm just doing my job, you guys won't have anything bad to say."

Getting the job done is what matters now. Foulke had 32 saves and a 2.17 ERA with the championship Sox in 2004. He gave up only one run in 11 postseason games and had the ability to save the bullpen by pitching multiple innings in late, clutch situations. This is what the Red Sox need now, but no one knows which Foulke will show up in 2006.

It's bound to be rough sledding. Foulke can't be gauged by a radar gun: He's a changeup artist. He's almost impossible to read in spring training. He didn't get anybody out in the spring of 2004, then pitched the Sox to a World Series win. This means it's going to be difficult to assess his readiness as the Sox play a month of spring games. Big Jon Papelbon is expected to fill the closer role if Foulke flounders, but the Sox could be in a big hole by the time they know.

''I think he feels like he has a lot to prove," said manager Terry Francona. ''I think the best way to go about that is to allow him to handle his responsibility and we got him here to handle a lot of responsibility. If there's a problem somewhere along the way, we'll take care of it. But I think he's going to be a good pitcher. A year ago, this guy was pitching pretty significant innings in pretty significant games. We need to allow him the chance to do that again.

''It's difficult to judge," added the manager. ''Foulkie's not out there throwing 98 [m.p.h]. It's very difficult. We don't put a lot of stock in batting averages and spring training numbers. I think we know these guys good enough to have a pretty good idea how they're doing healthwise and being productive."

The manager's reluctance to define Foulke's role indicates the Sox might cut their losses quickly if Foulke struggles early.

''I don't think you've ever heard me say 'closer,' " said Francona. ''If Foulke's at his very best, I'm not sure he's ever going to be a 40-save guy for us. We want to give Foulkie the opportunity to be the pitcher that he can be, and I don't see why he's not going to do that. Again, now, if he gives up a couple of runs in his first spring training outing, I know there's going to be ton of questions, but spring training is still spring training."

''He's a very important part of the team," added general manager Theo Epstein. ''And when he's pitching well at the back end of our bullpen, it allows everyone to fall into place and makes us a much better run-prevention club. We're going to tend to win a lot more close games if he's pitching well. But we have the depth to withstand an injury or two in the bullpen and to withstand a couple of guys not performing."

Foulke will throw off a mound today for the first time. He said his shoulder feels strong, better than it has in a couple of years. His head, too.

''I'm a lot more focused this year, I've got a lot of things off my mind," he said. ''The personal life is straightened out a little bit. Sometimes when you see the dark side of life, there's only one way to go, and that's up, and I feel a lot better now than I did last year."

He said he feels misunderstood.

''I'm a smart-ass," he said. ''I'm gonna say stuff that is kind of funny if you think about it, but it's not always going to come out in black and white. I make some dry remarks and not everybody's always going to get it, but I don't play this game for everybody else. I play it for me, and if you guys don't get it -- I hate that the fans think that -- but sorry."

Were fans correct to wonder when Foulke was at the Garden watching the Bruins while his teammates were in the playoffs in Chicago?

''The team was on the road," he said. ''I wasn't traveling. But I was watching the baseball game at the hockey game. We had the game on. You can look at it like I wasn't supporting my team, or the fact that I sat in my apartment for three months [and wanted to go to the hockey game]. The team was on the road and, yeah, I was at the hockey game, but I was definitely watching my team. It just depends on how you look at it."

And when he said he didn't want to be in Boston?

''I hate the fact that maybe people don't understand me or they think I'm a bad person," he said. ''I'm not. I love the city of Boston. That came out last year when I was talking about moving out of the city, that got all taken out [of context] like I hate the city. I'm a country kid. I don't like to be in the city itself, but I love the city of Boston."

And the time he said it doesn't matter what ''Johnny from Burger King thinks"? Does he wish he had that one back?

''No," he said. ''If we're going to start explaining ourselves . . . the whole thing about that was the fact that it came out about 'Joe from the fast food establishment,' but that's not what the remark was about. The remark was, 'When we win the World Series, I'm not inviting whoever it was to my World Series party.' It's not the fact that I'm getting on the average Joe who works 9 to 5. My parents weren't rich. I watched them bust their hump my entire life . . . It's got to come out, the whole conversation. Not just I'm getting on the guy working for eight bucks an hour.

''I roofed houses when I was younger. I had a real job. And that's probably one of the reasons why 'I ain't doing that.' I busted my tail to get to where I am today."

Which is in Fort Myers, Fla. Trying to show the Red Sox that he can be the pitcher he was in 2004.

''People don't need to worry about me," he said. ''If I'm back to the pitcher that I want to be, you don't have to worry about my head. The mental part is the easy part for me. I'm not going to dwell on last year. It's done. We've turned the page, as Manny would say. It's done."

Oh, and one more thing. What about the final out of the '04 World Series? What about the infamous baseball Doug Mientkiewicz put into the vault? Does Foulke ever wish he'd taken that Edgar Renteria comebacker and run it over to first base himself?

''Yeah," he said. ''I'm not gonna brag, but I think I did a pretty good job in that Series and I'll be selfish. Yeah, I think I do deserve that ball. I know I did a good job. The team won. And all the other [stuff] -- [who was] MVP and the bloody sock -- you guys can have that. I made myself happy and I'm the toughest guy to please."

Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.