Watching out for Ramírez

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Will Manny Ramírez be walking through the clubhouse doors today?

It's anyone's guess. Manager Terry Francona thinks he will, but he doesn't know for sure. His teammates think he will, but they wouldn't want to wager their first week's paycheck. There were rumblings that Ramírez was in the Fort Myers area yesterday, and there were rumors he was going to show up and then go play for Team Dominican. And there were rumors that he wasn't going to show at all.

Nobody knows for sure.

''I would think so," catcher Jason Varitek said about a Ramírez appearance today. ''I would hope so. Give him the benefit of the doubt that he's going to be here."

If he's not? ''Let's see if he's here first."

Curt Schilling hasn't changed his ''as long as he's ready to go by April" stance.

''I don't expect anything," said Schilling. ''I'll be here tomorrow to get my work in. I have no control over whether Manny comes through the door or not. How I feel about it is not going to change anything."

''I have no idea," said pitcher Julián Tavárez.

Francona tried to keep the Ramírez banter as light as possible, even kidding that you leave the door ajar for a no-show. But he emphasized he had no problem with Ramírez being away to take care of whatever business he needed to tend to. He conceded that whatever work Ramírez did in Miami can in no way simulate live spring training workouts, but he told of speaking to a minor leaguer who worked out with Ramírez and was astonished at all of the work Ramírez does.

Calls to Ramírez's agent, Greg Genske, went unreturned.

Keith Foulke is receiving injections in both knees, according to his agent, Dan Horwitz. The injections are to lubricate the joint and help the healing process following the surgery the pitcher had on both knees in the offseason. It is not termed a setback by any means, but Foulke, who threw off flat ground for about 15 minutes yesterday, has had his activities, particularly running, curtailed. The shots will be administered over a two-week period, though it's unclear when they began. Foulke threw hard on the side, with a trainer watching him. At the end of his session, Foulke was seen flexing his push-off leg, then he retreated into the trainers' room.

Schilling declared himself ready to go for Friday's game against Boston College. He threw 22 pitches after warming up for 20 minutes in the bullpen. He faced three minor league hitters (Brandon Moss, Trent Durrington, Tyler Minges) and threw to catcher Ken Huckaby. He seemed to have good velocity, though his session was not clocked by a radar gun. His splitter got all three of the young hitters to swing and miss. ''I felt good, really good," said Schilling. ''I felt strong. It was a very good day, I thought." Asked about his relationship with interim pitching coach Al Nipper, Schilling said, ''It's coming. It's a learning process for everybody. He's got to learn 25-30 guys. He's getting a crash course on us. He's been here before so he'll figure it out."

The Red Sox agreed to terms on 2006 contracts with 16 players on their 40-man roster: righthanded pitchers Manny Delcarmen, Edgar Martinez, Cla Meredith, Jonathan Papelbon, David Pauley, Jermaine Van Buren, and Jamie Vermilyea; lefthanders Abe Alvarez, Lenny DiNardo, and Jon Lester; catcher Josh Bard; infielders Alejandro Machado and Kevin Youkilis; and outfielders Brandon Moss, David Murphy, and Adam Stern . . . John Flaherty is the leader at the moment to be Tim Wakefield's catcher. Last season, Flaherty was Randy Johnson's personal catcher, and Johnson went 12-2 when Flaherty caught. Is going from 98 m.p.h. to 68 m.p.h. a problem? ''It's quite a difference," said Flaherty. ''I think as the spring goes along I'll get more comfortable with it." . . . Mark Loretta said the team won't likely pick a player representative until June, and he doesn't think it'll be him. Loretta already serves on a player committee. Union chief Donald Fehr, who met with the players for 90 minutes yesterday morning, says the Sox are one of the most well-equipped teams in terms of having players who have served the union over the years. Wakefield, Loretta, Schilling, Josh Beckett, and David Ortiz all have experience . . . David Wells had what Francona termed ''an indoor day," working on things away from the field.