Wells feels 'pretty good' after outing

FORT MYERS, Fla. --David Wells felt "pretty good" after his first outing of spring training. The Red Sox left-hander wasn't thrilled, though, that his first outing of the regular season might be delayed.

With two days off in the first eight days of the season, Boston won't need a fifth starter until mid-April. Wells, who was set back by offseason surgery on his right knee, would be the likely candidate to be held back although he said his knee feels fine.

"I'd have a problem with that," he said Thursday. "I know they've got an abundance of pitching. That's one thing they don't lack."

Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett are penciled in as the first three starters with Matt Clement likely the fourth.

"I don't see why Clement should sit out. He's having (an outstanding) spring," Wells said, but "I'm not the type of guy that's going to sit around for two weeks before my first outing. It's not right."

Wells said Boston should start with a five-man rotation, but manager Terry Francona prefers keeping his top four pitchers on their regular four days rest, which would preclude an early five-man rotation.

Wells "might give you headaches. But he's a pretty good kid," Francona said. "In general, there are going to be times when I have to tell people things that they don't exactly want to hear. David's a good example.

"Sometimes you've got to be a little flexible. For the most part, it's hard to get players to look at the big picture also. I understand that. They're looking at their next start or their next at-bat."

Wells' contract provides incentives for each start he makes after his 10th, and Francona said he'd never keep a pitcher on the sidelines to save the club money.

The 42-year-old Wells reported to camp hoping to be traded close to his home in San Diego. But early in spring training, he said he preferred to stay with Boston so he wouldn't have to worry about the issue while he worked his way back from surgery.

He said the knee felt fine Thursday when he threw 53 pitches to Red Sox minor leaguers in an intrasquad game. He threw 34 strikes in three innings and allowed two runs on five hits with no walks and one strikeout.

"I felt pretty good," Wells said, "a little jittery, just rushing everything."

He said the curve was his best pitch Thursday, and Francona was pleased with his control.

"He has an uncanny ability to locate," Francona said, "A couple (of pitches) were over the middle of the plate, but I thought he did fine."

Wells said he only needs to throw 15 to 20 innings in spring training, even if some of those are in minor-league games. What if he does that well and remains healthy and the Red Sox still hold him back until mid-April?

"It's too early to really speculate on that," Wells said. "If they still feel the same way after a few more outings then we're definitely going to have to sit down and talk.

"I don't see myself sitting until April 15 to wait to pitch. I just don't see it at all."