Contact is made by Pena

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- One shot cleared the sizable scoreboard behind the wall in left center. Another crashed into the ''H/E" sign halfway up the scoreboard, and had it been an actual game, the blast most definitely would have been scored an ''H," not an ''E." A couple more landed on the back field beyond City of Palms Park.

''Sometimes," Wily Mo Pena said yesterday, before that inaugural batting practice session in a Red Sox uniform, ''when I hit a ball hard, I can hit it far away."

Then came the game, and Pena -- the anti-Sox player, because he doesn't hit for average (.252 career) and swings and misses too much (288 K's in 302 games) -- entered in the sixth inning and morphed into Kevin Youkilis. He took two pitches and singled through the left side in the seventh, then worked a five-pitch walk against Chad Harville with a runner on and the Sox trailing, 9-7 (the eventual final score), to Tampa Bay in the ninth.

Somewhat hesitant to talk about Pena's BP session, and fuel the slugger mentality, Terry Francona was quick to point out, ''I was pleased with his last at-bat."

So began the evolution of Pena, who introduces himself with two names, ''Wily Mo," and swings with what appears to be the force of two men. Witness: He's the proud producer of the second-longest homer ever at Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark (498 feet, last April off Houston's Brandon Duckworth) and forever will own the longest shot by an opponent at since-imploded Busch Stadium (492 feet, last June off Matt Morris).

''Raw power," said Sox hitting coach Ron Jackson. ''Man, he has some raw power. It's just good to have a guy like that on the ball club who can kill lefthanded pitching."

Indeed, Pena's name and No. 15 (Kevin Millar's old number) will be written into the lineup just about every time the Sox face a lefthanded starter. He appears here to stay (a Sox executive shot down a rumor that the Sox might flip Pena to Washington for Alfonso Soriano, and Nationals GM Jim Bowden said he hasn't been approached by the Sox about Soriano). All of this, of course, is lousy news for Dustan Mohr, the nonroster invitee who's hitting .385 with 3 homers and 6 RBIs and was poised to make the club as the fourth outfielder.

''I kind of made the mistake of allowing myself to believe I had a pretty good chance of making this team and being a key part of the bench," said Mohr, who averaged 114 games each of the last four seasons. ''Short of getting a hit every time up, I feel I've done everything I can do. I feel good about what I've done.

''I just feel disappointed with the way it's ended up. That's just being honest. It's not being bitter. By no means do I have any animosity."

Mohr hit 17 homers in 266 at-bats last season, or one every 15.6 at-bats, which actually outpaced Pena, who blasted 19 in 311 ABs, one every 16.4. But Pena is 25, while Mohr is 29, Pena has better speed and a better arm, and Mohr hit 13 of his 17 homers last year at Coors Field. His contract has an out clause he can exercise March 31, ''but it's not really an option I would consider right now," Mohr said. ''I haven't totally given up on being a Red Sox."

The Phillies have expressed some interest in dealing for Mohr as a spare outfielder, and the Sox will do their best to find him a new team. Meanwhile, Juan Gonzalez, signed to a minor league deal over the weekend as a real long shot to beat out Mohr, was due to report to the Sox yesterday but was nowhere to be seen. Sox officials didn't know his whereabouts, and nor did a representative of Gonzalez. At last check, the two-time MVP was believed to be home in his native Puerto Rico.

Gonzalez, by all accounts, was well aware of the Sox' impending deal for Pena when he agreed to come to camp. The plan called for Gonzalez to remain in extended spring or showcase himself -- for the Sox or another club -- with Pawtucket. The bet now: He never shows.

That means the focus will be on Pena, the hulking but gentle 245-pound Dominican. Well, he's listed at 245. How much does he actually weigh?

''About 250, I guess," he said, before wagging his tongue, which is his way of adding a humorous exclamation point to a comment. ''When I got here, I was like 260. I said to myself, 'I have to get down to 250, 245.' "

The spring locker location he was issued demonstrates that the Sox have a sense of humor; his neighbor to the left is 5-foot-9-inch prospect Dustin Pedroia. (''That guy is big, huh?" Pedroia noted.)

Pena, a part-time player each of his three big-league seasons, was scheduled to start in left this year for the Reds. Asked about remaining a part-time player, for this year at least, he said, ''That's OK. They told me they're going to give me a chance against the lefties. When the opportunity comes, I have to be ready."

He also said left field is the weakest of his three outfield positions. He played first base in winter ball in the Dominican Republic this year, but Francona said that won't happen with the Sox. Pena's focus, for now, must be learning the bending right-field corner at Fenway. Last year, during an interleague series in Boston, a ball hit by Manny Ramírez popped out of Pena's glove into the stands for a gift home run. He also lost a ball in the lights and played a David Ortiz hit into a double.

Asked about the weekend, Pena smiled and wagged his tongue, and said, ''That was a long right field." He then traced in the air the angle of the right field corner.

He also whiffed seven times in 10 at-bats in the series.

''That was a lot," he said. ''I have to improve by just working hard. Go to the cage and work, see a lot of video. I don't think about home runs. I told myself in winter ball, just make contact.

''If I make contact, I know it's going to be a homer."