Judge lacking key evidence

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Major League Baseball has begun to investigate Julián Tavárez's punch of Joey Gathright, but as of last night, league disciplinarian Bob Watson was having a difficult time obtaining video of the incident.

It may be that no video exists. NESN is televising only seven games in Florida this spring, and Monday's game was not one of the seven. The best documentation, as of last night, seemed to be a 56-photo, frame-by-frame recreation of the event as shot by an Associated Press photographer (watch it here).

Tavárez, who has a reputation for being unpredictable and unstable, has been suspended three times for his involvement in brawls, and his past doesn't stand to help him when Watson gets down to sentencing.

Don't expect Tavárez to talk much more about the incident.

''I'm done with the media," Tavárez said yesterday morning. ''No más."

Matt Clement's pitching line last night vs. Cincinnati: 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BBs, 6 K's, 1 HR.

His most memorable line of the night: ''That really was the first time I felt I've thrown like I want to throw in a Red Sox uniform."

Last year, Clement forced himself to regularly throw a cut fastball, at Jason Varitek's urging. But in hindsight, he believes he threw it too often.

''I think I got into a rut throwing a lot of cutters," he said. ''I think it affected some of my other pitches. Unfortunately, it took me a while to figure that out."

Now, he has the feel for his go-to pitch, his slider, and has redeveloped the feel for a sinker, which he all but abandoned last year.

''I have another weapon," he said.

The homer he gave up last night came on a cutter to David Ross. Ross, the Reds' backup catcher, hit a towering shot down the left-field line and watched it soar. Clement appeared to exchange words with him, but he wasn't as hot as Josh Beckett at Ryan Howard two days earlier, or Tavárez Monday.

''I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, that he thought it was going foul," Clement said. ''We've had enough going on the last couple days. If he was trying to watch it and show me up, if that's what he needs to do, he can do that. In the regular season it'll be a different story. But there's no reason to create any controversies."

Manager Terry Francona, meanwhile, was thrilled with Clement's evening.

''I thought that was as good stuff as I've seen in a Red Sox uniform," Francona said. ''His ball was explosive."

Bronson Arroyo, who will be the Reds' No. 2 starter behind Aaron Harang, will return to City of Palms Park tomorrow to pitch against the Sox. ''Thursday's going to be beautiful," Arroyo said before last night's Sox-Reds game. ''It's my last start before the regular season, so I know I'm going to be more jacked up for this game than for any other game." Arroyo said he hopes to throw 100 pitches . . . Manny Ramírez hit a towering home run yesterday (No. 3 of the spring) to lead off the second inning against lefthander Dave Williams. Alex Cora also homered, leading off the third. Coco Crisp played all nine innings and cranked his first homer of the spring in the ninth, although the Sox lost to the Reds, 10-5 . . . Hee Seop Choi left the game with an injured left hamstring.

Could be an interesting day at the park today. Curt Schilling makes his final spring start, and only his second against a big-league club. In the other, vs. Pittsburgh March 11, he hit Chris Duffy in the head and said Duffy should have been able to get out of the way. Today's opponent: Pittsburgh. The game is on ESPN, at 1:05 p.m. . . . Keith Foulke, who has not allowed a run in two big-league appearances, will pitch today vs. Pittsburgh, tomorrow vs. Cincinnati, and Saturday at Philadelphia . . . Manny Delcarmen, who entered in relief of Clement with the bases loaded in the sixth, walked in a run, allowed another to score on a wild pitch, and let in the third on a hit to center.