They're in position to play

Dustan Mohr, who a day earlier was in Pawtucket's lineup, was about to speak with a TV reporter yesterday morning when Red Sox executive Brian O'Halloran cut in.

''Before you do that," O'Halloran told the reporter, ''we've got to get him to sign his contract."

O'Halloran completed that task, then trekked over to Coco Crisp to complete some disabled list paperwork. By early afternoon, the Sox would be down another starting outfielder.

Trot Nixon, in the second inning, started back on a ball hit by Aaron Hill, realized it was rapidly earthbound, changed course, and dived, with little chance to catch what went for a double. After leading off and grounding out the next inning, Nixon exited the game with what the club labeled a mild left groin strain.

While manager Terry Francona said, ''I don't think it's anything that's going to make him miss more than a day or two," Nixon said, ''I'm hoping five to seven days, then get back to activity." Nixon said he based his estimate upon what he was told by the team's rehabilitation coordinator, Scott Waugh.

''On a scale of 1 to 3," Nixon said, rating the severity of the injury, ''this was a 1. It seemed like the ball just stopped in midair. I probably shouldn't have dived."

Crisp, meanwhile, formally went on the DL, retroactive to Sunday, meaning he's eligible to be activated April 24. General manager Theo Epstein would not say how long the broken knuckle at the base of Crisp's left index finger would sideline him, saying only that Crisp would need 10 days in a splint.

''I would think, not being a doctor, two-week DL to whenever it heals," Crisp said, before playfully adding, ''It's all about how much milk I drink."

''We're not looking at two months here," Francona said. ''We're probably looking at a matter of weeks. My guess is he'll be a quick healer. He always has been."

Francona wasn't kidding. Last May 17, Crisp injured his right thumb in the same manner he hurt his left index finger -- sliding into third base. An MRI of the thumb injury showed a bad sprain, and the initial diagnosis called for Crisp to miss at least three months. However, he was back in the lineup June 2, wearing a protective sleeve, and promptly homered three times in four games.

Without Crisp and Nixon, Francona said, Mohr will start in center and Wily Mo Peña in right tonight and tomorrow against Toronto lefties Gustavo Chacin and Ted Lilly.

Mohr, in his brief stay in Pawtucket, had 16 at-bats and collected three hits, after batting .350 with three homers and seven RBIs as a nonroster invitee this spring. The Sox opted to call up Mohr instead of speedster Willie Harris, Francona said, because Mohr hits righthanded, while Harris bats lefthanded.

''We would have gotten repetitive a little bit with Willie," Francona said, indicating that Harris and Adam Stern both hit left and have similar skill sets.

Mohr, in five big-league seasons, has played only 28 games in center field. Can he play the position?

''I can," he said yesterday. ''I played center field the majority of my minor league career and have played some center with every team I've been with in the majors. I probably don't look like the prototypical center fielder, but I feel comfortable out there."

Remember David Wells? He gets the ball tonight as the Sox' four-man rotation finally expands to include the 42-year-old lefthander. Wells allowed seven runs on six hits in five innings in his Triple A tuneup. A positive to fall back on: He's 16-1 at Fenway dating to 1998, went 8-1 here last season, and the Sox won 11 of his 12 Fenway starts in 2005 . . . Francona indicated that in Crisp's absence Kevin Youkilis will most often hit leadoff, with Stern likely to bat first on the days when J.T. Snow starts. Youkilis, who hit leadoff yesterday for just the third time in his three-year career, said that hitting eighth or first doesn't force him to alter his approach. ''It's only one time a game," he said. ''I think people put too much emphasis on it." Yesterday he went 2 for 4, singling in the first and doubling in the second. Since going hitless Opening Day in Texas, he's 7 for 13 (.538) . . . Manny Ramírez went 0 for 4 yesterday, fanning twice and grounding into a double play, to fall to .240. He hasn't homered in seven games this season. A year ago he didn't homer until his 11th game, when he left the yard twice and knocked in six runs . . . Francona won for the 199th time yesterday as Sox manager, in his 331st game. As soon as today, he will become the second-quickest Sox manager to win 200, behind only Joe McCarthy (323 games) . . . Josh Beckett became the 14th Sox pitcher in 16 years to start the home opener. Only Frank Viola (1992-93) and Pedro Martínez (2002-03) started more than one in that span.

Dave Wallace, the Sox pitching coach awaiting a hip transplant, visited the clubhouse yesterday morning, a reassuring sight for players and coaches, many of whom had not seen him since last season. Wallace, who was deathly ill two months ago with a hip infection, also was introduced to the crowd before the game. Francona said that Wallace, who relies heavily on crutches, is leaving his home only for a couple hours at a time . . . From his spot on the first-base line, between Mark Loretta and Ramírez, with David Ortiz holding the handlebars of his wheelchair, 5-year-old Jimmy Fund patient Jordan Leandre sang a flawless rendition of the national anthem . . . Keith Foulke, a Phoenix Coyotes season ticket-holder who admittedly is a far bigger fan of hockey than baseball, was wearing black CCM hockey gloves and cradling a silver composite CCM stick in the clubhouse before yesterday's game, repeatedly backhanding a baseball into his locker. Beckett looked on rather quizzically . . . The Sox rewarded folks paying as much as $275 per ticket in the new EMC club by placing a new glove on each seat . . . Parking in lots near Fenway: $30 on the low end, $90 on the high end at the Mobil Station at the corner of Boylston Street and Yawkey Way.

Ortiz acknowledged that his four-year, $50 million extension covering 2007 to 2010 also includes a $2 million signing bonus, bringing the total guarantee to $52 million. There's also a club option for $12.5 million in 2011 . . . Ortiz's extension makes him only the fourth Sox player signed to a guaranteed major league deal that extends beyond 2007. Next season, the Sox have $75.8 million committed to eight players (Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Ramírez, Matt Clement, Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, Julian Tavarez, and Craig Hansen). In 2008, the only signed players are Ramírez ($20 million), Ortiz ($12.5 million), Varitek ($10 million), and Hansen ($700,000). Ortiz is the team's only player signed to a guaranteed deal beyond 2008 . . . Yesterday's crowd of 35,491 eclipsed the 1969 home opener gathering (35,343 vs. Baltimore) for the largest ever at Fenway . . . The Sox, who have never gone 7-0 to begin a year, started 6-1 for just the ninth time (1904, '18, '20, '35, '46, '52, '55, '99, and 2006) . . . Tavarez threw 25 batting practice pitches to hitters yesterday morning. He'll be activated tomorrow and will not have pitched in a game since an April 2 exhibition at Philadelphia . . . The Sox have now won 10 of 14 home openers.