Peña will be in middle of it

CLEVELAND -- Terry Francona's declaration that he intends to play Wily Mo Peña in center field, tonight, had nothing to do with the latest win by former Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who ran his record to 4-0 by holding the Washington Nationals to one hit over eight innings yesterday afternoon.

Francona mentioned the plan on his weekly radio appearance on WEEI yesterday, before Arroyo, who was traded for Peña, took the hill, then reiterated his intentions when he met with reporters before last night's game.

Against Indians lefthander liff Lee, Peña played right field, with Dustan Mohr in center, and after whiffing in his first at-bat, Peña hit his second home run of the season, drawing him even with Arroyo.

There's a high-risk factor in playing Peña in center -- defensively, he's shown a tendency to be Wily Oh No -- but the statute of limitations has just about run out on Willie Harris, who was a valued utilityman on a White Sox team that won the World Series last season, but has shown nothing this spring. Harris hit just .176 (3 for 17) in spring training, .161 (9 for 56) in Pawtucket, and is batting .071 (1 for 14) in five games with the Red Sox.

Harris had a clause in his one-year, $650,000 contract that stipulated he could become a free agent if the Sox did not call him up by April 20, which not coincidentally was the last day Adam Stern was required to remain on the roster to satisfy Rule 5 requirements. But the Sox are hardly married to the idea that Harris has a roster spot beyond the day Coco Crisp returns, which is expected to be mid-May at the latest.

Stern? Well, general manager Theo Epstein was in Pawtucket last night, with top lieutenants Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, but the primary purpose of their visit was to see lefthander Jon Lester, who remains on a much stricter pitch count than Curt Schilling. Lester went 3 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and a run, which came on the first of two home runs by Elijah Dukes, the Tampa Bay outfield prospect whose name Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon whispered in almost reverential tones this spring when he said, ''Remember the name, Elijah Dukes" on a visit to Fort Myers, Fla.

Delmon Young, Tampa Bay's top prospect, created a bigger stir than Dukes when he flipped his bat at the plate umpire after being called out on strikes and was ejected when he didn't leave the batter's box in an expeditious fashion. The bat struck the umpire in the chest, which may lead to an extended unpaid vacation.

Stern? As much as the Canadian Babe has been embraced in Boston, particularly for his defense, Sox management has not strayed from its belief that Stern needs to play every day in Pawtucket. He had just three hits in 20 at-bats for the Sox, and according to the eyes paid to notice such things, had lost his swing, fiddling with his swing and stance from at-bat to at-bat.

He will have to prove his worth in Pawtucket every bit as much as Lester and top infield prospect Dustin Pedroia, who is on a schedule where he plays two games at shortstop, then one at second, two at short, etc. Another top prospect may soon be on the way. Craig Hansen, who on Tuesday night for Double A Portland gave up his first run in pro ball after 22 1/3 scoreless innings, could be promoted to Triple A as soon as tomorrow, when the PawSox play at home, then leave for a trip to Ottawa.

In the meantime, Francona is prepared to roll the dice with Peña, who had just one at-bat in the first four games of this trip and had not started a game since April 20. Peña could give the Sox a much-needed infusion of offense: They began the night ranked 18th in the majors in runs and 20th in home runs. Peña's home run accounted for Boston's only run in the 7-1 loss to Lee and the Indians.

''If you don't play him you're not going to see his power," Francona said. ''If we put him in center, there's always a concern, 'Are we sacrificing defense?' Well, I don't know. So I'm going to get him out there in center field a little bit.

''I think we're going to do it. We'll hit him down in the order, maybe [Paul] Byrd will make a mistake, he'll hit a three-run homer. Again, he took a good swing tonight. He has that ability. I just don't think I've been playing him enough. I've been caught in the middle of juggling offense and defense . . . it's a long year, but we'd like to try to give Wily Mo enough at-bats that he'll get untracked and get hot for us."

Peña played some center field in Cincinnati, especially when Ken Griffey Jr. was hurt. When it was mentioned that Peña was more comfortable in center than a corner outfield position, Francona retorted that so was he, and ''I stunk."

''When I was with the Cubs, I remember Harry Caray saying, on a day I was playing center, Keith Moreland was in left, and Gary Matthews was in right, that we were the all-time slowest outfield he'd ever seen. He must have said it seven times."

Peña said before the game he knew nothing of Francona's plans.

''I'll play anywhere -- I just want to do this," he said, swinging an imaginary bat.