Lester said to be making progress

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A source with direct knowledge of Jon Lester's medical condition said yesterday that Lester's latest CT scan was clean and his cancer seems to be in remission, so the 22-year-old lefthander expects to be in spring training with the Red Sox in 2007.

When contacted by phone yesterday, Lester's father deferred questions to his son.

"That's something that has to come from Jon," said John Lester. "It's his body, his treatment. I'd love to say something, but I wouldn't want to compromise his wishes."

The younger Lester did not respond to messages left on his cell phone and at his home.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein also would not address Lester's condition.

"We want to continue to respect the wishes of the Lester family for him to fight his battle in privacy and will continue to do that," Epstein said.

Lester was diagnosed in late August with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a blood cancer, and began treatment in September. The condition was identified as anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a rare cancer accounting for 1-2 percent of all lymphomas. The cause is unknown.

Dr. Robert Soiffer, chief of the division of blood cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, indicated at the time of Lester's diagnosis that the cancer was responsive to chemotherapy, and predicted that if it did help, Lester would be able to return to pitching after his treatment was finished. Lester began treatment in Boston but returned home to continue at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. He has one more course of chemotherapy to undergo, the source said.

Epstein indicated that he did not meet yesterday with Scott Boras, agent for free agent outfielder J.D. Drew and Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Drew's signing appears to be all but a formality, but Epstein said it was uncertain whether the Sox would announce a signing before the meetings end here Thursday. "Hard to tell," he said. "Maybe, maybe not." Asked if any players were in Boston to undergo a physical, Epstein cracked a joke. "Only [Hideki] Okijima," he said, referring to the Japanese reliever signed by the Sox last week, "and he's eaten every lobster in the Greater Boston vicinity." . . . Keith Foulke's agent, Danny Horwits, said he planned to meet with the Sox about his client, who has been offered salary arbitration but appears to be a long shot to return. Horwits also represents free agent reliever Octavio Dotel, who missed most of last season after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery . . . Epstein said the Sox are keeping the lines of communication open with outfielder Trot Nixon, to whom they did not offer salary arbitration. Nixon also was drawing some interest from the Cubs . . . Manager Terry Francona and pitching coach John Farrell met in Orlando yesterday with pitchers Mike Timlin and Tim Wakefield. Epstein blamed much of Timlin's subpar performance last season on shoulder issues stemming in part from his participation in the World Baseball Classic. Timlin has embraced a new shoulder strengthening program, Epstein said, and could very well reclaim his spot as the team's principal setup man.

A Brewers official said yesterday that the Red Sox have made an inquiry on embattled former closer Derrick Turnbow, who after making the National League All-Star team came unglued in July, going 1 for 5 in save chances and losing his closer's job. Turnbow throws 97-98 miles per hour and has had superb stretches the past two years. But when he goes bad, he really goes bad. In '05, Turnbow converted 39 of 43 chances, but after the All-Star break in '06, his season fell apart. He wound up with a 4-9 record and a 6.87 ERA in 64 appearances. There are mixed feelings about Turnbow among the Sox brass.

One of the first people Grady Little saw in the lobby of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort was Jimy Williams. The two ex-Sox managers spent a few moments catching up. Williams is now the bench coach for Charlie Manuel with the Phillies, and Little is managing the Dodgers. Asked about Drew, who hit .283 with 20 homers and 100 RBIs for the Dodgers last season, Little said, "He did a tremendous job for us. He did everything we asked of him. He's got tremendous ability. Great tools." Asked about Drew's outfield play, Little said, "You won't see many better than J.D."