Varitek makes a connection

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It felt so good to Jason Varitek.

Home run, first pitch, left-center field batting righthanded in the fifth inning against Orioles lefthander Erik Bedard, who was 15-11 with a 3.76 ERA last season. Varitek broke an 0-for-17 streak that was drawing concern from Red Sox Nation.

Although he walked away hitting .107 following the Red Sox' 3-2 victory over Baltimore yesterday, Varitek believes his work with new batting coach Dave Magadan is beginning to pay off. He has changed the starting mechanism on his swing and believes he needs at-bats to take it to the next level.

"I took good swings today," Varitek said. "I need some more at-bats. The more I get the better I feel."

Varitek said he and Magadan have been "experimenting with a lot of different things," reaching the point where he's trying to mix "the old stuff with the new stuff."

Overall, Varitek has been busier than ever as he tries to communicate with Daisuke Matsuzaka and learn techniques from catching instructor Gary Tuck. Manager Terry Francona is not concerned with Varitek's offense. His hope is by the time Varitek leaves spring training, "He'll feel good about himself." Yesterday, Varitek did.

Coming off a miserable offensive season, in which he batted .238 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in 365 at-bats, the two-time All-Star catcher knows he must be a force in the Red Sox' lineup for all the parts to work.

Varitek, 35, will make the trip to St. Petersburg today to play the Devil Rays -- as the designated hitter. He does not want to fade into offensive oblivion. His counterpart in New York, Jorge Posada, a four-time All-Star, hit .277 with 23 homers and 93 RBIs last season. Posada turns 36 in August, and he's become a better defensive catcher working with Tony Pena.

Not that it's a competition to the Carlton Fisk-Thurman Munson level.

"I respect Jason a great deal," Posada said this week. "I don't have any animosity toward him. He does the best he can for his team and his pitching staff. He's all about team and I think we're very similar that way."

Although Roger Clemens will not make a decision as to where he will play until May, one American League general manager said yesterday, "Opening up a starting spot doesn't hurt [the Red Sox'] chances, that's for sure. He's said all along it's Boston, New York, or Houston. It will likely be Houston, but will they have the money to offer? Boston and New York will. And now Boston might have the incentive to do something serious with that No. 5 spot. It's going to be very interesting." . . . Curt Schilling pitched an efficient seven innings in which he threw 85 pitches and allowed two earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and no walks. He allowed both runs in the fourth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Jay Gibbons and Kevin Millar. Schilling showed an effective changeup again, and considers himself in great shape to start the season . . . Francona said Schilling apologized for confirming the team's decision to convert Jonathan Papelbon to closer on his blog before the Sox made the announcement . . . Coco Crisp, who has been battling a sore shoulder, is expected to start in center field today against the Devil Rays . . . Julian Tavarez wasn't interested in talking about his role as No. 5 starter. Guess we'll have to ask Manny Ramírez . . . Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, who is writing a story on umpiring, worked all three bases yesterday, with the permission of Major League Baseball. He didn't have to make any calls . . . Outfielder David Murphy and infielder Jeff Bailey were reassigned to Pawtucket.