Hansen, Delcarmen sent down

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Finalizing their Opening Day roster, the Red Sox sent relievers Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen to Pawtucket yesterday. Kyle Snyder won the final spot in the bullpen.

Hansen was 0-1 with a 15.43 ERA this spring and was roughed up for five runs in Sarasota Monday. A 2005 first-round pick out of St. John's, he has struggled with the parent club and will not be used as a closer in Pawtucket.

"He was rushed," acknowledged manager Terry Francona. "Now we want him in a routine where he can separate himself from other pitchers. By his own admission, he had an uneven spring. We still firmly believe this kid has a bright future and I think he's prepared to go do that."

Hansen did not want to talk about the idea that he was rushed to the majors in the summer of '05, just three months after he stopped pitching in the Big East.

"If they feel like it, they feel like it," said the 6-foot-5-inch righty. "I don't know. I can't look in the past."

Hansen pitched in four big league games in 2005 and in 38 games with the Red Sox in 2006. His career ERA is 6.59 with 33 strikeouts and 16 walks in 41 innings.

As for this spring, Hansen said, "I was inconsistent. Good one day, bad the next day. And that's not going to help our team. There's not much more to say about it than that."

Francona said Hansen would not be used as a closer at Triple A. When Hansen was asked what his Pawtucket role will be, he replied, "Reliever."

Delcarmen was 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in seven spring appearances.

"He's somebody we are counting on, but we don't know how far into the future," said Francona. "We wanted to send him to Triple A and tell him to get started now so he doesn't miss 10 days."

With Mike Timlin starting the season on the disabled list, Javier Lopez will stay with the big club as the third lefthander in the bullpen -- at least for the time being.

Bryan Corey, a 33-year-old righty (0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of spring training) was assigned to the minor league camp.

"He did everything we asked him to do," said Francona. "That was a hard conversation."

Catcher Kevin Cash also was sent to Pawtucket, and catcher Alberto Castillo was traded to the Orioles for outfielder Cory Keylor. In addition to Timlin, Jon Lester and Matt Clement will start the season on the disabled list. Lester will start the season in Greenville of the South Atlantic League. His manager will be Gabe Kapler for three or four starts. "We want him to pitch a few games there before we turn him loose," said Francona. "I think he understands and he's ready to go." . . . The Red Sox have hit only 13 homers in 27 games this spring . . . In a 3-2 loss to the Pirates yesterday, Tim Wakefield threw 88 pitches in six innings, giving up three runs on six hits. He was replaced by Brendan Donnelly in the seventh. "I'm ready to go," said Wakefield. "I feel real good about our team." . . . David Ortiz cracked an RBI single in the fifth . . . Wily Mo Peña went down swinging three times . . . Daisuke Matsuzaka is scheduled to have lunch with members of the Boston media today at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Myers. Hearing that sportswriters were en route, folks at the CCC made arrangements to count the silverware.

From Snyder: "In other years, I was never healthy. This was the first time I could come to spring training and build on what I did last year. It gave me additional confidence and comfort. I expect to be used as a long man in the bullpen, but I'll take the ball whenever they give it to me." . . . Manny Ramírez (sore throat) took batting practice but did not play against the Pirates. He'll play tonight against the Twins in the winner-take-all Mayor's Cup finale. Curt Schilling and Johan Santana will start the big game . . . Outfielder Alex Ochoa has spoken with his agent, Scott Boras, and will accept a position with the Red Sox Triple A club at Pawtucket . . . Timlin (oblique muscle) threw 30 pitches in a bullpen session and said he felt fine. He'll take today off, then try a 40-pitch session tomorrow . . . Clay Buchholz gets the start for the Sox in tomorrow's Florida finale. Edwin Jackson will start for the Devil Rays at City of Palms Park. The Sox go to Philadelphia for exhibition games Friday and Saturday, then it's on to Kansas City for the season opener Monday . . . Clement (recovering from shoulder surgery) will stay in Florida for a month or two. He's throwing from 60 feet now and will throw from 75 feet next week. He hopes to be pitching to hitters after the All-Star break . . . MLB security officials, making rounds of camps, spoke to the Red Sox for a half-hour before batting practice . . . Approximately 500 people attended last night's Diamond Baseball Dinner at City of Palms Park. The event benefits the Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.