Peņa eyes an opening

Although the Red Sox scored a 14-3 romp over the Seattle Mariners in Tuesday's home opener, Wily Mo Peña said his calender will show differently when the Sox are scheduled to host the Mariners at 4:05 p.m. today. Pena said he'll commemorate April 12, 2007, as his personal Opening Day.

"When I [start] my first game, that's going to be my Opening Day," Peña said shortly after emerging from the batting cage behind the Sox' dugout before last night's game. "I've only got three at-bats and I just don't feel the same when I get three at-bats. That's why I told my guys when I get to start a whole game, that's going to be like my Opening Day."

Peña is hoping his day will come today. But he isn't encouraged about his prospects because of the inclement weather forecast.

"We're probably not playing, but I hope we play because I want to play," said Peña, who is 0 for 3 this season, all as a pinch hitter, seeing action in the first two games and in the home opener. "I've been watching the weather, so I want to play and get a strong bat. I've got three at-bats already, but that's like nothing. I don't feel like I'm on time yet, so you just want to play some more.

"It's tough, but you just have to keep working hard. That's all I've been doing, taking extra BP and everything, so I'm just looking for my opportunity to play."

Manager Terry Francona said yesterday he hoped to platoon Peña in the outfield and get him as many as 400 at-bats this season. Asked if it was going to be tough to get Peña that many opportunities, general manager Theo Epstein said, "It shouldn't be. Everybody could use a day off now and then. He can play all three outfield positions, and normally, your three everyday outfielders will leave about 400 at-bats for someone else, and if he can pick up those at-bats, it should be a good number for him."

Last year, in his first season with the Red Sox, Pena batted a career-best .301 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, and 36 runs in 84 games. "For Wily, right now it's hard for him as a young player to be on the bench and only play once in a while," said David Ortiz, who has taken Peña under his wing. "But whenever he gets his time to play every day, he's going to do some crazy things."

And yet, when he arrived in Boston, Peña was viewed as a work in progress, especially when it came to his fielding. Playing the nooks and crannies of Fenway's distinct outfield presented challenges.

"He was a 24-year-old hitter with an enormous ceiling who could help us now in a fourth-outfielder role and potentially be plugged into the lineup as a middle-of-the-order bat when some of the guys, who we have fill in the role at the time, are toward the end of their contracts," Epstein said when asked why the Sox acquired Peña from Cincinnati for pitcher Bronson Arroyo last year. "Wily can play all three outfield positions and he still has a very high ceiling with the bat."

While he has yet to show that in this nascent season, Peña did show his improved fielding when he made a nice catch on the warning track to end Tuesday's game.

"That's what everybody's been saying, but I just got a good jump on it," Peña said. "I have to say thanks to [third base coach] DeMarlo [Hale] for working with me since spring training. It was a good jump. Afterward, I was like, 'That was a good play,' because I wouldn't have made that play last year on this field."

Peña is hoping to get his chance to combine his fielding with a good showing at the plate. But for now, Peña will have to sit and wait out the weather to make sure it doesn't rain (or snow) on his Opening Day.

"I'm excited about it," Peña said about the prospect of making his first start. "But I just don't know about the weather."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.