Beckett, Delcarmen climb ahead on the hill

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Manny Ramírez stepped into the batter's box and hacked. David Ortiz stepped in and looked. It didn't matter the approach, really, since yesterday was far more about the pitchers than the hitters. With the relief pitchers facing live hitters for the first time in camp (starters throw today), just two days after position players began workouts, they have progressed one significant step closer to being ready to take the hill in the regular season.

"This is probably the toughest day for the hitters in camp," manager Terry Francona said. "Any bit of confidence that they accrued over the winter is gone today."

While the pitchers are not yet being evaluated, pitching coach John Farrell provided the early word on what the staff is seeing. He started with two standouts so far: Josh Beckett and Manny Delcarmen.

"I think it's always impressive to see Josh Beckett go about his work," Farrell said. "I think any time we talk about our pitching staff, we always start with him. But he looks as strong and as sharp as he did this time last year.

"Manny Delcarmen has really turned some heads with the way he has reshaped his body and the way he threw the ball today in batting practice; he looks strong. Granted, we keep this in the proper context, we're still in batting practice. But the early read is very positive on both of those guys."

In addition to two first-timers in big league camp, Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden, Farrell mentioned two more pitchers who are just about on opposite ends of the publicity scale. While the story about Jon Lester's return from cancer has been well-documented, David Aardsma has garnered far less ink.

The 26-year-old righthanded reliever came over in a trade with the White Sox for minor league pitchers Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich in late January. He spent time last season with the White Sox and with Triple A Charlotte, starting the season with a 1.31 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings through May 12 before falling off considerably and being sent down for the second half.

"When you look at [Lester's] windup, particularly with his delivery in his lower half, he's much further along than he was a year ago," Farrell said. "Not only from a fundamental standpoint, but physically, obviously, he's gained weight, he's stronger. David Aardsma is a guy that really will grab some attention just with the pure stuff that he has. Command of his pitches and overall strike-throwing ability will be a key when we get into game situations."

With the pitchers set to begin throwing in games over the weekend - against Boston College, Northeastern, and the Twins - the plan now is to ready them to pitch two-inning stints, then add an inning in their next outing. As Farrell said, the team is "looking at stretching out not only pitch count, but their overall physical endurance."

Hideki Okajima gave at least a hint as to the identity of the secret pitch he's developing. Okajima has deemed his new pitch the "Doki-doki," appropriate both for the play on his nickname and its meaning in Japanese, which, according to translator Jeff Yamaguchi, means "sounds of a heartbeat," and "he makes me nervous."

"He doesn't know which way it breaks, and it works for either hitter," Yamaguchi said. "He started working on the new pitch since August last year, throwing catch against me."

Okajima said he thought he needed to improve last season, but that he was better served saving it until this year. Asked if the pitch was a two-seam fastball, Okajima leaned over and said, "Secret."

Bobby Kielty became the final player to report, arriving Friday night and showing up at the minor league complex yesterday. Kielty's wife, Meredith, gave birth to the couple's third child, and first boy, Aiden Miller, Wednesday. Kielty signed a nonguaranteed contract in the offseason that had seemed contingent on Coco Crisp's not being with the team. "I had a good time here, No. 1, I feel like they know me as a player a little bit," Kielty said. He said he was offered similar deals with other teams, but he felt the knowledge the Red Sox had of him set them ahead. His contract does have an out if he does not make the team at the end of spring training, he said, plus another that allows him to leave two months into the season. "I don't see myself taking off," he said. Though he had offered to hit exclusively righthanded, the Sox told him they would rather he continue as a switch hitter . . . The Sox will work out early Wednesday and be off the field by 10:30 a.m. to reach the White House by 3:05 p.m., their scheduled meeting time with President Bush, before returning that night. The team is unsure exactly who will head to Washington. No players need to stay in Fort Myers for baseball reasons, but there is a cap on the number of people, including front office, staff, coaches, and players, who can attend.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.