Beckett makes short work of Eagles

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The dehydration from the plane rides to and from Washington, D.C., didn't seem to hamper Josh Beckett.

In his first crack at a real spring training game, Beckett tore through the Boston College lineup with ease yesterday. It took him just 25 pitches to set down six straight, few enough that he went to the bullpen for another 17 before calling it a day. Unhappy with his curveball, Beckett said he tried to work it out in his brief bullpen session.

"Felt good," said Beckett, victorious in the Red Sox' 24-0 blitzing of BC. "You know, just still refining the small adjustments and stuff like that. I didn't think I threw my curveball very well today in the game. I threw seven or eight really good ones down there [in the bullpen]. Just my body getting out in front of me and having to rush to catch up."

Beckett threw 18 strikes and struck out four, two looking.

"Any time you get an opportunity to go out there and stretch out your fastball a little bit and get a bit of work through some of your other pitches, it's a good day," catcher Jason Varitek said. "I thought he threw some good [curveballs]; he didn't necessarily throw them for strikes. He threw some good ones at the bottom of the zone, so that was good. Good rotation on them. It's early and he didn't quite have the feel that he wanted for it."

Invaluable experience

After their trip to the White House Wednesday, members of the Red Sox headed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit with patients. The Red Sox went to both individual rooms and a rehab center during their hour visit. Yesterday, often unprompted, they couldn't stop talking about the experience. "I think the most rewarding part of the trip, and I think you can ask anybody who went on the trip, was visiting the hospital," Beckett said. "I know I got to hear several stories, and as terrible as those stories are, it's something like that that puts everything in perspective for you. Those are heroes." Added Kyle Snyder, "Special. When you get an opportunity to spend some time with the soldiers and express our appreciation for, obviously, the freedom they allow us to have was very cool for us. It was just as cool for us as it was for them."

Bonuses, baby

If Bartolo Colon is not on the major league roster by May 1, he has an out in his contract that allows him to be released. According to the contract he just signed with the Red Sox, he will get $18,000 per month on his minor league deal, with his major league contract valued at $1.25 million. He gets $100,000 for each game started between 8 and 15, and $175,000 for each game between 15 and 20. He gets $240,000 for each game, 21 to 25, and $350,000 for 26 to 30. Along with awards bonuses, Colon has bonuses for games finished ($250,000 for 25 finished, $350,000 for 35, $400,000 for 40, and $450,000 for 45). He will get $225,000 for 30 days on the big league roster, and an additional $225,000 for each 30 games after that up to 150. Colon also gets $250,000 if he is traded. Colon thought it was possible he would pitch in a game March 9, but manager Terry Francona said Colon was on the original schedule to pitch March 15. "That has a chance to be varied a little bit," Francona said. "I think he surprised us a little bit with his arm strength and not just the way he threw the ball, but his arm strength, getting tested with Mike [Reinold] . . . If John [Farrell] and the medical staff [give the] OK, we don't want to hold him back, we just want to have him keep going forward." . . . The game against BC marked the debut of helmets for first and third base coaches, who are now required to wear them after minor league coach Mike Coolbaugh was killed when he was hit by a batted ball last year. Third base coach DeMarlo Hale needed a bigger helmet midway through the game. "It was a bit uncomfortable," Hale said. "I take it as something that you have to get used to. I mean, I understand why, how it came about with the unfortunate situation with Mike Coolbaugh. There's a lot more people that are in danger in the park as well. That's how I look at it."

Papi a sideshow

David Ortiz, in suit and tie, had a police helmet jammed on the top of his bulked-up hair as he sat stuffed into the sidecar of a police motorcycle Wednesday for the ride from the White House to Walter Reed. Ortiz wasn't the only one to jump in the sidecar - Francona and Snyder also took rides. "It was fun, but it was too cold, man," Ortiz said. "It wasn't a good idea, but Tito forced me to do it. He said he did it, so I didn't want to look like a [coward]. I have to do it in the summer. Everyone was looking at me like, 'Wow. That guy must be somebody,' then some other people were looking at me like, 'What an idiot.' " . . . In the second game of the doubleheader, Justin Masterson pitched two innings, giving up one hit and striking out one in the Sox' 15-0 victory over Northeastern. "It was fun. Just like I wanted it to be," Masterson said. "If that was an Opening Day start, of course I wouldn't be as happy as I am now. But I felt comfortable out there, just was underneath a couple of sinkers, like the one base hit was just down the side of it and it just hung there and the guy put a nice swing." . . . Jonathan Papelbon played catch before the first game, then left for Mississippi State to give a speech. Because he's not scheduled to pitch until tomorrow, the team gave him permission to leave camp. He is expected back before today's workout. Francona's response? "God help us all," he joked . . . BC didn't get its only hit until third baseman Eric Campbell singled off Javier Lopez leading off the fifth inning. The Red Sox had 16 hits . . . In addition to Manny Ramírez, Julian Tavarez and general manager Theo Epstein were not on the White House trip. Epstein said he was not there because of family reasons.

Gordon Edes of the Globe staff contributed to this report.