In dollars, there is change

Payroll drops to fourth place

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Red Sox player payroll has fallen to fourth in the majors, with both the Mets and Tigers leapfrogging them. The Yankees, of course, remain No. 1 with an Opening Day payroll of $209.1 million, according to figures obtained by the Associated Press, but the Sox, who were second at $143.026 million a year ago, are now at $133.4 million, a figure eclipsed by the Tigers ($138.7 million) and Mets ($138.3 million).

The numbers are based on salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. Deferred income for some players is calculated at present-day value.

For the first time, the average salary in the major leagues exceeded $3 million; the Sox have 14 players at $3 million and above, led by Manny Ramírez, whose salary is pegged at $18.9 million, behind Alex Rodriguez ($28 million), Jason Giambi ($23.4 million), and Derek Jeter ($21.6 million), all of the Yankees. A-Rod led all major leaguers in salary for the eighth consecutive season.

The median salary - the figure at which an equal number of players are paid above and below - remained at $1 million for the third consecutive season. The Sox have 13 players who fall beneath the $1 million mark, including a couple of pitchers who will not be on the roster when Josh Beckett and Mike Timlin are activated.

The drop in the Sox payroll can be traced to losing the contracts of pitchers Matt Clement, Joel Piñeiro, and J.C. Romero, as well as the reduction in Curt Schilling's salary from $13 million to $8 million. The Sox gave a big bump to Mike Lowell (from $9 million to $12 million), and Kevin Youkilis was awarded $3 million in arbitration, but low-salaried regulars such as second baseman Dustin Pedroia, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, starting pitcher Jon Lester, and All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon are still not eligible for arbitration.

Ellsbury leads off

After he said he didn't want to place undue pressure on Ellsbury by batting him in the leadoff spot, that's where manager Terry Francona slotted the rookie outfielder last night against the A's.

Ellsbury (1 for 5 with an RBI) batted in front of Pedroia, with Youkilis dropped to the No. 6 hole between Lowell and Jason Varitek. Last week in Japan, Brandon Moss was still eligible to play and subbed for J.D. Drew, hitting a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of the opener. But Moss is now in Pawtucket, and Ellsbury was playing right field alongside Coco Crisp in center.

"J.D.'s not in there, so we're trying for a little balance," Francona said. "[Ellsbury] has done it before. We're trying to patch things together. Hopefully, we can use his speed and Youk's good at-bats behind Mike Lowell to keep the lineup nice and stretched out."

Drew, who missed the two games in Japan, is expected to play in this afternoon's series finale. He took batting practice yesterday.

"I talked to J.D. and figured he'd play one game out of the two," Francona said.

Sox fans may recall the discussion of whether another rookie could handle the pressure of hitting leadoff. Throughout spring training in 1997, manager Jimy Williams said he preferred to bat Nomar Garciaparra at the bottom of the order to ease him into the lineup. But with just a couple of games left in camp, Williams installed Garciaparra, who was batting .195 at the time, at the top of the order and dropped veteran outfielder Shane Mack to the No. 9 spot.

Garciaparra went on to hit .306 with 30 home runs that season and was named Rookie of the Year.

No one was suggesting the move to bat Ellsbury leadoff was permanent. Francona didn't even know whether Ellsbury will be leading off this afternoon.

Honor roll of A's

The Athletics, who are observing 40 years in Oakland, honored Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams before the game. Williams managed the Athletics to two World Series titles in the '70s after engineering the Sox' Impossible Dream season in 1967. Former Athletics Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Dave Henderson, and Terry Steinbach were on hand . . . Timlin, who had the stitches removed from the ring finger of his pitching hand and threw limited long toss during Monday's workout, is tentatively scheduled to throw a couple of side sessions with the team, then join Pawtucket for rehab sessions next Monday and Wednesday.

Minor detour

Outfielder Bobby Kielty, who accepted his assignment to Pawtucket rather than exercising the out clause in his contract, is expected to be there in time for the opener tomorrow night at McCoy Stadium. "He texted me [Monday] night and said he was ready to go," Francona said. "He said he hopes to see us soon." . . . Francona acknowledged the pressure on relievers David Aardsma, Bryan Corey, and Javier Lopez, two of whom will not be with the club once Timlin and Beckett are activated. "It's going to be hard for us," Francona said of a decision he insists has not yet been made. "We don't have a lot of flexibility."

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.

• Searched
• E-Mailed