Area targeted for improvement

Lugo is struggling with his throwing

TORONTO - The trouble for Julio Lugo came mostly on the throws, as he charged in to pick up those pesky ground balls.

Adding to his first error of the season, which came in the first inning of Saturday's game, Lugo made three miscues yesterday, in the fourth inning, the sixth, and the seventh. The Blue Jays scored in two of those innings, though they only put across one unearned run.

"I think he probably got a little hesitant after he made the first error," manager Terry Francona said. "He just didn't move through the ball like he needs to, got a little flat-footed. The balls didn't quite have enough carry to get where it needed to. I think that's something we've probably all fought at some point. The ball seems to find you right when it doesn't need to."

Though it's possible Kevin Youkilis could have picked the third of the three errors, the others were pure Lugo. Add that to an 0-for-4 effort at the plate, including the final out of the game, with two men on and two out, and it wasn't a very good day for the shortstop.

Lugo now has had multiple errors in a game 18 times in his career, though he never had had three in a game. He had two errors in a game twice in 2000, twice in 2001, three times in 2003, four times in 2004, once in 2005, four times in 2006, and once in 2007. Each of those instances came while Lugo was playing shortstop.

When Lugo arrived in Boston before the 2007 season, he came advertised as a good hitter with a bad arm. So, with such low expectations for his defense, his 19 errors (down from highs of 24 in 2005 and 25 in 2004, plus one at second base) weren't quite as frustrating as his nearly nonexistent offense. Coach Luis Alicea worked for hours with him in spring training in 2007, and it seemed to have paid off.

Not yesterday, though. Yesterday, it was ugly. And Lugo (now 5 for 21 this season for a .238 average) didn't have much to add about his lost day.

"I've just got nothing good to say," Lugo said politely after the game. "I don't have nothing to say."

Special day lined up

Not only will the Red Sox be introduced on the baselines for the final time in their fourth opener (Tokyo, Oakland, and Toronto) tomorrow at Fenway Park, the team will receive its rings from the 2007 World Series.

"It'll come and it'll be special, and then it'll be time to play," Francona said. "It's a great accomplishment. Again, it's last year, but they'll be honored for it [tomorrow] and they should enjoy it.

"That doesn't come along every day. It's hard to do. So we want them to appreciate it. Let the fans show their appreciation. It's a great experience. Opening Day at a place like Fenway's pretty special anyway. Then you get to add a ring ceremony to boot, [it will] be a lot of emotions."

All the right moves?

Kyle Snyder was designated for assignment, as expected, to make room for Josh Beckett on the 25-man roster. The reliever had been alerted to the move Saturday after the game, but the team did not make it official until before yesterday's series finale. "We also have another roster move coming up with [Mike ] Timlin coming back," Francona said. "It was difficult. There was a lot of conversation on what to do and when to do it, why to do it. I think the prevailing factor was that this was probably going to be inevitable, at least by next week. So this was our move." Though he said he wasn't going to compare pitchers, Francona did allow that Julian Tavarez - whose role overlapped with that of Snyder - provided more flexibility. "If we run into a bump in the road, he can start," Francona said. "You can realistically think he might be able to get you four or five [innings] after not pitching. That's a rarity."

Eckstein a pest

Though he sat out yesterday in favor of John McDonald, David Eckstein has been a welcome addition to the Blue Jays, and an unwelcome one for the Red Sox. Eckstein worked a key 11-pitch walk off David Aardsma Friday night, then had two singles and three RBIs Saturday. Clay Buchholz said Eckstein "might be the hardest out in baseball." . . . McDonald and Vernon Wells were involved in an ugly collision in center field on a ball hit by Youkilis that was scored a triple. McDonald slammed into Wells with his left shoulder, then landed on his right. The game was delayed while the players were examined, but both stayed in . . . Francona said one of the biggest problems with the lengthy road trip was that he could see the frustration coming on a bit quicker for some of his players. That might have been the case when Sean Casey argued with umpire Mike Reilly in Saturday's game. Casey thought a ball he hit had come back into the batter's box before catcher Gregg Zaun picked it up. Casey did say yesterday that he knows Reilly well - and knew how far he could push the argument . . . Wells leads all major league players with five career home runs off Beckett. He hit his two-run shot in the fourth inning . . . Jason Varitek's second home run of the season was his 150th with the Red Sox, which pushed him past Reggie Smith into 16th place in team history. George Scott ranks 15th with 154 . . . Varitek's response to whether Beckett tired in his first outing of the season? "He's so doggone strong," the catcher said. "He's like a bull."

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