They're kings of the ill

Not feeling groovy, yet in good groove

Bottles of hand sanitizer have been placed all around the Red Sox' clubhouse. On tables, the water cooler, the computer desk, near lockers.

Don't think it's working.

If this were another industry, the Sox would have called in sick last night. Shut down the plant for a day while people recover.

The bug has aggressively made its way through the Sox. There's sneezing here and coughing there. The captain, Jason Varitek, looks like death warmed over. Manny Delcarmen feels terrible. Daisuke Matsuzaka was scratched from last night's start, leaving Jon Lester to go on three days' rest. Lester went five innings, threw 80 pitches, and allowed nine hits and four runs. He kept his walks to two, which is a good thing.

At least he wasn't wheezing, sneezing, or spitting up. You almost hate to touch anything or breathe the air in the Sox' clubhouse. Interviewing players is a little tricky, too. Don't want to get too close. There's some nasty stuff going around.

Lester was throwing a side session with John Farrell yesterday afternoon when Terry Francona walked up and informed his pitching coach he didn't think Matsuzaka was going to be able to pitch. He was sick and declining rapidly. So Lester, overhearing the conversation and understanding the predicament, volunteered.

Lester, who was scheduled to pitch this afternoon, said that at first Francona laughed it off, but then as he, Farrell, and general manager Theo Epstein began discussing the options, Lester started to make more sense.

The trio ruled out Julian Tavarez, figuring they would need every available man in the bullpen for what would likely be a shortened start. They took the 24-year-old lefthander aside at about 4:30 p.m. and told him they'd let him pitch, but there would be ground rules.

This wasn't going to be a 100-110-pitch outing. The plan was to give them five or six innings, be limited to about 80 pitches, and get out of the game. That's how it played out.

"It wasn't that big of a deal as it sounds," said Lester. "It just didn't feel like a normal five days. You can definitely tell the difference. That's not an excuse, it just didn't feel right. It didn't feel like the normal five days and that could have been my mentality going into the game. It just wasn't the right intensity and it didn't feel right from the beginning."

Lester said he would not have volunteered if he didn't think he could do it. He said, "My body felt good," and therefore he felt he could handle the workload on short rest.

The Sox lost, 6-4, on a day when Francona estimated five or six club personnel were very sick, not to mention Josh Beckett, who has a stiff neck and was scratched from Tuesday night's start, and Kevin Youkilis, who was scratched last night with back/buttocks stiffness.

Francona was appreciative he had a team to field and one that could compete. What he's dreading, after Justin Masterson makes his major league debut this afternoon, is the flight to Tampa. The last thing he wants is for a team that's already spreading germs like wildfire to be on a plane together. Not exactly conducive to good health. Yet, there's no time to take a train to Florida. They've got to fly.

"We'll just continue to plug away," said Francona. "We're fighting this as it comes. It seems to grab somebody different every day and doctors are doing what they can. Everybody's trying to heed the best advice and also win a game at the same time and field a team."

It's been a week in which the Sox couldn't start their No. 1 (Beckett) or No. 2 (Matsuzaka). Francona referenced a start Matsuzaka made in Texas last season when the righthander, who was under the weather, had no business being on the mound yet still pitched. Which is why Francona knew that for Matsuzaka to mention his sickness this time, it had to be pretty bad.

Lester said Matsuzaka came to him and apologized for putting him in such a situation.

"I was on the bike and he came over and apologized, but there's nothing for him to apologize for," said Lester. "He had no reason to do that. It's not his fault he's sick."

Lester said he didn't feel as if he had to prove to himself he could pitch on short rest, but he vowed, "I'll do it again if it needs to be done."

Gary Matthews Jr. proved to be one of the thorns in his side. The Angels' left fielder homered in the first inning and again to lead off the fifth. Lester allowed at least one base runner in every inning. It was 4-4 after five when Craig Hansen came on in relief. The shorthanded Sox at least had a chance, but on this night, it was not to be.

"We showed up to win," said Francona. "I was proud of our guys' effort. I think we're happier when we win, but a lot of guys are digging deep and we'll continue to do that."

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.