Siding with Drew for 5-hole

Francona likes to have a lefty there

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Terry Francona remains reluctant to disclose his projected starting lineup, but the Red Sox manager seemed to make this much clear yesterday: J.D. Drew will open the season as his No. 5 hitter.

Before yesterday's 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings at Disney's Wide World of Sports, Francona said he has not decided on how to arrange Jason Bay and Mike Lowell. But given Francona's preference to alternate between lefthanded hitters and righthanded hitters through the batting order, Drew seems cemented as the No. 5 choice behind Kevin Youkilis.

"I think having the lefthanded hitter [batting fifth] is somewhat useful," Francona said. "For me, I guess right now we've got Mike Lowell and Jason Bay who can hit sixth and seventh. In my mind, neither one of them is a typical seventh hitter."

Though Francona indicated that he plans to speak with both players before announcing a decision, Lowell currently seems the more likely candidate to start the year in the seventh spot. While part of the reason concerns Lowell's rehabilitation from hip surgery, the Sox also would lose some of the benefit of Bay's speed if they were to hit him behind Lowell.

Last season, Bay was 10 for 10 in steal attempts; since the start of the 2005 season, he is an impressive 46 of 50. Bay also has scored more than 100 runs on three occasions in his career while Lowell's career high is 88.

Francona said he has been quite pleased with how Lowell has progressed this spring and seems thrilled with Lowell's lateral movement in the field, but baserunning may be one of the sacrifices from Lowell's surgery.

Of course, he wasn't exactly a burner to begin with.

"The only thing I think he's lacking right now is some speed," Francona said. "But there's only so much you can simulate in spring training."

Tim Wakefield threw 94 pitches and reported no problems at the minor league complex in a Single A game between the Sox and Cincinnati Reds, but the good news for him ended there. "I got my work in," Wakefield said. "Let's put it that way." Wakefield allowed five runs on five hits - three of which were home runs - and hit one batter. Wakefield struggled with his mechanics, he said, and felt he was not staying back during his windup. George Kottaras caught Wakefield without issue. Kottaras's biggest area for improvement remains a quick release trying to throw out base stealers, which was a significant challenge even for Wakefield's best catchers. "He's ready for the season," said Wakefield, who will start once more before the regular season, Saturday in another minor league game in Fort Myers. (He's staying back while the rest of the team travels to New York.) Like the other projected starters, Wakefield will throw roughly 60 pitches, ramping down to prepare for his first start of the regular season.

The Sox had a 3-2 lead yesterday until "closer" Fernando Cabrera blew the save with two outs in the ninth. The game drew great attention from the Japanese media because it pitted Daisuke Matsuzaka and Braves newcomer Kenshin Kawakami, who demonstrated excellent command and a good breaking ball while allowing two runs in six innings. "He's a guy that's not going to look to overpower you, but he can mix it around and hit some spots," Lowell said. The Sox also got another home run from Rocco Baldelli, who has gone deep in each of his last two games. Baldelli's homer tied the game at 2 in the fifth before an RBI double by Dustin Pedroia gave the Sox a 2-1 lead in the seventh . . . John Smoltz joined the team on the bus ride to the Orlando area to visit with his former Braves teammates, then skipped off to play golf with Tiger Woods, who came from five strokes back to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando Sunday. Smoltz and Woods are frequent golf partners.

Third base coach DeMarlo Hale, who also lives in the Orlando area, took some ribbing from the coaching staff after riding his motorcycle to the game. Hale stayed at his home following Sunday's game in Clearwater . . . The Sox have just three games left in Florida before breaking camp Thursday night for games Friday and Saturday in New York against the Mets. They have been based in Fort Myers for nearly two months. "It's been a long spring, especially compared to last year," said Francona, noting that the team had an abbreviated preseason in 2008 because of the season-opening trip to Tokyo. "Shoot, last year by now we'd already logged 12,000 miles." This journey will begin soon enough.

Adam Kilgore of the Globe staff contributed to this report from Fort Myers, Fla.