Penny gets his two cents in on Girardi

"I don't give two [expletives] what Joe Girardi says," Penny said yesterday. "I'm coming inside. I don't care.

"Anybody can say that. We can say that about the time they hit our guys. I'm just trying to pitch inside. Maybe he should worry about managing and not trying to be the commissioner.

"Why wouldn't he say that the night before? Don't wait a day, then say it. He should worry about managing and let the umpire crew do their job."

Last Tuesday, Yankees reliever Jose Veras hit Boston's Jason Bay with a pitch in the sixth inning, which marked the sixth consecutive game the Yankees had hit a Red Sox batter. Penny's fastball off of Rodriguez's elbow made the tally of batters hit by pitches in the season series Red Sox 9, Yankees 3.

"Penny's control was pretty good, and I thought it was on purpose," Girardi said Friday. "You know, that's all part of baseball, I guess. We hit Bay, and I know Jose did not hit him on purpose. I mean, Jose has struggled with his control. But things like that happen. You expect something could happen in return."

On May 6, following a game in which Yankees starter Joba Chamberlain hit Bay, pitching coach John Farrell intimated in a radio interview that the Red Sox were upset. Chamberlain has a reputation for throwing inside at Kevin Youkilis.

"Those things aren't forgotten," Farrell said May 6. "We know that there's a history there between the pitcher in New York and our guys here, so, not to say that he was specifically out to do that, but I think history speaks for itself. And we've got a number of games left with these guys."

Penny hit Rodriguez in the first inning of Thursday night's 4-3 Red Sox victory, with Derek Jeter on third base. Penny's first pitch to Rodriguez also zipped inside.

"I'm going hard in," he said. "I don't care if I move his feet. I have a plan, and I stick to it."

In the wake of the Red Sox' 8-0 start against the Yankees this season, Penny's strong response to Girardi adds to the recent string of barbs between the teams. Late Thursday night, Sox owner John Henry posted a Twitter tweet joking about an "MT curse," a play on Mark Teixeira's initials and his team's lack of a victory over Boston.

Teixeira responded the next day, calling the post "very silly" and asking why he should worry about a "70-year-old man." Henry is 59.

The Red Sox next play the Yankees Aug. 6, the start of a four-game series in Yankee Stadium.

Drew, who entered in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement and was hit by a pitch and walked, rarely displays emotion on the field ("I don't think 'fiery' is the word I would use with him," manager Terry Francona said). Still, he tends to play his best in the face of affronts. In Philadelphia during his career, Drew is a .308 hitter with seven homers - including the solo blast he hit Friday night - and 20 RBIs in 29 games.

"That's the big deal in the media with me," Drew said. "People think, 'Oh, this kid, he's laid-back.'

"Listen, to be at this level and perform and do it for years, you've got to have an inner drive. I battle it more on the inside, which sometimes is tougher on you as a person than if you go in there and explode and just let it all go.

"There have been times when I go home and just wear myself out mentally. [Reporters] will never see that, and the people in the stands will never see that."

Earlier this season, Drew was knocked down by a high inside pitch at Oakland.

"Those are times when you really want to get back up and kind of - you're aggravated a little bit," Drew said. "You want to put a good swing on the ball." On the next pitch, he smacked a long home run, then calmly circled the bases.

"I also don't think you are a good major league player without caring," Francona said. "That comes back to the old Philadelphia mentality: if you don't throw your helmet, you don't care. Hold on a second. Everybody does it differently. Everybody handles stress differently."

"If that was the case, he'd already be out there," Francona said. "We could have got him out already. He could go play in games now. We have not rushed him, and he knows that."

Lowrie will take live batting practice in Lowell Monday and Tuesday, then proceed to extended spring training in Fort Myers. Lowrie hopes to take 25-30 at-bats and placed an informal target date to return as next weekend.

"As quickly as possible is better," Lowrie said. "But with not rushing it."

Lowrie said his wrist feels ready to play, but "as far as being in game shape, that's the difference. I haven't played in two months. Playing nine innings every day, it would be hard."