Red Sox notebook

Smoltz gets reacquainted with old friends

By Amalie Benjamin

Globe Staff / June 20, 2009

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For John Smoltz, familiarity came in the form of the caps worn by the opposition last night - and the players wearing them. Smoltz, five months into his tenure with the Red Sox, played 20 years with the Atlanta Braves.

“I knew this weekend was going to come and the biggest thing for me is seeing all those guys,’’ Smoltz said. “I talk to enough of them, or try to. You can’t erase history. You can’t erase friendships, and certainly there are many over there. Doing the best I can. Never been in this situation before. Always gave a lot of the guys grief that used to come from other teams. Tell them to let it go, give it up. I’ve already heard that.’’

Smoltz will be a spectator for the series. He has not been added to the active roster, but is scheduled to make his first start this season against the Nationals Thursday. That could change with bad weather forecast for today and tomorrow. For now, Smoltz is happy his first start is not against his former teammates.

“It’s one of those scenarios that later on it would be a lot more fun,’’ Smoltz said. “I know how to have fun and compete. I’ve done it against [Tom ] Glavine and [Greg ] Maddux. I’d do it against the Braves. I’d have a good time. If they beat me, it’s not because I wasn’t prepared and wasn’t fiercely going after them.

“I’ve thrown to just about every one of those guys in BP at some point. I’ve watched their swings. It just becomes one of those execution things that you live with for the rest of your life because there won’t be another chance probably, without the exception of if a lot of those guys get traded.’’

The Sox head to Atlanta Friday, and Smoltz does not know how he will be received by fans. Until that point, he’s working on preparing for his start.

Smoltz threw a bullpen session yesterday and is scheduled for another tomorrow.

“The one thing I’ve taught myself is one game is not going to make the end of the world for me,’’ Smoltz said. “I know I’m going to be judged really fast by a lot of people and first impressions are always nice, but they’re not the last impression.’’

But he didn’t have to worry about that last night. Instead, he was trying to greet his friends and stay out of the way. There were no divided loyalties, as he said, but he wanted a piece of the action.

“I wish I could be an umpire and have a comment for each guy that either tries to get to first base or gets to first base,’’ he said. “That’s what I wish. Or a first baseman. Because I would enjoy that part of it.’’

Closing remarks

Jonathan Papelbon clarified comments he made to Sirius XM radio regarding his playing career. Asked if he would play for the Yankees, Papelbon told Sirius, “Not only the Bronx, but anywhere. I think anywhere is a possibility.’’

Yesterday, Papelbon said, “I just think when people hear something what I said or people read something that I said, sometimes they can only see certain things and I want to make that clear that I don’t want to go play for the Yankees.

“Believe me, I’ve got a ring here and I’m playing for a manager and a general manager that’s going to protect me and I’m playing for the best team in baseball. I’ve been on a team the past three years that’s been in first place more than any other team out there, so why would I want to go anywhere else?’’

Papelbon again said he is content to play year to year, and does not need to hash out a long-term deal this offseason.

“They don’t owe me nothing,’’ Papelbon said. “You’ve got to understand one thing: This team does not need me. I need the Boston Red Sox more than the Boston Red Sox need me, believe me when I say that, because this is a place where I’m happy. I need a place where I’m happy.’’

Lowrie off to PawSox

Jed Lowrie got through his second day in Florida without problems and is expected to join Pawtucket tomorrow. The shortstop will begin his rehab stint in Triple A as he recovers from April 21 left wrist surgery. The Sox don’t have a timetable for Lowrie’s return, or a specific number of at-bats he needs. “It is like he’s starting spring training about over again and tack on a surgery with it,’’ said manager Terry Francona. “Now we can certainly shape it just for him. We’ll probably start out playing [him] four or five innings. There’s going to probably have to be a day [off] in between somewhere, not only for his wrist, but for his body, for his arm, everything. A couple of weeks is not out of line. If he’s ready, we’ll call him up.’’ . . . Francona took the blame for Jon Lester’s tardy preparation Thursday. “I knew we were going to start on time. We were told,’’ Francona said. “But as that rain is coming down, [the umpires are] calling into the dugout, and I’m probably fudging a little bit because I know what I see. The last thing I wanted was to burn him.’’

Few and far between

The Sox were held to two or fewer hits for the third time this season, which includes Thursday night’s one-hit, five-inning loss to Florida. The Sox lost a one-hitter April 30 at Tampa Bay . . . Daisuke Matsuzaka kept his streak of not allowing a hit with the bases loaded intact. He walked Garret Anderson to force in a run, but Matsuzaka has not given up a hit in such situations in 16 at-bats. His last was a grand slam to Baltimore’s Scott Moore Sept. 8, 2007 . . . Fifteen of Jason Bay’s home runs have come with runners on, including his two-run homer last night and his last three . . . Dustin Pedroia wasn’t pleased with the field conditions. A grounder nearly cleared Pedroia’s head as he went down to field it in the third inning. Anderson was credited with a hit. “Just a product of a [expletive] field,’’ Pedroia said. “That’s pretty much it. Mike Lowell kind of got the same hop a couple innings back. We’ve been dealing with that all year. We’ve dealt with that the whole time. We understand the playing surface isn’t that good. We use that as an advantage, too. Didn’t work for us tonight. That was pretty ridiculous, but it happens. It’s baseball.’’