Greetings from the Fort, where even the manager can't abide the long ride to Dunedin, where the dugouts are too close, the warning tracks are white, and the mound is too high.
Terry Francona spared most of his regulars the trip north to face the Blue Jays (today at 1 p.m.), keeping the varsity to face the mighty Huskies of Northeastern (also today at 1 p.m.).
Here's the Sox lineup vs NU at City of Palms Park:
Julio Lugo, SS
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Coco Crisp, CF
Doug Mirabelli, C
Alex Ochoa, LF
Joe McEwing, 2B
Josh Beckett -- P
And in Dunedin:
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Alex Cora, SS
Eric Hinske, 1B
Wily Mo Pena, LF
Jeff Bailey, DH
Brandon Moss, RF
George Kottaras, C
Chad Spann, 3B
Kerry Robinson, CF
Kason Gabbard -- P
Other camp notes:
Terry Francona said Manny Ramirez will see his first game action tomorrow afternoon against the Blue Jays, probably get a couple of at-bats.
Tomorrow night, of course, Daisuke Matsuzaka will be beamed back to the Nation as he faces the Eagles of BC. First pitch: 6:05. Francona said he isn't looking to draw any big judgments on Matsuzaka's appearance. One thing he will be looking at, however, is how Dice-K and Jason Varitek are progressing in their ability to communicate. "We don't want to let that get in the way of us winning a game,'' he said.
Dice-K already seems to have a decent grasp of at least some English. "He gets it,'' Francona said. "Not just the language, but he understands what's going on. He's a pretty smart kid.''
Non-roster pitcher Adam Bernero underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery this a.m. Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure ... Abe Alvarez remains away on a family matter, and Matt Clement also went home for a couple of days for the same reason ... Curt Schilling passed out T-shirts to teammates and members of the Japanese media promoting his new video game company, the newly renamed 38studios.com. The shirts were in Japanese. "Schill told me every time I wore it on TV he'd give me $100,'' Francona said. That ain't going to happen. "He's still Schill,'' Francona said. "Not Nike."
Dice-K signed a ball for Johnny Pesky. Is JP going to eBay with it? "That's going straight to the Pesky household,'' he said. "I'm giving it to my son. He asked me, 'Dad, have you gotten the big man yet?'"
Francona praised Bryan Corey, who is fighting for a spot in the pen, for throwing a "middle of the season" changeup. "He knows what he's up to,'' Tito said. "He's ready to go.''
David Murphy, Tito said, looks like "he's growing up right in front of our eyes. He's obviously stronger, but his demeanor is different.''
New first base coach Luis Alicea is working with Julio Lugo on his footwork, trying to get him to develop some consistency when he throws. Lugo, Francona said, has developed the habit of releasing the ball three or four different ways.
Why a lot of old schoolers lament that teams don't take infield anymore, which also gave the benefit of the outfielders practice on their throws, Francona isn't among them.
Infielders are taking ground balls throughout pregame drills, while outfielders practice their throws at least twice a week and catchers have their own drills.
When Lugo runs, Francona said, he is reminded of Roberto Clemente, who was a childhood idol when Tito grew up in Pittsburgh.
And we have a lineup for the mighty Huskies:
David Gustafson, CF
Mike Lyon, SS
Mike Tamsin, LF
Dan Milano, C
Josh Porter, 1B
Frank Pesanello, DH
Frank Compagnone, RF
James Donaldson, 3B
Garrett Chin, 2B
Pitching is Kris Dabrowiecki, a junior from Toronto.
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