FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Brad Penny surprised himself with how good his shoulder felt today, when he allowed no hits and a walk while striking out three over three innings. If anything, he was too efficient; Penny actually wanted to throw more than the 33 pitches he fired against the Detroit Tigers.

“It was nice,” Penny said. “I felt good. It has been a while since I’ve got out there and felt good, you know. Last year, I went out. I was pitching, but I didn’t really feel like I had a lot behind it. Another stepping stone. I felt pretty good.”

Penny has no concerns about his right shoulder -- “not at all,” he said -- and felt no fatigue between his last minor league start and this afternoon. He pitched at 100 percent, he said, and it’s been a while since he could claim that.

“Last year was a frustrating year for me,” Penny said. “Mentally, I was shot, just because going out there every day and being hurt. It’s hard enough to get these guys out when you’re feeling great. To go out there and have that pain, it makes it even harder. It’s nice to go out there with some confidence and some life on my fastball.”

Penny, like everyone here, wasn’t sure about the velocity of fastball, which he featured because Tigers hitters were so aggressive and rarely let him get deep in counts. “It felt like I had life,” Penny said. “I felt like I was throwing pretty hard today.”

Penny proved it to himself when he got up on hitters. With on 0-2 count on Jeff Larish, the fourth batter he faced, Penny buzzed a chin-high fastball over the plate. “When I’m really throwing well, that’s how I pitch,” Penny said. “I’ll get two strikes and I’ll try to elevate a fastball. Today I had that. I felt like I really had life.”

Penny and the Red Sox, he said, haven’t discussed concrete plans for his start of the season -- no word on whether he’ll make his first start (which would figure to come April 12) or if he’ll need extended spring training. For today, Penny didn’t seem worried about it.

“That’s up to them,” he said. “I feel great.”