Meanwhile, Down in the Fort...

WEEI come to us from Fort Myers with video from the workouts performed today.



The first show Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz throwing. It's not terribly interesting but the thwack of the ball into the glove is a nice sound to hear.



The second shows an interview with Clay after his workout. Maybe it's the fact that he now weighs nearly 200 pounds or maybe it's the angle of the camera (he's usually looking down but here he's looking up) but he looks different and I can't put my finger on why. Older, maybe?

Like Crocuses or the First Robin.

It's cold and gray and the sun, if it was out, would be disgustingly low in the sky for this time of day. And to top it off, it's going rain later in the week. Not that I'm complaining or anything because soon enough, baseball will be back. Evidence: the Spring Training schedule was released today.

Surprisingly, there are no Yankee games--not really a bad thing.

Two Birds.

On opening day of last season a hawk floated over Fenway during the game, a rodent clutched proudly in its beak.

At yesterday's final spring training game before the new season starts, an osprey was spotted showing off the dead fish that he had procured for his dinner in the skies above the game in Fort Myers.

It's a sign. I don't know of what but it definitely feels like a sign. Admittedly, it was at Hammond Stadium so it would seem to be more of a sign for the Twins but since there's no such thing as the Metrodome raptor and without the first bird, it's just a bird behaving like a bird, I will claim it as a sign for the Sox. And really, it's not the osprey's fault that the last spring training game was scheduled for the Twins' park. Is it?

When Dominican Eyes are Smiling.

There was a little person who showed up at today's game. He dressed himself as a leprechaun. And in the first of, hopefully, many dugout shenanigans and happy David Ortiz moments, Papi taped a number fifteen on the back of his jacket. The good mood continued once the game began with David going two for three with a home run. Ellsbury, Jason Bay, and Varitek (hitting left-handed even!) each had a home run of their own in the Sox's 9-5 win over the Twins.

Fine and Dandy.

First, some more video from the day game:



And then regarding the night game:

While not entirely pleased with the outcome of his 2009 debut, Tim Wakefield thought it went alright:

"I would like to have better results, but I felt fine. The shoulder felt fine. I think I need to work out the rust a little bit. It was the first time in a game facing hitters. I just need to work on some things."

I thought Josh Bard looked a little unsettled but Timmeh (always the gentleman) disagrees:

"It was fine. I thought he did a great job."

And lastly, it might have been Don Orsillo's fault (the man could make Harold Reynolds say intersting things) but Brian Daubach did a really nice job as the color commentator. It's too bad Dauber has a job because he'd make a nice addition to the NESN staff. He seemed to know who all the random guys were and had something to say about them; either he really knows his stuff or he memorized the media guide and was able to deliver his lines convincingly. He'd be right up there with Eck and Dave McCarty.

Tomorrow's Lineups, Today! or Let the Games Begin! (I'm Torn.)

That's right chickens: Baseball eve is upon us and as proof: lineups. Honest to God, lineups.

Red Sox vs. BC (1:05 p.m.)

1. Julio Lugo, SS
2. Rocco Baldelli,LF
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. J.D. Drew, RF
5. Chris Carter, 1B
6. George Kottaras, C
7. Jonathan Van Every, CF
8. Nick Green, 2B
9. Angel Chavez,3B

Scheduled pitchers: Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Kris Johnson, Junichi Tazawa, Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard

Red Sox vs. Twins (7:05 p.m.)
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Brad Wilkerson, RF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Jeff Bailey, DH
8. Josh Bard, C
9. Gil Velazquez, 3B

Scheduled pitchers: Tim Wakefield, Justin Masterson, Manny Delcarmen, Javier Lopez, Ramon Ramirez, Billy Traber and Dustin Richardson

The Globe is a font of information today including the note that 7:05 games at Fenway throughout the season will instead be starting at 7:10.

I wonder if there's a special Lenten exemption for baseball--I'm fairly certain a case could be made for St. Abner of Cooperstown.

One of These Things is Not Like the Others.

It was decided that Daisuke Matsuzaka should do his spring training work in Japan so as to avoid having him make that long flight too many times. This is video of him working out with the Seibu Lions, his former team. Keep your eyes peeled to see if you can spot him.

Mmmmm, Pie.

(A little love for Worcester.)

I would hate to have to try to interview Josh Beckett; getting him to say anything even the slightest bit interesting seems to be like pulling teeth. But, apparently, Tony Massarotti knows the way to get him to open up.

Today, Massarotti asked him when he starts preparing for the season and Beckett replied:

"We usually start the day after Thanksgiving. Have a nice little Thanksgiving meal with some pie and everything and then start working out the next day."

Pie! Josh Beckett likes pie. I'm not a big fan of pie myself but the fact that I know some little trivial thing about him makes me glad.

Jason Varitek is Alive and Well and Living in Fort Myers.

It was not a pleasant off-season for Jason Varitek but he seems happy enough to be back.

Clown Car.

Happy Masterson continues on his quest to win over the world via adorability.

Video from Rob Bradford.

Wake's Take.

Tim Wakefield sat down to talk with the media today.

The gist: He's glad to have Varitek back. He's happy with the players the club has added, especially the pitchers. The person on Sons of Sam Horn who said that Wake was considering retirement didn't know what he was talking about--Wakefield never considered retirement. He'll miss Kevin Cash but he has faith in Josh Bard or if it Kottaras or Brown if that's what it came to. He also like John Smoltz. But he had this to say regarding Varitek:

"Words can't describe what Jason Varitek means to this club. To use the cliches, he's the glue that holds the ship together."

Say what?

I'm no shipwright but if I'm on a boat, I'd like to think that there's more than glue keeping it from sinking into the ocean.

Pins and Needles.

Tonight! Tonight!

At seven o'clock tonight-

I'll see you and the world will go away!

(I'll stop now. I think I did West Side Story last spring, as well.)

Tonight baseball begins on NESN! I've got nothing particularly intelligent to say about it but I am very excited.

Early Bird.

Woot.

Jon Lester has already shown up in Southwest Florida. I now know that I'm not the only one who finds Lester a little bit boring. The cameraman agrees with me and if not for him I might never have seen a close up of Lester's knees.

The gist: He arrives early so that he can get acclimated to the weather. He's very, very glad that Jason Varitek has returned. He feels good physically. He hopes to be more efficient at the start of the season (Please. Oh, please. Follow through on this one.) He'd like to sign a long-term contract but nobody, besides the reporter, has brought it up to him. Learning baseball is an on-going process for him and he's looking forward to talking to John Smoltz.

And things can be equal in different ways.

Signs of Spring.

It's almost here, chickens.

First: Truck Day has been scheduled for February 6.

Second: NESN has released it's spring training schedule. It starts with a half hour program "Red Sox Spring Break LIVE!" on February 12 and then six two-hour episodes of the same program on February 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, and 22. They also have eight spring training games and the first exhibition game in Queens.

Woot!

Moment 6: the Golden Paddle.

It's Christmas and, as a result, something light-hearted is absolutely required.



February 27. Fort Myers.

It started with Brian Roberts (I'm sure there are a lot of stories that have a bad result that start out in that exact manner.) He came out of the Arizona Performance Institute last winter with a story of work-out companion Dustin Pedroia challenging some hulking football player to a game of table tennis. Word got around, Comcast Sportsnet picked it up, and, in Mikey's own words, "this illustrious event" was born. Unfortunately for Pedroia, it turns out that Mike Lowell can whip any normal person's ass at Ping Pong.

Spring Ahead! (Really. It's true.)

Turkey and Cranberry Sauce? Forget it. Visions of sugar plums? Hardly. Break out the sunglasses, the Red Sox released their spring training schedule today.

The first game is on February 25 against the Twins. Then it's a month filled with the Pirates, Tampa Bay, the Reds, the Orioles, the Marlins, the Cards, the Yanks, the Jays, the Phils, the Tigers, and the Braves (with some repeats in there.) The final Florida game is against the Twins on April 2. They then play two in Queens on April 3 and 4, before jetting back home to open the season at Fenway on April 6 against Tampa Bay.

It's an occasion that requires the ubiquitous: Woot!

Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind.

February is a dismal time of year. In December the weather can be crappy but the prospect of Christmas at the end makes it tolerable. In January, it gets really cold and dry-so while static is a problem, snow is less likely. It also has the wonderful phenomena of January thaw-a couple of wonderful spring-like days to break up the monotony. March starts off badly but by the end Spring begins to appear. But February? February is cold and dark. It's snowy, icy, and sleety. The only redeeming feature of February is that it's short. When the weather is at it's worst, Sox fans head south and they do so in impressive numbers.

Sarasota county is attempting to lure the Red Sox from Fort Myers. In order to convince the local populace that paying for a new stadium and moving the local fair is a good idea, Sarasota commissioned a study to determine the economic impact of the Sox. It's pretty dry and, mostly, boring but they did estimate that should the Sox move to Sarasota they (and the fans) would spend $47.7 million locally. It seems like a pretty impressive number.

Bobby Out?

According to the Globe, Bobby Kielty may be willing to except a minor league assignment to Pawtucket. His contract, however, gives him the option to hit the road on April 1st and his agent has told him that there may be another major league club offering him a position, so he might choose to leave. Can't fault him that, really.

In other Bobby Kielty news, in today's spring training game against the Dodgers the Red Sox were hitless except for a single by Kielty.

Although I Wish That We Hadn't Briefly Been Teased with Real Baseball, I'm Really Glad That This One Didn't Count.

I wasn't paying too close attention to today's game but Clay started out really well. He went two scoreless innings and looked very sharp. (He ended up with five strike outs and three walks before his outing was over.)

In the third inning, however, he ran into some trouble. He allowed a hit but then picked off the runner at first. The next batter shattered his bat and made it to first. He got the next batter to tap a ball to third but Lowell couldn't make the play. Then he got a fly ball to center that Coco wasn't able to keep his grip on. So he'd loaded the bases when if things had gone more smoothly the inning would have been over. Probably unnerved by the turn of events, he walked the next batter and things got away from him. He allowed another hit before the inning was over and the score was 4-0.

I'm not really down on Clay after today's performance. At the beginning of the game he was spot on and for the most part his command was much, much better than it had been so far this spring. He needs to work on pitching well when things get out of hand but that's something (I presume) that only comes with practice.

Spring Training?