Not only can the Netherlands claim to play baseball, but the country can also pound its chest and proclaim that it owns the Dominican Republic. The D.R. lost a pair of games in the first round of the World Baseball Classic to a mostly unrecognizable group representing Holland, and so the Sox will no longer have to worry about the odd dance of whether or not David Ortiz will continue playing first base in the WBC. In the spirit of the Dutch triumph, we can say only:

Nederland oh Nederland
Jij bent de kampioen
Wij houden van Oranje
Om zijn daden en zijn doen

The WBC, in addition to introducing us to Dutch fight songs, is creating a yin-and-yang sort of spring training for the Red Sox. On the one hand, the schedule seems well nigh interminable. Already, the Grapefruit League scheduled is 15 games and 15 days deep; 20 games and 23 days remain before the team breaks camp on April 2. A year ago, the team played just 22 contests before alighting for Japan to begin the regular season.

Most players get stir-crazy in Florida during a normal spring training. This year, the phenomenon has been taken to a new level by the efforts to have players game ready for the WBC. Yet players also get the benefit of off-days, an unusual luxury during even the exhibition part of the baseball season. Today is such a day: the Sox have essentially shuttered City of Palms Park on a day when there is no game, and really, not much of a reason to be there.

Will we, then, learn five things about the Red Sox today? Unclear. But there were certainly plenty of nuggets to digest from yesterday:

1) Obviously, the return of Mike Lowell to game activity was the biggest headline of the day for the Red Sox. Even so, Clay Buchholz did his best to upstage the third baseman (who went 1-for-3). Buchholz pitched three perfect innings, and displayed both his devastating changeup and power curve. More important, however, was a two-seam fastball that he used to produce a steady stream of grounders and that made him ruthlessly efficient in dispatching the Orioles. By getting weak early-count contact, he needed just 31 pitches to log three innings. It was easily the most impressive start of the exhibition season by any Boston starter.

2) Tangible goals are starting to come into view for John Smoltz. The pitcher is scheduled to throw his first bullpen session of the spring on March 23. Even more tangible progress is in sight for Brad Penny: the right-hander, who is expected to man the fifth starter spot, faced hitters during live batting practice and will now pitch a two-inning simulated game at the Red Sox’ minor-league complex on Friday.

3) Earlier this spring, Jed Lowrie had reason to get very excited about a foul ball.

4) Nineteen players on the Red Sox 40-man roster finalized contracts to play at or near baseball’s minimum wage ($400,000 for major-league players). Technically, Jon Lester was among them, at least for procedural reasons. The Sox (and all clubs) are required to finalize contracts for 2009 with players on the 40-man roster by today, and so on paper, the Sox and Lester finalized a deal for the coming year. All the same, the pitcher and club are free to negotiate a long-term extension that would permit them to rip up the current agreement (for which terms were unavailable).

5) The Red Sox first-base coach helped to stop his new club from going to the World Series last year. Go figure. For what it’s worth, the Rays’ Quality Assurance Coach was also in charge of assigning a player the task of coming up with the Joke of the Day. The first player assigned the task was phenom David Price last spring. Price, despite his youth, “crushed” closer (and Rays team graybeard) Troy Percival, according to Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, and the phenomenon picked up steam from there.