Port Charlotte, Fla. – Friday was an unusual day for Red Sox righthander Michael Bowden.

The 22-year-old Sox prospect could not locate his fastball for strikes early in the count and it led to a short outing against Tampa in his first outing of the spring.

But in our Extra Innings Mechanical Nugget of the Day, it’s worth noting that there was actually some good news coming from Bowden’s outing. Read the rest of this entry »

Port Charlotte, Fla. – Rocco Baldelli met with Terry Francona just prior to the Grapefruit League opener on Wednesday and wanted to be sure he was going on the trip to Port Charlotte on Friday. The Red Sox manager was thinking it was a natural and Baldelli agreed.

“Tito talked to me the other day before the first game and mentioned to me what he thought,” Baldelli said. “And I said, ‘Yeah, that’d be great, going on the trip.’ I think I was probably going to be in there, regardless, but it was mentioned to me a couple of days ago.”

Baldelli flew out to left to strand a runner at third to end the first inning. In his second at-bat in the fourth, he narrowly missed a home run with a long foul down the left field line but had to settle for a one-out walk.

Here are some of the other highlights as Baldelli met with members of the Boston and Tampa media before Friday’s exhibition game at Charlotte Sports Park.

On seeing his former Rays teammates for the first time: “I got more hugs today than I’ve had in a long time. It was nice to see everybody . I knew I’d get here and see all my buddies and say hello. It was really nice.”

On coming back as a Red Sox: “I think it’s strange a little bit. I’ve been in one place my whole career. This is the reality of the situation, I play for the Red Sox now and they’re all still my friends even though I’m competing against them now.”

On being missed in Rays clubhouse: “Some guys have said that and it’s nice to hear. It’s nice to hear because I have a lot of relationships with these guys. I’ve known a lot of them a long time. Besides baseball, I consider them my friends anyway. It’s nice to just see everyone. Normally, I come into spring training and I see these guys all the time so being able to see them is nice.” Read the rest of this entry »

Port Charlotte, Fla. – In between hosting a mock wine tasting prior to stretching Friday morning and suggesting taxidermy for a wild boar from near the lake outside the Charlotte Sports Park field, the always affable and metaphysical Joe Maddon talked about his team playing the Red Sox for the first time since beating them in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last October.

“You can’t just live with the status quo,” the Rays skipper said. “And it’s not the same road. Things aren’t going to break the same way. We are a target now, we’re targeted. Maybe by the middle of last season or toward the end, we had that target but at the beginning we didn’t. So, now we’re carrying this with us all the time. I’d like to think it’s going to bring out the best in us.”

As for the wine tasting on a table, Maddon said it was a playful response to his players’ behavior a few days earlier, just to teach them a little bit about the finer things in life and how to handle them.

Jeff Bailey didn’t make the trip up I-75 Friday morning thanks to taking a foul ball off his toe during Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh.

“He fouled a ball off his big toe yesterday in his last at-bat,” Sox skipper Terry Francona said. “I don’t know know if he’ll lose his nail or not. He actually showed up today (in Fort Myers) feeling a little bit better than he anticipated. But he wasn’t playing anyway, he was just coming as an extra so we just told him to stay back.”

Port Charlotte, Fla. – Just about the time a wild racoon was escaping ushers in the stands behind home plate, Rocco Baldelli was re-introducing himself to his former Tampa Bay teammates during batting practice on Friday morning at Charlotte Sports Park.

His former manager had beaming words about him.

“Rocco is a wonderful young man and I totally enjoyed our time together,” Rays skipper Joe Maddon said Friday morning. “He is a special player. I wish him total health and a great career. He can be a very, very special player. He’s one of the more talented players in the league when he’s able to perform on daily basis, no question in my mind.”

Baldelli is batting cleanup today as the desinated hitter, as David Ortiz did not make the 47-mile trip north to Charlotte County.

The Red Sox lineup is as follows: Ellsbury CF, Lowrie SS, Youkilis 1B, Baldelli DH, Bay LF, Wilkerson RF, Brown C, Green 2B, Chavez 3B and the starter is RHP Michael Bowden.

Fort Myers, Fla. – As a horde of about five Pittsburgh reporters surrounded Jason Bay Thursday morning in the third base dugout, the Red Sox left fielder recalled the moments leading up to his leaving the Steel City last July 31.

And he sounded the bells of hope and optimism in the city that is about to set a modern day sports record for sub-.500 baseball.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fort Myers, Fla. – Tim Wakefield was touched up for five hits and three runs – two earned – as the Twins beat the Red Sox, 5-2, in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams.

Wakefield said his knuckleball felt good but he struggled with his mechanics.

Wakefield said he was just the victim of a weird second inning.

Francona said Wakefield handled a lot of challenges in his first spring outing.

Francona said he though Josh Bard did well in handling Wakefield.

Francona was happy to see Jed Lowrie swing the bat well from the left side, collecting an RBI triple and showing no ill effects from the left wrist injury that slowed him last season.

Other notes from postgame… Francona said Wakefield will follow Josh Beckett on Sunday against Minnesota, again at Hammond Stadium. Jonathan Papelbon will make his first outing on the third against Cincinnati at City of Palms. All three moves are intended to keep the veteran pitchers from traveling across state to Fort Lauderdale when the Red Sox play Baltimore on Monday.

Fort Myers, Fla. – After taking care of the Boston College Eagles for the 20th straight time, the Red Sox play their first official game of the Grapefruit Season tonight when they play the Twins at Hammond Stadium.

It will be a breezy night for the opener, with a game time temperature of 70 and winds blowing in from right at about 10 mph.

That usually does not bode well for the knuckleball as Tim Wakefield makes his 2009 spring debut. The ball usually does not move as much and can hang up in the zone. When the wind is in Wakefield’s face, the knuckleball usually has more resistance and less rotation, making for a more effective pitch.

This might make things a tad easier for Josh Bard, who is catching Wakefield for the first time since April 2006, when he was charged with 10 passed balls in five starts.

The Twins counter with Glen Perkins. Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay, Brad Wilkerson, Jed Lowrie  and Bard are the regulars in the lineup for the Red Sox.