Daniel Nava made a name for himself on his first big league swing last June.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Nearly every Red Sox fan remembers how Daniel Nava broke into the majors last June.

With the bases loaded, he drilled the first pitch he saw in the big leagues – an offering from Philadelphia’s Joe Blanton – over the fence in right at Fenway.

On Sunday morning, he was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket by the Red Sox as the team trimmed three more players off the major league squad. Also optioned was catcher Mark Wagner while righthander Matt Fox was reassigned.

Such is the life of a major leaguer on the fringes. But Red Sox manager Terry Francona offered perspective Sunday in assessing where the 28-year-old in his development.

“He didn’t swing the bat real well this spring, which in the grand scheme of things means nothing,” Francona said of Nava, who batted just .205 this spring in 19 games, with three RBIs.. “I think he was fighting it all spring. He got a little length in his swing. He knows he needs to shorten it up but he’s improved so much [defensively] in the outfield.”

“I mean, last year at this time, I’m willing to bet no one ever asked me a Daniel Nava question. He’s come a long way. He just needs to go play and then whatever happens, happens. Guys play themselves into the mix. The fact that we’re talking about Daniel Nava means he’s come so far.”

Francona added that the organization still projects Nava as primarily a left fielder.

Wagner hit .167 in nine games this spring while Fox was 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five relief appearances. But Francona was quick to point out that it’s Wagner’s defensive skills – especially game managing behind the plate – the organization really values. Last year, that was stunted when he missed nearly half the season with Triple-A Pawtucket because of a broken bone in his left hand. Surgery was eventually required and now, he begins 2011 with a fresh start. Read the rest of this entry »

PAWTUCKET — PawSox catcher Mark Wagner was in a hurry to head out on his All-Star break following his team’s 2-1 win over the Syracuse Chiefs on Sunday at McCoy Stadium.

If somehow, when he returns to action this week, he’s with the big league club in Boston, he’ll be more than ready. But that possibility seemed somewhat remote, by Wagner’s own admission after Sunday’s contest.

Wagner, a ninth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2005, returned to Boston’s Triple-A affiliate this week after rehabbing two separate hand injuries that have made his 2010 season a bit of a nightmare. Wagner suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand on April 29. He successfully rehabbed that injury, only to have another related pain develop where the bone meets the wrist.

He has spent the better part of the last eight weeks down in Fort Myers, rehabbing and playing in Gulf Coast League games, trying to get ready to play in the second half.

“It’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment as we get back in the swing of things and battle through some soreness and stiffness but I feel like it’s going better and we’re heading in the right direction,” Wagner said. ”Physically, we’re coming along. I think it’s going to be a little bit more of a mental adjustment because it’s going to take time to get back from rehabbing in the GCL to all of a sudden playing with a lot of big leaguers.”

While Wagner was battling his own problems, the Red Sox lost both of their veteran catchers — Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek — to the disabled list. With Wagner on the DL himself, the team was forced to go out and acquire Kevin Cash while calling up Pawtucket catcher Gustavo Molina to fill the current void.

On Sunday, Wagner, who was originally selected by Atlanta in the 29th round in 2002, showed signs of being able to possibly help the big league team, both behind the plate and with the bat.

He caught Josh Beckett‘s rehab start after catching him briefly in a couple of bullpen sessions in spring training. Wagner went 1-for-3 with a clean RBI single in the first, driving in what proved to be the winning run in the 2-1 Paw Sox win.

“Mark, he’s going through his own little things,” PawSox skipper Torey Lovullo said. “He’s going through his own little situations. He’s just coming back from a key injury. I think he did a great job. He squared up a lot of pitches. He does a great job receiving. I think Josh had a certain comfort level with Wags knowing they had worked together in spring training. I thought they worked very, very well together. They had good rapport and good communication between innings in then dugout.”

“If they call, then absolutely I want to help, obviously,” Wagner added. “I’ll be here trying to do my thing and if they need me, I’ll be ready.”

Red Sox minor leaguer Mark Wagner, who had been out since April after suffering a broken left hamate that required surgery, was reinstated to the Triple-A PawSox following a brief rehab assignment in the Gulf Coast League. Wagner was part of the decimated Red Sox catching corps, as all four of the team’s top catchers entering the year (Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Mark Wagner and Dusty Brown) were sidelined by injuries at the same time, forcing the Sox to call up Gustavo Molina and trade for Kevin Cash when Varitek and Martinez went down last week.

Wagner said by phone last week that he had resigned himself to the fact that this would be a year when he would have to try to gut it out and play through pain while dealing with the aftermath of his surgery.

“It’s frustrating. I just haven’t seen the progress I’ve wanted in terms of getting back to playing,” Wagner said on Friday. “We’re leaning towards believing that this is an as-good-as-it-gets type of thing unless we give it complete rest.”

Apparently, the wrist did not regress during his rehab in the GCL, and so Wagner will rejoin the PawSox to get a better gauge for his progress. Depending on how quickly he can return to game speed, it is not inconceivable that he could have a shot at the majors before Varitek returns in the second half.

At the same time, there is a real possibility that the hamate cost Wagner (whom Sox sources say they would have been comfortable calling up when either Martinez or Varitek — and certainly when both — went down) his most meaningful opportunity for a regular big league role this year. Even so, Wagner last week suggested that he had been trying not to consider the idea that he had missed an opportunity, insofar as he did not want to be viewed as consumed by Schadenfreude.

“A lot of my friends, family, sportswriters have been calling me and bombarding me with that. I don’t ever look at it as a situation where I’m waiting for someone to get hurt,” said Wagner. “It’s one of those things where if I got a shot it would be great, but it would be much better to watch [Varitek and Martinez] play and learn. But if there’s any shot I can get up there, Lord knows, I would love it, and hopefully I could get up there and help the team win.”

Wagner went 3-for-5 with five walks in his three-game GCL rehab stint.

For more on the Red Sox catching depth, click here.

Hall of Famer and NESN analyst Peter Gammons made his weekly appearance on the Big Show on Friday to discuss the state of the Red Sox. With the lineup coming out for tonight’s game against Tampa Bay featuring Jason Varitek at catcher, Gammons said that he thinks the Sox captain will regularly be behind the plate when Josh Beckett is on the mound.

“Josh is very comfortable with him and Victor Martinez is going to catch Wakefield,” Gammons said. “So I think it works. I really do believe, and I agree with Jason, that this is a role he can do for awhile. He is more relaxed and you are getting more production from him.”

Staying on the topic of the catching situation, Gammons also talked about the concerns with Victor Martinez’ play in the field. Gammons said that his problems behind the plate in Cleveland led to the Indians stop playing him at catcher, and that his difficulties controlling the running game (opponents are now 12-for-13 on attempted steals against the Sox) might have a negative impact on the pitching staff.

“I think it impacts the pitching staff. You have guys thinking about, ‘Uh oh, I better be quicker about getting to the plate.’ … Unless [Red Sox bullpen coach] Gary Tuck comes up with some miracle, I don’t know if they can do this.”

Gammons gave an update on the injury situations of Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury. With the Sox becoming woefully thin in the outfield, Gammons said that the team believes Cameron will be ready to play tomorrow.

As for Ellsbury, that issue is more foggy. “There are a lot of questions,” Gammons said. “It is more like a pull because [of] the way the rib separated when Adrian Beltre crashed into him. They don’t want to put him on the DL and then find out in three days he can play. So they sort of put the whole Josh Reddick thing on the backburner.”

Gammons did say that there should be a decision in the next few days as to whether the Sox will call up Reddick and put Ellsbury on the DL.

Bullpen troubles have also plagued the Sox early in the season, and Gammons said that he believes the team might be overworking Daniel Bard. The big issue for the Sox is that there does not seem to be much help on the horizon in the minor leagues in terms of middle relief.

“What worries me about the Red Sox is that I don’t see a Daniel Bard coming up from Pawtucket,” he said. “Their relievers in Pawtucket are probably not going to be guys that you are going to be using in the 7th or 8th inning in July. They might have to go outside the organization to get someone.”

A full transcript of the interview is below. To listen, click here.

Interesting to look at the starting lineup tonight. Pedroia third, Drew second and Jason Varitek is catching. Is it safe to say with him in the lineup that that might be the battery from here on out?

Yeah, I think so. Josh is very comfortable with him and Victor Martinez is going to catch Wakefield. So I think it works. I really do believe, and I agree with Jason, that this is a role he can do for awhile. He is more relaxed and you are getting more production from him playing a lot less frequently because he is such an intense player. I think that part of the catching situation will work out pretty well.

What does worry me is Victor Martinez behind the plate, and the way he is throwing the ball. He has had this problem in the past, but what about this weekend against a team that likes to run to begin with and may be looking at the video from the last few games and saying, “Let’s go out and have a field day here, boys.”

Well, there is no question that becomes a major element. They were 31 out of 35 running on Boston last year in 18 games. I think it is going to be a track meet this time around. Lou knows. [Martinez] had problems throwing in Cleveland, that is why he stopped catching. This is an issue. To me there are three issues on this team: obviously the Ortiz issue is a major one that is related a little bit to the Martinez issue, and then middle relief. I don’t know if, unless Gary Tuck comes up with some miracle way of getting Victor more consistent, I don’t know if they can do this and have so many stolen bases against them. Which may require going out and finding another catcher or bringing up [Mark] Wagner or whatever they want to do.

With this whole run prevention thing, you are going to be victimized an awful lot if you are putting guys on first base and they are automatically getting to second.

Oh, absolutely. And I think it impacts the pitching staff. You have guys thinking about, ‘Uh oh, I better be quicker about getting to the plate’ or I better do this or that. If you start worrying about the base runner and not the hitter I think that you end up diminishing yourself by 10 or 20 percent. I think it is something they will monitor very closely. I think it will be an interesting month as they watch Ortiz, as they watch Martinez and as they decide what to do with the pitching staff as Daisuke [Matsuzaka] is going to be, what, one more start in the minors and then see who heads to the bullpen and who do they keep in middle relief.

With this bullpen, I think Clay Buchholz gives you more value than a Tim Wakefield. It is going to be a tough decision that, like I said, could break this kid?

Well, I look at it two ways. I know exactly what you are saying. In the long run, you’d like to think that Buchholz is going to be the best of the three. But in the short time, with the problems they have in relief, would Buchholz be okay with them saying, ‘Okay Clay, go out there and concentrate on throwing your two-seamer down in the strike zone and just concentrate on throwing pitches’? As Daniel Bard likes to say, dumb-down and go from hitter to hitter. Maybe he would be better off in the long run if he goes out there and throws strikes and keeps the ball down. I think there is a chance that would really work with him. And then come June or July he is back in the rotation and ends up fine.

There are injury concerns with Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury.

They think Cameron will play tomorrow.

What about Ellsbury?

There are a lot of questions. It is more like a pull because [of] the way the rib separated when Adrian Beltre crashed into him. They don’t want to put him on the DL and then find out in three days he can play. So they sort of put the whole Josh Reddick thing off for a couple of days until they determine what Ellsbury’s situation is because they can backdate his time on the DL back to when he got hurt. But he was starting to really hit and they don’t want to be caught in a situation when he is able to play for five, six or seven days and he doesn’t. I think they will probably make that decision today or tomorrow on whether to bring Reddick up.

We talk so much about David Ortiz and his slow start. People talk about leash, and this year there are other options out there. How long is this leash?

I think one month. I think what has been discouraging for everybody is he has been getting in hitter’s counts. He had that one game against the Yankees where he had 2-1, 3-1, 3-1 and got fastballs over the plate. He is leaking so much that he is not driving the ball in the air to left center like he did in his prime. The other day against Kansas City, on Sunday, I can’t remember what reliever it was — it was a guy who was completely clueless — he had him 3-0 and he still threw the ball by him.

Robinson Tejeda.

Tejeda. Right. That is what they worry about with him. Is this that he is embarrassed or has he just lost his reflexes. I think they will give him as much room as they can, but against left-handers you will see Mike Lowell in there. I thought at the time when they got [Jeremy] Hermida it was a fascinating move and I think he is going to end up a guy who is going to be important to them. When they are facing Jake Peavy and [AJ] Burnett, good breaking ball right-handers, I thought all along as the season wore along that he would be playing left field and Ellsbury would be in center, and they would give Mike Cameron the day off. If he hits the way most people in baseball thought he was going to hit when he came up — and he just turned 26 in January — I think he becomes a very important guy.

I agree with you. They gave nothing up to get him and he was a guy who was highly touted a few years ago. But why has this happened to him? He is kind of a guy like J.D. Drew with his personality, not driven enough. Is that it?

If you go and ask Joe Girardi, he will say just the opposite. He came up with Joe, and Joe really likes him. The current group of people … they believe in swinging the bat. That is why they didn’t draft Jason Heyward, because they thought he was not aggressive enough. Well, he is the best young hitter in the sport. So plate discipline is a part of it. I would be very interested to see — I have [not] found anyone to complain that Hermida is too low-key here in Boston. Is he quiet? Yes. But it is one of those things where he just bounces back and says, well, it is not my day. I think he will be a fascinating guy as this season comes along. He came up the same time that Jeff Francoeur did and I remember people all around baseball when Francoeur had that one great month, they said to me, ‘Well, measure them up over their careers and Hermida is going to be a much better player than Francoeur.’ So he has definitely come to the right park and the right situation in the right time in his career. He is 26 so he has plenty of time to go back and restore himself.

Peter, is the bullpen going to be alright and what is wrong with Daniel Bard?

I think Bard just got used so much. He pitched in five of the first six games because Manny [Delcarman] was struggling and [Ramon] Ramirez has really struggled. I am not particularly worried about Bard. He has given some up but I think he is so vital to that team.  When he gets that breaking ball going a little bit he will be fine. I think there are serious concerns otherwise. I think the Delcarmen, Ramirez, Schoeneweis group is who they are really concerned about. I don’t think they are worried at all about Bard, especially as he keeps honing that changeup. But the rest of the group, I think there are some serious concerns there.

You look at the three teams — the Red Sox, the Yankees and the Rays — and you could argue that this division, and maybe the postseason spot, is going to be won out of that bullpen.

It could be. The Rays have really struggled in the bullpen as well. I personally thought that the move of Joba Chamberlain back to the bullpen was absolutely the right move. I think Phil Hughes has the better chance to be a good starter, especially with that changeup he is honing now. It is amazing that the Texas Rangers have the best ERA and the best starter’s ERA in baseball right now, so those things do change. Tampa’s starters have been terrific, but their bullpen is a little shaky. Not as shaky as Baltimore’s, but it is a little shaky.

Well, they need Rafael Soriano to have a big year for them.

They do. Dan Wheeler is good, but they need some more guys. They are not going to get [J.P.] Howell back probably until June. I don’t think [Randy] Choate is going to be an answer. So they will probably make some changes there. What worries me about the Red Sox is that I don’t see a Daniel Bard coming up from Pawtucket, where you say, ‘OK, this guy is going to come up and help.’ Their relievers in Pawtucket are probably not going to be guys that you are going to be using in the 7th or 8th inning in July. They might have to go outside the organization to get a guy or two.

That bullpen has really been a concern even before the season started. When you have question marks and you can’t go to these guys in big situations, two things are going to happen. One, you burn out the good arms and then those other guys are not sharp when you need them. This year is not starting off at all like last year.

No, it’s not. That game last Sunday against the Royals, you figure that Delcarmen gets through and goes two innings. You figure they can go to Ramirez and he can finish up an 8-3 lead, but they ended up having to use Bard and [Jonathan] Papelbon at the end of the game. At that point, that was the sixth game. Bard had already appeared in five. I actually texted him after and asked if he had an incentive clause if he made 135 appearances.

If Ortiz doesn’t hit in a month, what happens to Big Papi?

I don’t think they are going to keep him here and sit him on the bench. Every bit of my heart says I hope he bounces back. I think it is going to be a very difficult decision for Tito [Terry Francona] and Theo [Epstein] to decide what to do.

Would they let him go?

If it was bad enough, I think they might have to. It is tough to have David Ortiz and Mike Lowell sitting on the bench because you need 12 pitchers at some point or another and you can’t have a totally inflexible bench. It is one of those things where we are getting ahead of ourselves because there have only been nine games, but at the same time it is one of those things where they are very much aware that this kind of decision is eventually going to have to be made.

Lou mentioned the other day that he might be looking at this differently than a year ago because now he is down to the last year because that option year is looking less and less likely to be exercised. His whole career suddenly changes dramatically. How much do you think that is playing on a guy like David Ortiz this year vs. last year?

I think that is something to think about. I think there are so many things going on in his head, which is why more than nine games is required to decide where he is.

The least of them being Jay-Z, right?

Yeah. Come on Jay-Z, when he is striking out, don’t be picking on him. But that business of — he seems so afraid to get to two strikes, and that used to be his hallmark. Obviously take, take, take until he got something he wanted to hit. And that is a tough thing for hitters. I think I mentioned here last week that was something Travis Hafner and I talked about a lot this spring. He got hurt and he got afraid, and Lou knows from playing with him that he used to be great. He used to sit up there with two strikes fearlessly. And he told me he got so afraid about getting to two strikes when he got hurt that he was swinging at everything. Papi is kind of that way right now. And Hafner got healthy and he has had some great at bats this year. So maybe there is a hope that Papi gets his confidence and his health back and all of a sudden he starts putting the ball in the air to left-center field, which is how he became a great hitter.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — It was a busy day of baseball for the Red Sox, with the team flung all over Florida.

The most promising development for the big league club actually took place at the minor league complex, where John Lackey was dealing for five innings. Despite allowing a solo homer to left by Daniel Nava (the only run Lackey has allowed all spring), the big right-hander featured a nice arsenal of swing-and-miss pitches, including his sharpest slider of spring training. Of the 15 outs he recorded, seven were on strikeouts, and six were on grounders. He was particularly pleased with the fact that he hasn’t walked a batter this spring, suggesting that steering clear of free passes was an important component of success in the AL East.

The Grapefruit League action did not go quite so swimmingly. Most notably, Boof Bonser had a rough day both physically and in his line score. After a sharp 1-2-3 first inning, he gave up homers in both the second and third innings, and finished with a yield of five runs on six hits and two walks (with two strikeouts) in 2.0 innings (he allowed all three batters he faced in the third to reach).

According to manager Terry Francona, Bonser said after he left the game that he felt discomfort in his right groin.

“We hope it’s certainly not much,” said Francona.

Bonser, however, did not mention injuries in dissecting his poor performance.

“It was very frustrating, you know, to try to come in and get that last spot and go out and do something like that, that’s not fun at all. That takes its toll a little bit,” said Bonser. “They say one step forward and two steps back. I think I got my two steps back today.”

Francona, however, suggested that the Sox weren’t going to “penalize someone for two bad days.” He said that the team has been pleased with Bonser’s delivery and arm action, which they consider more significant than his 11.57 ERA.

The Rays continued to pound Sox pitching after Bonser left the game. For his second straight game against the Rays, Junichi Tazawa showed that he can get pounded if he leaves his pitches up in the strike zone. He allowed three homers, and both Scott Atchison and Joe Nelson – each of whom is competing for a spot in the Red Sox bullpen — allowed one.

“Those boys are real comfortable at the plate,” said Bonser. “I don’t want to say it but they need to get uncomfortable real quick.”

– Michael Bowden and a group of relatively obscure Red Sox pitchers fared little better against the Cardinals, losing 13-8. Bowden allowed four runs (three earned) in three innings on six hits. Still, the Sox were ahead, 7-6, entering the bottom of the eighth before St. Louis unloaded on Ramon A. Ramirez and T.J. Large for seven runs in a 13-8 win. Of some note was the fact that Bill Hall — trying to reacclimate to shortstop — committed a pair of errors at the position.

– Alan Embree threw a bullpen session, and will throw a minor league game later in the week.

– The Sox were trailing the Rays, 11-1, entering the bottom of the seventh. The team then erupted for eight runs in the next three innings, but with runners on second and third and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, highly regarded prospect Derrik Gibson had a comebacker to end the game in an 11-9 loss. Noteworthy in the comeback bid: Mark Wagner, who entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, launched a pair of triples. Wagner hadn’t hit a triple in a regular season game since 2007, when he was with Hi-A Lancaster.

Since 1920, only 64 big league catchers have hit multiple triples in a game. John Buck did so for the Royals last year, becoming the first catcher to accomplish the rare double since 2000. Here’s the list.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — For Josh Beckett, the success of his first start of the Grapefruit League season was easy to measure. Beckett allowed a run on two hits in two innings, striking out one, walking none, and throwing 19 of his 27 pitches for strikes. Yet he defined his effectiveness with another gauge.

“I feel like I kept the ball down well. There were five groundballs [and] two hits – one a line drive, the other a groundball,” said Beckett. “Things we’ve been working on the last two weeks, I’m getting there.”

That Beckett would now measure the success of his performance in terms of grounders represents an interesting evolution of his approach. In 2009, he matched his career best groundball-to-flyball ratio (0.91 to 1, compared to a big league average of 0.81-to-1) and set a new career standard by producing 1.28 groundouts per flyout (more than 20 percent better than the MLB average of 1.06-to-1).

The 29-year-old says that he has not been trying to redefine himself as a groundball pitcher, but that the area of emphasis in his game over the last two seasons has lent itself to a development in that direction. He has incorporated a two-seam fastball that has become as much a swing-and-miss pitch as a groundball-inducing one. As much as that two-seamer with both tail and sink, his ability to work down in the strike zone with his four-seam fastball (the primary pitch that he featured on Thursday) has been a huge factor in his increasing talent for keeping the ball on the ground.

“I think just keeping the ball down, you’re going to get more groundballs,” said Beckett. “The top half of the ball is more exposed than the middle part and the bottom, so I think you’re just going to get more groundballs by keeping the ball down.”

–Of the 13 pitches that Jonathan Papelbon threw in his first inning of Grapefruit League action, he estimated that he threw four splitters. That, of course, is a pitch that Papelbon has prioritized this spring in an effort to present opponents with a broader mix of pitches for which they must account.

Though the pitch didn’t result in any swings and misses on Thursday, Papelbon seemed pleased with the action of his splitter, including one that resulted in a foul ball straight into the ground and another that produced a called strike.

Papelbon suggested that he has taken a greater focus into spring this year. He is not shy about saying that his goal is greatness, and that after some struggles in 2009 (and a season that ended on a note of disappointment, when his 0.00 ERA in the postseason finally took a hit in Game 3 of the ALDS), he is driven to make the needed adjustments.

“I think the day I stepped foot in a big league uniform I’ve always strived to be a great athlete,” said Papelbon. “But I’ve also said too [that] to be a great athlete comes with a lot of hard work and a lot of challenges and a lot of adjustments.

“I feel like right now, I’m just in a phase in my career where I’m having to make adjustments and having to realize the challenges ahead of me and evolve my game. I see how it is – it’s very simple when you look at it. It’s just an evolving time for my game and who I am and what I do.”

–The double play tandem of Marco Scutaro and Dustin Pedroia got its first unveiling in a game, and the results were solid. In particular, Beckett praised the pair for turning a double play when Scutaro ranged to his right on a hard-hit ball by Michael Cuddyer to start a 6-4-3 double play.

“That was a great double-play on a 3-and-1 pitch. That’s the pitch I’ve been talking about since day one of spring training. You don’t have to make a perfect pitch. You make a decent pitch, and the guys behind you pick you up,” said Beckett.

“I don’t think [the pitchers] have talked about [the defensive improvement], but I think it’s just known. Obviously the defense is really going to help us with not having to make the perfect pitch. They’re bad situations for us when we’re behind in the count with guys on base, but I feel like you can just make a good pitch, and if the ball is put in play, you’ve got a good chance of getting some outs.”

–Catcher Mark Wagner delivered the game-winning hit for the Red Sox after entering the game in the top of the eighth inning. He lined a single to left with Josh Reddick (who lined a leadoff double to right) on third to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth. Reddick’s ball had surprising carry to right field on a chilly night, and Twins right fielder Rene Tosoni misjudged it, thus permitting it to sail over his head.

–The Sox bullpen combined to produce seven shutout innings. Scott Atchison got the win with a scoreless eighth, and Joe Nelson had the save by putting up a zero in the ninth.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — It was a day to consider the shape of the 2010 Red Sox rotation, as newcomer John Lackey threw his first Fort Myers bullpen session and Daisuke Matsuzaka met with the media to discuss the condition of his back and his hopes of moving beyond his struggles of 2009 to become a pitcher upon whom his teammates can once again rely.

The Sox’ hopes of sustaining their perennial playoff ambitions could receive a huge boost if both of those pitchers are healthy and performing anywhere near the levels that their past performances suggest are possible. It is fascinating to note just how difficult life became for the 2009 Red Sox when anyone aside from Josh Beckett and Jon Lester was starting. In 98 starts, a motley group of nine starts (yes, including All-Star Tim Wakefield and extremely promising stretches from Clay Buchholz) had a 5.40 ERA. That mark would have ranked second-to-last in the majors among pitchers who qualified for the ERA title, barely ahead of Livan Hernandez.

Of course, the Sox would be aided significantly by good health for both pitchers. Towards that end, Lackey — who has suffered injuries in each of the past two spring trainings that have left him unable to start the year on time — is trying to measure his spring workload to ensure that he’ll be healthy at the start of the year. Read the rest of this entry »