February 27, 2005

What's Doing In Camp. From the last few days:

Curt Schilling has had two throwing sessions -- 47 pitches on Thursday and 42 on Saturday -- and he wasn't happy with either one of them. "I was expecting a lot more out of myself today than I got," Schilling said on Thursday. "It's going to take time. I guess I'm going to have to be patient. I got through the day and my ankle didn't hurt." ... Also: "I just didn't feel like I expected to feel. ... I always expect it to be better than it is."

On Saturday, Schilling stopped in mid-windup about seven times during his 12-minute session. He didn't speak to reporters afterwards. "He's got some work to do," Terry Francona said. "Personally, seeing him on the mound I feel good, because I know we have five weeks until the season." ... Schilling is scheduled to throw again on Tuesday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Wade Miller threw 180-foot long tosses. He has been working out in Fort Myers since the beginning of February and Francona said the difference is "night and day" compared to where Miller was when the manager saw him two weeks ago. Miller will do long toss from 210 feet today and is expected to play catch Monday, take Tuesday off and head to the bullpen on Wednesday.

Bill Mueller did some light jogging and fielded some grounders yesterday. "The knee is feeling wonderful, but they don't want to push it right now. I'm not going to start running hard until two more weeks, or something like that."

David Wells showed excellent control in his second impressive session in three days on Thursday. ... Keith Foulke threw off the bullpen mound Saturday without any blister trouble. ... According to the Herald's Jeff Horrigan, Byung-Hyun Kim looked impressive during a Wednesday throwing session. ... Matt Clement should love the Red Sox offense. Last year, the Cubs scored two or fewer runs in 10 of his 13 losses; Clement also lost two 1-0 games and the Cubs were shut out in two of his other starts. Clement went 9-13, 3.68. ... The Herald has stories on Roberto Petagine and Hanley Ramirez. There has been talk of converting Ramirez from shortstop to center field, but Francona says that won't happen this spring.

Boston Dirt Dogs reports that Nomar Garciaparra said of his World Series ring: "I don't want it. They can keep it." ... Abe Alvarez and Brandon puffer were shocked when told they were getting rings. ... The Red Sox will attend a White House ceremony this Wednesday, March 2. Curtis Leskanic (retired) will also attend but Mets Pedro Martinez and Doug Mientkiewicz will not. ... Quote of the Week: Mientkiewicz: "That [Sox-Yankees rivalry] wasn't all it was cracked up to be as far as I was concerned. ... I still say the Twins-White Sox series were just as intense as that one."

The magnitude of winning the World Series didn't hit Alan Embree until he was elk hunting near Vancouver in November. "It was all quiet and peaceful, and all of a sudden, I just had this thought. I forget where I was. I was replaying the games in my head after that. The endings of each one of them. It was dramatic, all of it. You didn't get a chance to soak that in because of all the hoopla."

Man, it would be great to get a copy of this. "In New York and St. Louis, and at Fenway, [Mike Timlin] carried his Sony handycam in the clubhouse, in the dugout, on the field during batting practice, on airplanes, and in hotels. He shot three hours of footage, sent it to a professional videomaker after the World Series, then mailed the finished product to all Sox players, coaches, and clubhouse personnel." Dan Shaughnessy notes that when Red Sox chairman Tom Werner asked if he could show it on NESN, Timlin said no.

Jayson Stark asked four pitchers, three scouts and nine GMs/assistants: "Which team has the best lineup in baseball?" Survey says? "Of the 14 men who voted on the AL lineups, 13 picked the Red Sox as the best of the best. ... [E]very regular in this lineup has had at least a .370 on-base percentage in one, or both, of the last two seasons. Which is downright ridiculous." ... The Yankees finished second overall, although some slotted them in as low as fifth.

Tito announced the starters for next week's games:

Thursday, March 3 -- Matt Clement v the Twins
Friday, March 4 -- Tim Wakefield v Northeastern University; Mike Timlin v Boston College
Saturday, March 5 -- Anastacio Martinez v the Twins; Bronson Arroyo v the Reds
Sunday, March 6 -- Jeremi Gonzalez v Phillies
Monday, March 7 -- Abe Alvarez v the Yankees

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