Even on a day that is unseasonably cold and windy, Red Sox fans stand behind ropes and chain link fences and watch pitchers practice covering first base. The pale snowbirds are Parishioners at the Church of Baseball on a Sunday morning.
Eighty-six-year-old Johnny Pesky puts on the uniform and hits fungoes. Jim Rice hangs out and hears people telling him that next year he'll be going to the Hall of Fame. Curt Schilling's son, Gehrig, gets his own locker and spends considerable time playing with "Bruiser" the ubiquitous Old English bulldog who belongs to clubhouse equipment manager Mike Stelmach.
"This," says Gehrig's dad, "is different than any other spring training in baseball."
Amen.
Red Sox pitchers and catchers went through their first grueling (9:30 a.m. to 11:12 a.m.) workout of the 2007 season yesterday.
"The day came off without a hitch," manager Terry Francona declared at the end of the session. "We got our work in. No one cursed at me. So that's a good day."
The Red Sox are the biggest baseball story in Florida. They've got star power and story lines. They've always been an attraction, but now they are rocking the world of sleepy Fort Myers. The Minnesota Twins, defending champs of the American League Central, winners of 10 more games than the Sox last year, are going to be pretty lonely in the digs on the other side of town. Red Sox rule.
One question that'll never be asked in this camp: "Do you know which field Dice K is working on?"
You know where he is at all times because of the horde of professional camera people who follow every step he takes.
There was a bustle of activity when Dice K first emerged from the clubhouse, carrying the equipment bag of his new catcher, Jason Varitek. It's a rookie hazing ritual of sorts. Matsuzaka was told that the great Jonathan Papelbon carried Varitek's bag last year. Now he is the big-shot rookie pitcher.
