Drew not hurt by naysayers

Maybe J.D. Drew isn't going to be the disaster so many predicted when the Red Sox scrambled (alone) to sign him for $70 million this winter.

Drew took his physical yesterday, then met with the carnivorous Boston media for the first time. He was polite and a little boring, but hardly seemed worthy of the wrath his name has inspired.

Indeed, it would be hard to remember another professional ballplayer getting pounded the way Drew was hammered before he ever set foot in New England. The Red Sox were told they were suckers and a number of Fenway fans seemed to make up their minds that Drew was going to be the next Jack Clark. A National League fraud. A passive player who won't play hurt.

Drew heard it. He knows there are people who seem to be waiting for him to fail. Through the years he's been trashed by heavyweights such as Curt Schilling and Tony La Russa and he knows he's got the image of a guy who plays with little passion and misses a lot of games because of injuries.

"You get kind of fed up with it," he acknowledged. "I think the little things that people don't understand is the way I prepare myself to play the game. I've been taught, basically from my college days, to play the game at an even keel and play the game focused. Fundamentally correct is how I've always tried to play the game, and I think sometimes that's perceived the wrong way.

"I know if I go out there and do things right day in and day out, offensively and defensively, you're hoping to help your team win ballgames, and when you look at the end of the season your numbers are right where you want them to be."

Drew hit .283 with 20 home runs and 100 RBIs for the Dodgers last year, then opted out of the remaining three years of his contract.

There appeared to be little interest in his high-priced services before the Red Sox came running with a five-year pact worth $70 million. It had the appearance of a Scott Boras-orchestrated bag job, and the New York Times claims the Dodgers considered filing tampering charges against Boston.

Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner were in camp Tuesday and insisted there were multiple teams bidding for Drew. We all remember the interminable delay getting the deal finalized and the Sox are now only on the hook for $42 million if Drew's surgically repaired right shoulder forces him to stop playing.