Sox are quiet in Vegas

Told that Epstein had said that Francona, pitching coach John Farrell, and himself had met with one free agent, Francona amended his response: "I met with somebody. That's my answer."

So after one day in Las Vegas, the biggest thing bubbling on the Red Sox' side was an all-but-denied meeting with a free agent pitcher who is unlikely to be signed by Boston. The general manager hardly sounded excited.

"We're not really optimistic about our chances of getting anything done while we're here," Epstein said. "We're not really close to anything. We're talking to some teams, we're talking to some agents. But I wouldn't expect anything to come out of these meetings, to be honest."

Francona and Farrell had sat in on a meeting with one free agent yesterday - and none of the other free agent pitchers the Sox have interest in (A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe) were in Vegas. Sabathia was.

That being said, Sabathia is not expected to be a serious target for the Sox. Not only are they generally unwilling to extend lengthy contracts to free agent pitchers, as Epstein reaffirmed before the winter meetings, they do not need Sabathia. Far more crucial to their plan is a big-time bat, such as Mark Teixeira.

Not that Epstein was interested in admitting that need either.

"What did we finish, second in the league in runs scored?" he said. "We're not really a home run driven offense. We haven't been for some time. We're an offense based on on-base percentage, depth of lineup, and doubles more than anything else."

Sabathia reportedly has had two meetings with the Yankees, who offered the lefthander a $140 million deal about a month ago. But Sabathia still seems to be interested in pitching on the West Coast. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said Sabathia was a "possibility" for his team, though he would have to weigh how such a major contract would change the dynamic of his club. Sabathia also has an offer on the table from the Brewers, with the Angels and Giants potential landing spots as well.

But Sabathia is not the only free agent pitcher the Sox are doing their due diligence on.