It's the going rate

Among those leaving here are five major leaguers: Bay with Canada, Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis with the United States, Javier Lopez with Puerto Rico, and David Ortiz with the Dominican Republic. Daisuke Matsuzaka will play for Japan, where he has spent all of spring training.

Their departure will create a challenge for manager Terry Francona, but the players welcomed the moment. They pointed to patriotism, the chance to bond with players from their countries, and the competitive nature of the WBC as opposed to the monotony of spring training.

"Spring training is tough," Pedroia said. "I'm the type of player that, I only care about winning. That's what makes me play better. Sometimes, playing spring training games can get a little too relaxed. That's why you definitely want the season to start and get on with everything. You can play 10 spring training games and get ready for the season. So spring training is too long."

Francona prepared for the difficult chore of managing a team without the majority of its notable players. The league recommends teams start at least four major leaguers in spring training games. Balancing that and giving the starters who remain proper rest, Francona believes, will be difficult.

"We're trying to put a team together for the next two road trips, and we've got half our position players here," he said. "Our concern, especially when we make road trips, is to feel like fans aren't getting cheated. That's going to be hard."

Among projected starters currently available, only Jason Varitek, Julio Lugo, Jed Lowrie, J.D. Drew, and Jacoby Ellsbury remain. "It's physically impossible for us to play those guys every day," Francona said. "We're going to come up short a little bit."