Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka worked out briefly on Sunday but said it will be at least another day before the Major League Baseball hurler from Japan is ready to throw again.

Varitek makes spring debut but Ortiz slump continues for Red Sox in 6-4 win over Slowey, Twins. Kevin Slowey threw three perfect innings for Minnesota. He was even happier to be pitching pain-free.

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Red Sox P Buchholz throws 3 scoreless innings in Red Sox 3-2 victory against Pirates. Clay Buchholz threw three scoreless innings, as did Pirates starter Paul Maholm, and the Boston Red Sox beat Pittsburgh 3-2 on Saturday.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - His first question, when he received the call from agent Scott Boras, was, ``What about Mike?'' The Red Sox had called Boras about Adrian Beltre this offseason, inquiring about signing the free agent third baseman, and Boras was passing along the interest. But Mike Lowell was already in Boston, established as the third baseman even with the hip and thumb injuries he sustained over the past few seasons. Beltre didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to react. ``I know Mike is good,'' said Beltre. ``I know what type of guy, what type of player he is. I ain't any better than Mike Lowell, I know that.'' There were assurances that Lowell wasn't going to be the starter in Boston, whether or not Beltre signed. Beltre was told that he would play every day - that Lowell was not an option. He accepted the assurances, and agreed to a risky one-year contract that can turn into two if he fails to recover from a poor 2009 season and can make him a free agent after the season i

Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was unable to throw a batting practice session on Saturday as planned because of a stiff neck, managing only five tosses in the bullpen.

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JUPITER, Fla. - Taking a look at the names and numbers remaining, it's difficult for Jed Lowrie to see himself on the big league roster. Barring injury or trade, it appears Mike Lowell, Bill Hall, Jeremy Hermida, and Jason Varitek will be on the Red Sox bench this season. That would leave Lowrie, still working to return from the wrist problems that have hindered him each of the last two seasons, on the outside - and in Pawtucket. ``I feel like I'd be wasting my time,'' Lowrie said of doing roster calculations. ``There's no question that you look around and there's a lot of good players here. But this is the Boston Red Sox. So what I do is I focus on what I can do, and for me that's to get healthy right now, because I haven't known what that's felt like in two years.'' It's clear the Sox are being tentative, something that has been part of their relationship with Lowrie since the start of 2009. It was then that, after smoking the ball during spring training, Lowrie started feeling somet

Orlando Magic roll past Bulls 111-82 as Chicago's Derrick Rose sprains left wrist. Vince Carter had 23 points to help the Orlando Magic pull away early and cruise past the injured Chicago Bulls, 111-82 on Thursday night for a season-high seventh straight win.

RED SOX NOTEBOOK PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - It was unfamiliar to John Lackey, the lengthy bus ride, the rain delay. That just doesn't happen in Arizona. Fortunately for Lackey, he coped with the former by listening to country music and falling asleep. The latter? It wasn't a problem either, given how swiftly he completed his outing. As the Red Sox righthander gets used to his new spring training home, complete with three-hour bus trips across Florida and downpours that interrupt games, he has had no trouble with the one place he knows well: the mound. Lackey has yet to allow a run in two starts, and has not even threatened to do so. ``I like the humidity over here,'' Lackey said after yesterday's 8-2 win over the Mets. ``That's one good thing about it. Feel like you get loose a little bit easier on this side, feel the ball a little better.'' He threw only 30 pitches (17 strikes), allowing three hits in three innings and getting the win. He had to go to the bullpen after exiting the game, t

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Polite as always, Jason Bay made one thing clear as he sat down to talk to the Boston media: ``If you've got any offseason questions, I'm done talking about it. I'll talk about anything else, but health-related or anything like that, I'm taking the fifth. I'm trying to move on.'' Far from brushing off the questioners, it appeared that Bay was simply stating a fact. He is done with Boston, ready for something new (though the cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee in his hand perhaps undermined his statement). He has said what he wanted to say, made his transition back to the National League with the Mets. Now, he believes, it's time to look forward. ``Once I signed here, kind of got integrated a little bit, it's been closed for me for a while,'' Bay said. ``I don't really need the last goodbye. I've been traded numerous times. I've done a lot of this along the way. Boston just ended up being a stop along the way, albeit a very good one.'' He didn't even need the closure of

Patriots RB Faulk happy to stick with the same team. New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk didn't want to go out like Nomar Garciaparra.

John Lackey throws 3 shutout innings as Boston Red Sox beat New York Mets 8-2. John Lackey is off to a nice start with the Red Sox.

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No more No-mah! Nomar Garciaparra rejoins Red Sox for a day, then retires after 14-year career. Six years after he was traded away for the final pieces of Boston's World Series puzzle, Nomar Garciaparra finally got a friendly farewell from the Red Sox.

Six years after Nomar Garciaparra left the Red Sox under a dark cloud, Pat Pink still tenderly dusts an autographed picture of him on her bedroom dresser, still dons a Garciaparra No. 5 jersey when she goes to Fenway Park. Heartbroken that summer of 2004 when he was traded, she followed his career to Chicago and Los Angeles. He was no longer the sensation that made him one of the most beloved players in Red Sox history. But Pink still cheered. And when she heard yesterday that Garciaparra had been granted his wish to leave baseball in a Red Sox uniform, she felt a long-interrupted order had been restored. ``Going out as a Red Sox,'' Pink said. ``As it should be.'' In Fort Myers, Fla., yesterday the 36-year-old Garciaparra announced that he had signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Sox, and then promptly retired, so he could leave the game as a member of the team he loved. Just talking about it made him choke up, he said, and have chills. Some around Fenway choked up, too. ``I t

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Rays pitching prospect David Price not seriously hurt by shattered bat; Rays beat Red Sox 8-6. Tampa Bay Rays prized left-hander David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, left Wednesday's 8-6 win over the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being hit on the right hand by the barrel of a shattered bat.

Nomar Garciaparra, who spent 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, retired on Wednesday after signing a one-day contract with the Boston Red Sox so he could end his career where it began.

Rays left-hander and No. 1 draft pick David Price injured by barrel of shattered bat. Tampa Bay Rays prized left-hander David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, left Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being hit on the right hand by the barrel of a shattered bat.