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In the video above, ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes and Joe McDonald preview Boston's opening-day match-up in Detroit on Thursday.

McDonald notes that the Red Sox will feature a "different type of lineup than they had last season," especially with Carl Crawford out (wrist), and newcomers Cody Ross and Ryan Sweeney starting in the outfield, Mike Aviles at shortstop and Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the No. 1 catcher.

Edes talks about Boston's new pitching rotation and the uncertaintly surrounding the closer situation, but notes that the team's core remains the same.

"You still have those six All-Stars from a team that led the Major Leagues in runs scored last season, with 875," he says.

He warns, though, that the Tigers are "loaded," especially with the addition of power-hitting first baseman Prince Fielder, their explosive offense, and Cy Young and MVP award winner Justin Verlander.

It seems we’ve finally arrived at the value of Theo Epstein, the man/boy genius in the middle of a long, strange compensation struggle between two of baseball’s historically cursed franchises.

Boston’s former GM bolted for the Cubs’ presidency not long after the Red Sox’s epic collapse, but the transactional costs weren’t completed until Thursday, when Boston sent Jair (not Xander) Bogaerts to Chicago -- on the very day when (not that) Chris Carpenter, the first player Theo sent to Boston, underwent elbow surgery.

Call that bad luck, but is there something more happening in these seemingly minor transactions, after Theo had been (ironically) arguing all along that he’s really not worth much, while his replacement/former lieutenant, Sox GM Ben Cherington, had reportedly been asking for big leaguers like Starlin Castro and Matt Garza?

This is probably more coincidence than curse, but the second player the Sox received from the Cubs is named Aaron Kurcz.

To recap: Theo’s Cubs tried to restore Boston’s curse (Kurcz and a destined-for-repairs-Carpenter) ... And the Sox responded with “We already broke ours, so please, Bogaerts the curse for yourself.”

The assessment: If Theo’s worth were a Venn diagram, he’d be smack dab in the intersection between a billy goat, a Broadway show, a bottle of Jack Daniels, a Bartman, a case of beer and a bucket of chicken.

The winner: TBD. The aftershocks will no doubt be felt well beyond Opening Day. Our prediction? This one will be settled in the World Series ... in 2112.

DUNEDIN, Fla.--The club released this statement attributed to pitcher Bobby Jenks, arrested last week on DUI charges:

“I am embarrassed by the situation and apologize to my teammates and to the Red Sox organization for any distractions I may have caused. I still need to let the legal process run its course and until it does, I will not be able to make any further comment.”

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Greetings from the spring home of the Toronto Blue Jays, where the Red Sox bus made an uneventful trip while yours truly managed to make two wrong turns on the 146-mile jaunt, which I could blame on my GPS except for the fact that the route hasn't changed in the 15 years since I've been coming to the Fort.

Third baseman Kevin Youkilis was also scheduled to make the trip, but he scratched because of some lower back stiffness, staying back for treatment. Sounds pretty minor. Youkilis will get as many at-bats as he'd like in minor-league games on Monday, though he won't run the bases.

The more skittish among Red Sox fans may look at Youkilis's absence with alarm, since he has not played as many as 140 games in each of the last three years, injuries limiting him to 120 last season (lower back strain, sports hernia) and 102 in 2010 (torn muscle in his thumb).

The ubiquitous Nate Spears will play third in Youkilis's place.

Daniel Bard, still undeclared as a starter by Valentine, makes his fifth appearance Sunday and if all goes well should throw somewhere between 80 and 95 pitches. Valentine, who had noted with some concern that Bard had thrown just one changeup in his last outing, said he spoke with Bard about that and seems more concerned about Bard just having a good outing.

Bard has been described as a two-pitch pitcher without the change, but in addition to his high-90s fastball, he also throws a slider and two-seamed fastball. The change would be a fourth pitch. Curt Schilling, for one, doesn't see that pitch as critical to Bard's success, noting that he was never able to master a changeup, which Schilling called the hardest pitch to master, and said that Bard could learn a splitter with considerably more ease.

Schilling, on a recent edition of "Baseball Tonight" contended that "this situation is being mismanaged on an epically horrible scale" by Valentine. Schilling said there should be no doubt that Bard, whom he described as a potential No. 1, be in the rotation, and said that Valentine is undermining pitching coach Bob McClure with his meddling.

"Bobby is causing [Bard] to have problems he wouldn't be having except for things he's saying,'' Schilling said.

Here's the lineup:

Mike Aviles, ss
Jacoby Ellsbury, cf
Adrian Gonzalez, 1b
Darnell McDonald, lf
Ryan Lavarnway, DH
Josh Kroeger, rf
Kelly Shoppach, c
Nate Spears, 3b
Jonathan Hee, 2b
Daniel Bard p

Toronto
Kelly Johnson, 2b
Yunel Escobar, ss
Jose Bautista, rf
Adam Lind, 1b
Edwin Encarnacion, DH
Brett Lawrie, 3b
Eric Thames, lf
Colby Rasmus, cf
Jeff Mathis, c
Aaron Laffey, lhp

JUPITER, Fla. -- After Felix Doubront’s last start, Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said the left-hander lacked a “killer pitch” and didn’t attack hitters. Those grumblings were not heard after Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

In his longest start of the spring, Doubront went six innings and allowed one run. He lowered his spring ERA from 3.38 to 2.70. In total, he has struck out 11 and walked six in 18 2/3 innings.

Basically, he’s been a serviceable back-of-the-rotation starter.

“He’s progressed as well as anyone in camp,” Valentine said. “He’s done what we asked for.”

With an open debate about Daniel Bard’s lack of a third pitch and Alfredo Aceves' struggling in Saturday’s split-squad game in Fort Myers, Doubront’s fairly clean, 78-pitch outing looks a little better.

He walked one, struck out two and allowed five hits, including a Gaby Sanchez double that just caught the left-field line and a solo homer to Austin Kearns. Doubront finished off several 1-2 counts, induced two double plays, threw his curveball for strikes and reached 94 mph with his fastball.

“He kept his composure and he pitched well. It was a positive outing,” Valentine said.

Catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who was 2-for-3 with an RBI single off Marlins starter Wade LeBlanc, has spent parts of four seasons with Doubront in Boston’s farm system. He said it was one of the lefty's better games.

“I don’t want to limit him and say that was his best, but he threw the ball tremendously today,” Lavarnway said. “He was aggressive from the start. He filled up the strike zone with all four pitches. He went right at guys. I haven’t seen him throw that well in a long time.

“You can see that look in his eye that he means business. He wants to not only pitch in the big leagues, but be successful and be in the Boston Red Sox starting rotation.”

* Valentine played along with a joke that Pedro Ciriaco might skip Fenway and head straight for Cooperstown. The 26-year-old infielder, who played second base next to Jose Iglesias, went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. That raised his already gaudy batting splits to .441/.457/.676.

With Iglesias, Mike Aviles and Nick Punto ahead of him, Ciriaco isn’t a candidate for a roster spot. But Valentine clearly enjoys having him around.

“How about Ciriaco,” he said. “I’m telling you. Everyone’s talking about the shortstop situation ... he’s a very good player. I’m telling you.”

Lest anyone think he was ready to move Ciriaco up the depth chart, Valentine tempered his enthusiasm: “Well, he’s played very well. He has very good talent, and he’s played very well.”

* Lars Anderson went 0-3, dropping his numbers to .357/.457/.567.

* There was no pregame lineup card exchange between Valentine and Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen. The managers left those duties to coaches Joey Espada (Marlins) and Jerry Royster (Red Sox). Reporters sitting in the press box were unable to see if the managers waved at each other from their opposing dugouts.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Takeaway from the Fort, where the Boston Red Sox were clubbed, 10-5, by the Philadelphia Phillies, in a split-squad game at JetBlue Park:

Alfredo Aceves was lit up for 10 hits, including 3 home runs, and 9 runs in 3 innings. He walked a batter, hit another, and threw a wild pitch. His pitches were up, he had trouble locating, and when he did throw a strike, it caught too much of the plate -- and Phillies' bats.

"He looked out of sorts from the get-go," said bench coach Tim Bogar, who managed this split squad of Sox players while Bobby Valentine was in Jupiter.

What does it mean? Well, neither Valentine nor pitching coach Bob McClure were here -- they were watching Felix Doubront, who was terrific in Jupiter -- so if they needed to make up their minds on Aceves, that wouldn't have happened.

Bogar called it a "hiccup," a rational notion given the superb way Aceves has pitched most of the spring, adding that "we haven't seen that since last August."

"A guy like Aceves, you should look at his track record,'' Bogar said. "He's shown us he can pitch.''

Aceves adopted a similar posture: "One outing is not going to tell you the value of a pitcher," he said.

Aceves walked leadoff batter Shane Victorino on four pitches to open the game. Juan Pierre swept a ground-rule double into the right-field corner, and after Aceves got away with a high slider to strike out Hunter Pence, he threw a wild pitch to Laynce Nix to score a run. John Mayberry Jr. lined a 400-foot single off the center-field fence for another run, Pete Orr and Freddy Galvis opened the second with back-to-back home runs, and Carlos Ruiz hit another home run to lead off the third.

"This is one of those days nothing went good," said Aceves, adding after his news conference, "I wasn't on the same page with myself."

Aceves wasn't alone. Dustin Pedroia dropped an easy throw at second, something that may not have happened since he played at Woodland High.

Darnell McDonald and Jacoby Ellsbury both made off-target throws to cutoff men, with shortstop Mike Aviles lunging to spear Ellsbury's throw, then losing a footrace to Juan Pierre to second base while Victorino strolled home from third. Michael Bowden relieved Aceves and gave up hits to three of the first four batters he faced, a run scoring.

Good news? Vicente Padilla made his first appearance since straining his hamstring, and looked dynamic in a scoreless inning of relief, his first since Valentine told him he was out of the mix--for now, anyway--for a starting job. Franklin Morales and closer Andrew Bailey also had a scoreless inning apiece.

Shortstop competition: Aviles had two hits, including a double, and is batting .293, while the rookie, Jose Iglesias, 0 for 3 in Jupiter, is now 1 for his last 13 and batting .174.

Check back later to read my thoughts on the rotation.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine thinks anyone who frets about his team’s Opening Day starter at shortstop is missing the point.

“It’s all ridiculous,” he said of the interest in who gets the job.

Jose Iglesias’ hitting and Mike Aviles’ defense have improved to the point where Valentine feels comfortable with either as the starter.

“It’s not tough, because we’re going to have a good player,” Valentine said of the decision. “We don’t see it as a problem. We see it as, we have a wealth of talent.”

Valentine said he’s impressed with Pedro Ciriaco, who carries a
.419/.438/.645 spring batting split and a Grapefruit League-best five steals into Saturday's game with the Miami Marlins. Iglesias and Ciriaco are 1-2 in the lineup against Marlins lefty Wade LeBlanc.

“It’s all about how the team feels about their member,” Valentine said. “That they’re secure with the person that’s playing the position [and] they feel confident that he’s a championship-caliber player.”

* Felix Doubront gets the ball Saturday. Valentine said he wants to see two things out of the 24-year-old rotation candidate. He wants to see him throw more than five innings as well as “a couple pitches, when he’s ahead in the count, that are aggressive,” Valentine said.

The manager said Doubront came into camp in “much better” shape than he anticipated. He has both the stamina and the stuff to be a starter.

Valentine would like to see more of a mean streak.

“His mound presence is something that we wanted to see develop, and it has developed. His pitches are the caliber that we need them to be. Now we’re looking for that competitiveness,” Valentine said.

Valentine said he’s pleased he’s been able to “keep an open mind” in evaluating players. That includes Doubront, who did not impress last season in Triple-A Pawtucket (2-5, 4.22 ERA in 16 starts).

“I haven’t gone to the places most everybody else has in making decisions,” Valentine said.

* Valentine was cagey when asked about last year’s flirtation with the Marlins’ open manager position. “I talked with some of the people involved. More than once,” he said. He wouldn’t say if the discussions went further than he anticipated.

“Then I’d have to tell you what I thought,” he said.

* Saturday’s game is a homecoming for outfielder Cody Ross, who spent most of five seasons playing for the Marlins. Ross seemingly greeted everyone in sight during batting practice.

* Valentine stopped an interview, and several players halted warm-up drills, to watch Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton crush several long homers in batting practice. David Ortiz, who is batting fourth in Saturday's lineup, was seen offering him a few words of hitting advice.

* Former Red Sox utilityman/bullpen option Nick Green is in the Marlins' lineup. He's batting eighth and playing short.

The "Baseball Tonight" crew discusses Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard's status in the starting rotation.

Karl Ravech and Curt Schilling discuss whether Bard needs to develop a changeup. Schilling thinks he'll eventually require it, but it will come in time.

"Third pitch, you develop that when you get your first and second pitch down and comfortable."

Schilling goes on to say that he thinks Bobby Valentine is "mismanaging this situation in horrible fashion" and should rely on pitching coach Bob McClure more.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Takeaways from the Port, where the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-4:

Mike Aviles’s ability to make the throw from the hole at short is one of those questions that will hover over him, and every time he makes a bad throw, as he did Sunday, alarms will go off. What made it look even worse is that the baserunner was Jose Molina, who would be the chalk in a lot of World’s Slowest Man races. Aviles had time to set his feet and still bounced his throw past first baseman Mauro Gomez.

The good news is that Aviles had a chance to make the same play against a faster runner, Jeff Keppinger, and made a strong throw.
Assuming he stays healthy, Aviles will be the Opening Day shortstop, and probably will remain there until he proves he cannot handle the job. The Sox are committed to giving Jose Iglesias more time in the minors and believe Aviles deserves the chance to play. His bat, the hope is, will neutralize whatever plays he cannot make afield. Iglesias’s time will come. Just not now.

Bobby Valentine said that he has no plans to carry a third catcher, which puts Ryan Lavarnway in Pawtucket to open the season, though the manager had plenty of good things to say about the progress the Yale grad has made.

Pedro Ciriaco had another hit in two at-bats Sunday, his average sitting at .545 (12-for-21), but the 26-year-old who played a handful of games for the Pittsburgh Pirates the last two seasons will not be this year’s Arquimedez Pozo or Rudy Pemberton and crack the Opening Day roster. “I don’t have a spot for him right now,’’ Valentine said.

But the native of the Dominican Republic, who signed as a minor-league free agent, “is a good player,’’ Valentine insisted. “I know you thought I was kidding early when I said that. I really like him.”

The manager contended Ciriaco is a cut above the usual spring-training wonders.

“His hands are there, his arm is there, and the speed is there," Valentine said.

What you often don’t see in spring training, but are revealed over time, are the holes that keep a guy from winning a big-league job. The breaking ball often is the great equalizer.

With Carl Crawford almost certain to open the season on the disabled list, the Sox will carry a player that otherwise was not expected to make the 25-man roster. A strong candidate: Jason Repko, a backup outfielder with the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers over the past six seasons. Repko’s career has been sidetracked by injuries -- a severely sprained ankle suffered crashing into a wall cost him 67 games in 2006 and a torn hamstring that required surgery to reattach the tendon caused him to sit out the entire 2007 season.

With Ryan Sweeney having missed the last week with a strained quadriceps muscle, an extra outfielder makes eminent sense. The Sox will have to create a spot on the 40-man roster to keep Repko.

“[Repko] can do a lot of things during a baseball game,’’ Valentine said. “Yesterday he executed a perfect relay throw that cut down a runner at the plate. He can bunt and run, and he’s a very good outfielder. It's good to know we have him if we need him."

The Sox are expected to carry 12 pitchers to open the season. With Opening Day April 5, eight spots are likely sewn up: Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Andrew Bailey, Alfredo Aceves, Mark Melancon, Matt Albers. Franklin Morales, assuming he is healthy, will be one of the left-handers in the 'pen. Felix Doubront, Andrew Miller and Michael Bowden are out of options, so they all have an edge. That would be 12.

The Sox very much want to keep Vicente Padilla, Aaron Cook, Ross Ohlendorf and Brandon Duckworth as inventory, understanding that teams on average need nine to 10 starting pitchers during the season and more than 20 pitchers in all. Both Padilla and Cook have opt-outs in their contracts. The Sox like Cook’s sinker, and Padilla has gotten plenty of positive notices from both inside the organization and outside observers.

Assuming Valentine carries 12 pitchers -- and he could elect to keep a 13th -- the position players on the Opening Day roster look like this:

Catchers (2): Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kelly Shoppach

Infielders (6): Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Aviles, Kevin Youkilis, Nick Punto.

Outfielders (5): Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney, Jacoby Ellsbury, Darnell McDonald, Jason Repko.

Disabled list: Carl Crawford, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Bobby Jenks, Rich Hill, Ryan Kalish.

Buchholz threw only a handful of changeups Sunday but he worked on everything else, especially his curveball, and looked very sharp doing so. Buchholz threw 63 pitches, 49 for strikes, and was elated at how many first-strike pitches he threw: 14 out of 20 batters. He estimates he also threw 15 cutters.

He threw back-to-back changeups to Evan Longoria in the first inning, and Longoria hit the second one for a home run, the only run allowed by Buchholz in five innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.

Padilla pitched three innings Sunday, and according to one scout, looked at times “like he was messing around.’’ He broke out his eephus pitch early and often, throwing one to Longoria on a 2-and-0 strike for a ball, throwing back-to-backers to Jose Lobaton, who singled on the second one, and starting Carlos Pena with a 53 m.p.h. eephus, following that with a 73 m.p.h. curveball, then busting a 91 m.p.h. fastball for a called third strike.

“You don’t see that too often,’’ said Valentine, who said he was eager to see how Padilla bounces back Monday in his long-toss session. So far, though, Padilla has been healthy and on Sunday located his fastball and threw a number of good cutters.

“If he’s not throwing in the outfield tomorrow, I’d have some concern,’’ Valentine said. “The last time he threw three innings and then threw in the outfield.”

Cody Ross hit his second home run in two days, this one coming off a fastball from Rays phenom Matt Moore in a showdown between natives of New Mexico. Ross is a native of Portales, Moore from Edgewood.

“A fellow New Mexican -- I like him,’’ Ross said.

Ross is hitting .455 this spring and said he has no compunctions about where he plays in the outfield.

“No, I’m not really worried,’’ he said. “They haven’t come to me and told me to play here or there. They know I’m capable of playing left or right or even center. I’ve had looks all over. I feel comfortable at all three.

“I’m fine going back and forth. Even if Jacoby needs a day, which he rarely does, I can fill in there. I’m fine. I’ve done it my whole career. It’s not a big deal.’’

Doubront is scheduled to pitch against the Twins on Monday, a start fraught with significance in his bid to win the No. 5 spot in the rotation, while Aceves starts a minor-league game in camp. Aceves has pitched exceptionally well this spring, showing velocity that has hit as high as 95 m.p.h.

The Red Sox optioned pitcher Stolmy Pimentel to Double-A Portland.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Takeaways from the Fort, where the green-clad Sox beat the Orioles, 7-4, in a split squad here while tying another batch of O's, 3-3, in 10 innings in Sarasota:

The Red Sox released pitcher Carlos Silva, who was coming off shoulder surgery and was shut down with shoulder inflammation this spring, taking him out of the competition for a starting spot here. GM Ben Cherington said the team elected to give Silva a chance to catch on with another club.

Cody Ross had a double and a home run, his first since hitting two in the college games, and Lars Anderson had a double and two-run single for the Sox in the Fort. Ross is hitting .450 this spring, Anderson .429.

Aaron Cook made his second spring appearance, giving up a hit in 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Orioles in Sarasota.

"It's what I was looking for," Cook said upon his return to the Fort. "Groundball outs, and short innings. Four fly ball outs, one strikeout, rest were ground balls."

Cook has been hurt each of the last two seasons -- a broken leg in 2010, and a broken finger and an inflamed shoulder last season -- and was placed on a slower progression than the other pitchers in camp this spring. That's not a concern, he said.

"I don't worry about it," he said. "I threw three and a third today, they keep putting up innings and I'll just go out there and keep pitching. There are no issues."

Cook has a May 1 opt-out of his contract. "I want to start,'' said Cook, who pitched 10 seasons for the Rockies, winning a career-high 16 games in 2008, before signing a minor-league deal with the Red Sox. But if asked to go to the pen would he do so? "Definitely,'' he said.

Josh Beckett had an easy time of it Saturday, pitching against an Orioles team that had just one regular position player, Chris Davis (possibly two if you project Wilson Betemit as the team's DH). Beckett worked five innings in which he threw 59 pitches, an impressive 40 for strikes. Beckett gave up a run on two hits and a walk, striking out two. The game was completed in a snappy 2 hours 37 minutes, which should give you a sense of the pace at which he worked, and the results he achieved.

(Read full post)

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A few takeaways from the Fort, where the Boston Red Sox may or may not have damaged their chances to win the Mayor’s Cup with a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday night:

Making a case: Andrew Miller just wants to make the team at this point. Sure, it’d be nice to be the fifth starter. But after missing 10 days with elbow stiffness, he might be running out of time.

Miller pitched a solid inning -- no hits, two strikeouts and one walk on 14 pitches, nine strikes -- but he has managed just three innings all spring.

“The goal for me is more to be with the club than anything,” he said, “but if starting is going to be in the equation, it’s going to have to happen pretty fast. I think I threw 26 pitches the first time out and today around 15, so I’ve got a ways to go if I’m expected to throw seven innings.”

He said he’d cherish a regular starting role, feeling his varying roles have not been the best recipe for success.

“My ultimate goal is consistency, and that’s been my downfall historically,” he said. “Even if I have one start, two starts in a month, that’s good. The goal for a starter is someone who consistently gives you a chance every time, not five out of six or four out of five.”

Manager Bobby Valentine said that whether he’s a starter or reliever, he should eliminate pitching out of a windup.

“It seemed like there were two different guys out there -- one guy I didn’t want to look at out of the windup and one I’d look at all night long out of the stretch,” Valentine said. “He was terrific out of the stretch. I thought every pitch was quality, crisp, to the target and damn near unhittable.

“If he comes in with no one on base, that doesn’t mean he has to pitch out of a windup, or if he starts a game, that doesn’t mean he has to pitch out of a windup.”

Miller’s verdict on the elbow?

“The real test will be tomorrow morning,” he said.

Jamming: It wasn’t vintage Jon Lester. But he wasn’t sweating it. Just move on.

“Physically I felt fine -- just a little out of whack, out of rhythm,” said Lester, who hit two batters, walked one and gave up five hits and two runs in four innings. “I really couldn’t make the adjustment and be consistent, repeat. That was the big thing: I couldn’t repeat. I went through a lot of pitches.

“Stuff like this happens during the season. There’s games where you’ve got to grind it out and you’re not feeling that great, whether it’s physical or mechanical, like I was tonight. Minimize damage. It was spring training, but I was pretty able to do that. Obviously, it’s a good thing to work on—pitching out of jams. You’ve got to do it during season. You might as well practice it here. Obviously, it’s not ideal. I don’t want all those base runners. Just one of those nights. Got to grind through it."

Said Valentine, “It looked like everything was a little bit more of an effort than it will be soon, I hope. But all in all, he was all right.”

Papi’s promise: David Ortiz said that when he retires, we won’t see him again in uniform -- unlike Andy Pettitte, who signed with the Yankees on Friday after retiring in 2010, or Roger Clemens, who was a serial comebacker and as recently as November reportedly wanted to play winter ball in Puerto Rico.

“I’m going to play, and when I stop, I stop,” he said. “It don’t make no sense (to) stop and then come back. You’re going to be behind. I don’t know. Everybody’s got their reasons.”

Papi’s Tribute: After Ortiz was robbed of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning when center fielder Joe Benson snagged his laser shot in front of the 420-foot sign, Ortiz approached the Sox dugout, clapped, then turned around and tipped his helmet toward Benson.

“David killed that ball,” Valentine said.

Valentine on Benson: “The kid looks like a player. I like that kid. He’ll have a lower number soon.”

Pedro for President: Earlier in the week, Valentine said infielder Pedro Ciriaco couldn’t impress anyone more than he already had. But just for kicks, he keeps trying to do it.

After going 1-for-3 with a double and run scored on Friday, he’s hitting .588. He went into the game tied for the team lead with Lars Anderson in RBIs (5) and second on the team behind Darnell McDonald in total bases (14).

“It’s pretty good to hear that,” Ciriaco said of Valentine’s praise. “I’m just trying to keep working to do whatever I can to be a better player.”

Nothing Ciriaco does will really change the facts: There isn’t a spot in Boston for him to start the season. After hitting .303 for the Pirates in six different stints covering 23 games last year, he’s projected to start at second base at Triple-A Pawtucket.

“I don’t really think about it,” he said. “Just go day to day. I don’t put too much pressure on myself. I play the game to have fun.”

He said his walk-off homer in Monday’s 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins was the first of his baseball career at any level, and his first game-winning hit since 2008 in Class A Visalia.

Theo deal (almost) complete: RHP Aaron Kurcz, an 11th-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in the 2010 first-year player draft, was acquired Thursday as the player to be named in the compensation deal for former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. Kurcz pitched for high Class A Daytona last season and is 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 109 2/3 innings over two seasons. Boston must still send a player to the Cubs to finally bring this drawn-out affair to an end.

Getting it in: Earlier Friday, pitchers Chris Carpenter and Justin Germano faced Orioles farmhands at JetBlue Park. Carpenter (Double-A Portland) gave up an unearned run on three hits over three innings, throwing 29 strikes and 15 balls. Germano (Triple-A Pawtucket) allowed three hits over three scoreless innings, throwing 31 strikes and 13 balls.

Mayor’s Cup no more? The Red Sox now have a 2-1 lead in what will be a six-game series with the Twins. The Red Sox and Twins used to compete for the Mayor’s Cup, with the Red Sox representing Fort Myers and the Twins representing Lee County. But that ended when the Red Sox moved out of City of Palms Park in the city limits of Fort Myers and into JetBlue Park, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.
The Red Sox apparently are under the belief that they are still playing for it, but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said earlier this spring that the Cup is “in somebody’s cabin now, in Minnesota.” Gardenhire couldn’t clarify Friday night: He missed the game to attend his father-in-law’s funeral.

If you haven't heard, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is apparently headed to the Chicago Cubs. The deal is signed, sealed and delivered ... well, almost. In all seriousness, sources are indicating that the Sox and Cubs are finalizing the terms, and that San Diego Padres GM Jed Hoyer will follow Epstein to Chicago, where Hoyer will serve as GM under Epstein, who's expected to be named president of baseball operations at some point Thursday night. An announcement could come Friday, an off day in the World Series schedule.

Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz hasn't pitched since June, but he hasn't escaped criticism in the aftermath of Boston's epic September collapse. Buchholz was implicated in the starting-pitchers-drinking-during-games controversy, and he took a page from Jon Lester's spin-control playbook, appearing on Boston sports radio WEEI on Thursday to set the record straight on exactly who drank what (when and where).

"Yeah, it did (happen)," Buchholz said on WEEI of the infamous beer-drinking, chicken-eating clubhouse shenanigans that included fellow starters Josh Beckett and John Lackey in addition to Lester. "It wasn't to the extent that it's being told right now. The whole chicken thing, it wasn't like the guys were sitting in there saying 'We're going to order chicken today.' It was, we'd come upstairs, there would be chicken on the table and it happened maybe three times this season. The whole beer thing, it was more of a rally-beer thing. And yeah, it might not have been right, but I feel like there have been other teams in baseball that have gone through stuff like that. Not to say it wasn't a big deal, because it was a mistake, grown men shouldn't be making those decisions like that during a baseball game, but like I said before, you've got to live with what you've done and learn from it. I'm sure it's not going to happen again because it's a lot bigger right now than everybody ever thought it would be."

Buchholz also took the company line in denying the allegations that pitchers drank beer in the dugout during games.

"No, never. Never," he said on WEEl.

This follows the chorus of denials issued en masse by the Red Sox Wednesday, including a statement from former manager Terry Francona, who said he never saw beer in the dugout in his 32-year career.

Buchholz allowed that he'd made a "bad decision," but took issue with the notion that it was responsible for the team's meltdown.

“It might not have been right, but it’s not like there aren’t other teams in baseball that have gone through stuff like that,” Buchholz said of the clubhouse drinking. “Not to say it’s not a big deal because we’re grown men. We probably shouldn’t be making decisions like that. To be getting paid this money and be sitting in the clubhouse, yeah, I understand. It was maybe a bad decision on our part, but you’ve got to live with what you’ve done and learn from it.”

Depending on who you ask, booze in the clubhouse is either no big deal ... or a crying shame.

"The ridiculous part is having beers in the clubhouse, rally beers and all of it, it's a joke. It's wrong," Hall of Famer and former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley said Thursday on The Scott Van Pelt show .

It seems that major league teams are split on the issue as well. The Boston Globe reported Thursday that only 12 teams provide alcohol to their players, and three of those have strict limits and/or closely monitor consumption.

The Globe reported that the Red Sox have provided access to beer since before the current ownership group headed by John Henry took over in 2002, according to CEO Larry Lucchino.

In the video below, Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski says drinking in the clubhouse is common.

Red Sox assistant GM Ben Cherington, who's expected to replace outgoing GM Theo Epstein, said he wouldn't make any decisions about banning alcohol without first consulting the new manager, The Globe reported Thursday.

"As with any clubhouse policy, we wouldn’t make any determination without talking to the manager,’’ Cherington said. “Since the manager is not in place, it’s too early to say."

Baseball Hall of Famer and former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley appeared on The Scott Van Pelt Show and talked to guest host Doug Gottlieb about drinking in the clubhouse, Game 1 of the World Series and more.

"The ridiculous part is having beers in the clubhouse, rally beers and all of it, it's a joke. It's wrong," Eckersley said.

Click here to listen.

BOSTON -- Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard has always been reliable when he’s entered the game with a lead, especially for the majority of this season.

The hard-throwing right-hander has struggled the last month and that continued on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park as he lost for the third time in as many appearances.

Bard entered the game in the top of the seventh inning with a two-run lead, but he surrendered a total of three runs (two earned) on one hit with two walks as the Toronto Blue Jays recovered from their deficit and beat the Red Sox, 5-4.

Bard had a 1.76 ERA in his first 51 appearances of the season, but since the beginning of August he has a 7.47 in only 15 outings.

On Wednesday, he walked the first two batters he faced, which is uncommon for Bard, and it unraveled from there.

NO LACKING MATTER: Red Sox pitcher John Lackey almost snapped a personal three-game losing skid, but had to settle for a no-decision. The veteran right-hander worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts. When he exited the game, Boston had a 3-2 lead and the Sox extended that to 4-2 before Bard imploded and allowed three runs in the top of the eighth.

GONE-ZO: Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez collected his 26th home run of the season with a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. He crushed the first offering from Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero and deposited it into the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field to give Boston a 4-2 advantage. Gonzalez, however, was removed from the game in the top of the seventh inning because of tightness in his left calf and was replaced with Lars Anderson.

DEFENSIVE GEMS: The Red Sox were clinging to a one-run lead in the top of the sixth inning and the Blue Jays were threatening with one out and the potential game-tying run 90 feet away. Boston had its infield playing in when Toronto’s Adam Loewen hit a ground ball right at second baseman Dustin Pedroia. The runner on third, the Jays’ Brett Lawrie, broke on contact, so Pedroia quickly made the throw to the plate in plenty of time. Lawrie, at full speed, plowed into Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, who held onto the ball for the out. Then with two outs, Red Sox left-handed reliever Franklin Morales picked off Loewen at first base to end the inning and the threat.

GOOD TIMES: The celebration continues for veteran pitcher Tim Wakefield. The knuckleballer reached 200 career wins on Tuesday night, so the Red Sox honored his accomplishments in a pregame ceremony on Wednesday.

UP NEXT: The Red Sox begin a crucial four-game series on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Right-hander Kyle Weiland (0-1, 6.75 ERA) will start for Boston, while Tampa sends righty Jeremy Hellickson (12-10, 2.96) to the mound. Weiland worked four innings and did not factor into the decision in Boston’s 6-5 loss at Tampa last week. He allowed three runs on six hits with three walks and one strikeout.

“The other day in Tampa, those are pretty tough circumstances for him, away against them,” Francona said. “We just think he can rise to the occasion and give us a chance to win.”