I flew down to Fort Myers for my annual Spring Training trip during the last week of February. The workouts are my favorite part of the spring, and this year I got to go to four days of them. On Sunday, it was Photo Day, when the players wear their home whites instead of the normal red practice jerseys, and get their pictures taken in the clubhouse before practice for baseball cards and other promotions. We were on the first shuttle bus over from the stadium, and staked out a good spot. We called out to all the players as they ran out to take the field, even though very few sign in the morning, with most autographs coming at the end of practice at noontime. I did manage to get Julio Lugo's as he ran past. When Manny Ramirez came out, everyone called out to him. We held out baseballs, pictures, and Sharpies, and he ran over as if he was going to sign. But instead, he tapped everyone's hands on the way, a sort of high-five. Then next day, we were ready, reaching our arms out as Manny took the field, and he high-fived me on his way by.

Over the next few days, we enjoyed watching the players go through a bunch of different drills. There was live B.P. where the hitters take batting practice off the pitchers rather than the coaches, pitcher's fielding practice, and practices for bunting, baserunning, fielding popups, executing rundowns, and even sliding. I brought a couple of photos along for autographs. One was a picture of me with both the 2004 and 2007 World Series trophies, which I asked anyone who was on the '07 team to sign. I also brought a photo I had taken at a spring training game last year, for all the new players and prospects who weren't part of the Championship run. I had a lot of good luck with autographs, getting Dustin Pedroia, Coco Crisp, Theo Epstein, Bobby Kielty, Larry Lucchino, and Hideki Okajima (in Japanese!) to sign the trophy picture. In the afternoon, when major league camp is finished, a bus shows up with the minor league players, who practice in the afternoon. The farmhand we all had our eyes on this year was Joshua Papelbon, younger brother of the Sox' closer. I thought it was cool that I was able to get his autograph one afternoon.

On Thursday, the Red Sox kicked off their exhibition schedule with a doubleheader against Boston College and Northeastern University. Before the game, the 2004 and 2007 World Series trophies were on display, so we made sure to find them and have our pictures taken. It was my parents' first chance to see the '04 trophy in person, and with the laid-back atmosphere of Spring Training, we were even allowed to touch them. The Red Sox had the trophies in Fort Myers all weekend, and were planning a couple of other events, including showing the World Series video on the JumboTron on Friday night, and a trophy-viewing session open to the public on Saturday.

After we had our moment with the symbol of the Red Sox victory, we got to see the Champions themselves take the field for the game - for a couple of innings, anyway. BC pitcher Ted Ratliff can say he faced the defending World Champions and retired Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and David Ortiz in order in the first. The rest of his teammates, however, might want to leave out some of the details when they recount the tales of their experience. The Red Sox sent fourteen men to the plate in the second inning and scored eight runs. There were a total of six walks in the inning, with the big blows coming on a double by Dustin Pedroia and a wind-blown fly ball by Big Papi that landed between the outfielders for another double. After that, the regulars were out of the game, but the backups and minor leaguers picked right up where they left off. They scored five more runs in the fourth and nine in the fifth. Second baseman Tony Granadillo hit a grand slam. Outfielder Jeff Bailey had two walks and a two-run single. Catching prospect George Kottaras drove in three runs on two doubles. The BC fielders made three errors, and had two dropped fly balls ruled hits that could have been charged as errors if it weren't a friendly Spring Training game.

On the mound, Red Sox ace Josh Beckett looked strong. He threw 25 pitches over two innings and struck out four. He was followed by Kyle Snyder, Javier Lopez, and Bryan Corey. Mercifully, the college games are only seven innings long, leaving a final score that would embarrass even a football team: 24-0.

When the first game ended, it was about an hour until the gates opened for the second game. We brought sandwiches and ate them in the car between games so we wouldn't have to rush out somewhere to eat and then pay for parking again. J.D. Drew and Manny Ramirez were the only two Red Sox starters who hadn't played in the first game, so they started the nightcap. They were joined by major league backups Coco Crisp, Alex Cora, Sean Casey, and Doug Mirabelli, plus minor leaguers Chris Carter in left field, Jed Lowrie at shortstop, and Keith Ginter at third. On the mound was Justin Masterson, the tall, young sinkerballer who was projected to start the year in Double A, but was touted as the next prospect in the pitching pipeline that had sent the likes of Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholz to Boston in recent years. Masterson looked good, retiring the side in order on seven pitches in the first. In the second he gave up a single, but quickly induced a double play and got through the inning on just ten pitches.

Masterson was followed to the mound by Craig Hansen, Michael Bowden (another prospect we were following with interest), Craig Breslow, Hunter Jones, and Kyle Jackson. The night game went much the same as the afternoon one had. Crisp and Drew doubled in the first to score one run. Cora's double drove another home in the second. In the third, they added four runs on two walks, two hits, and an error. Five singles and another error allowed them to pile on four more in the fourth. There were two more runs in the fifth on just one hit (plus three walks, a hit batsman, two passed balls, and a wild pitch) and three more in the sixth. The offense was pretty well spread out across the lineup, but Mickey Hall, called up from minor league camp and sporting number 95, had two hits and three RBI, and Chris Carter and Gil Velazquez drove in two apiece.