--DH David Ortiz headlined 14 members of the Red Sox organization who were invited to the final World Baseball Classic rosters and exited camp on Feb. 28 to start training with their teams. The 14 players are the second-most chosen from any organization, behind only the 15 players from the New York Mets participating in the WBC. OF Jason Bay, RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, LHP Javier Lopez, 2B Dustin Pedroia and 1B Kevin Youkilis are the other big-name players joining Ortiz in the tournament for their respective home countries.
--LHP Jon Lester has been working diligently to improve the command and frequency with which he uses his changeup. The pitch would obviously make his powerful 96 mph fastball all the more devastating when he can mix in a change of pace, but it might also allow him to shy away from overusing a cut fastball that can sometimes stress a pitcher's elbow. "I'm not trying to have the best changeup in the league," Lester said. "I'm just trying to get a changeup that's effective and one I can throw behind in the count, or whenever we need to." --3B Mike Lowell is running at 75-80 percent, according to Red Sox manager Terry Francona, and is continuing to make progress while attempting to come back from right hip surgery. Lowell has been consistently taking batting practice and fielding grounders at third base, and Francona indicated that they will continue to throw things at him as he returns to full health. "He's trying to do a little more," Francona said. "Take groundballs, maybe a little longer. A little bit more throwing. It's trying to increase not just the intensity of the workouts, but stretch him out, too, time-wise. There's no favor or anything. When he's ready to play, we'll play him."
--RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka had a rough start to his spring in his first start with the Japanese entry in the World Baseball Classic, giving up five hits and two runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Australian team. Matsuzaka, who has been training with his former Seibu Lions team in Japan, struck out the side in the first inning, but got knocked around for three hits in the second inning. "There were good points and bad points," Matsuzaka said. "I'll work hard to get ready for the actual games."
--RHP Takashi Saito said that he isn't experiencing any issues with his right elbow this spring after missing time last season because of elbow problems. If healthy, he could be a huge component at the back end of the bullpen and could significantly ease the burden on RHP Jonathan Papelbon. "I'm not experiencing any problems with the elbow," Saito said through translator Masa Hoshino. "I don't have any limitations on my pitches."
BY THE NUMBERS: 14 -- The number of players within the Red Sox organization that qualified for the finalized World Baseball Classic roster. It is the second-highest total in the majors behind the New York Mets.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Now that he's healthy, I think he'd like to go back and have some Ortiz-esque numbers." -- Red Sox manager Terry Francona, talking about DH David Ortiz's potential for having a big bounce-back season after watching him hit bombs in batting practice.
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