--DH David Ortiz said he wouldn't treat a teammate too kindly if he ever caught him flashing pitch signs to the opposing team, as Alex Rodriguez is purported to have done during his big-league baseball career, according to a new book about the Yankees superstar. "I heard about that the other day. And I don't know how that can happen. Especially A-Rod -- from what I know about him, he's a guy that he plays the game. I'm not saying that he didn't, but I don't see how that can happen," Ortiz told the Providence Journal.
--RHP John Smoltz said that the original target date for his big league return has been pushed back from June 1 to some point in mid-June after the 41-year-old starter suffered a setback in his throwing program recently. Smoltz met with Sox trainers in St. Petersburg during the weekend series with the Rays to get examined and map out a new rehab schedule from last June's shoulder surgery. "It would be one thing if this was a situation where one pitch looked good or not anything executed was better," said Smoltz, who added he would require three minor league rehab starts before returning. "That's the known. Now it's just a case of getting out there and, as these guys had the pleasure of doing, going through normal spring training." --OF Mark Kotsay suffered a setback in his first rehab appearance with Class AAA Pawtucket (R.I.) on Sunday afternoon, according to the Providence Journal. In his second at-bat, Kotsay grounded a ball to shortstop but then appeared to come up lame while running down the baseline toward first. The injury was revealed as a right calf strain, and Kotsay was immediately pulled from the game following the setback. Kotsay is on the 15-day disabled list while rehabbing from off-season back surgery, and was on schedule to return to the Sox within days following the weekend rehab assignment. It's unclear how the new calf problem will affect Kotsay's previous timetable.
BY THE NUMBERS: 6 -- The number of stolen bases that OF Carl Crawford managed against C Jason Varitek and the Sox pitching staff during a Sunday afternoon loss in Tampa Bay. The Rays stolen eight as a team to set a franchise record against the Sox.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This is my seventh year here. If you don't know me at this point, what can I tell you? Who you been watching, the Anaheim Angels? You know what I'm saying? It will come. It will come. I'm finally relaxing now." -- DH David Ortiz, talking about his power struggles at the beginning of the 2009 season.
