Arroyo, Youkilis and Steroids

Arroyo would rather start, but understands why he'll be in the pen. "I feel like I can be effective out of the 'pen, throwing the breaking ball for strikes so much. I'm comfortable in either role. I think I've pitched enough out of the 'pen to be effective, and I think I can be effective as a starter. Whatever this team needs is what I'm going to have to do."

He should get a decent amount of starts this year, however. In 2004, five pitchers -- Pedro, Schilling, Lowe, Wakefield and Arroyo -- logged all but five of Boston's starts. The other five were from: BH Kim (3), Pedro Astacio (1) and Abe Alvarez (1). Amazing.

With Schilling returning from ankle surgery, Wells's balky back, and Wade Miller's shoulder -- and anything else that might come along -- getting the five-man rotation to start 157 games again is highly unlikely.

Kevin Youkilis would rather be on the Boston bench than playing every day in Pawtucket. "I'm turning 26 this year, it's not like I'm a young prospect of 22. ... If you're not playing every day and you sit back and watch the game, you learn more about this game and how it works, a little more in detail." Yook's chances of making the roster improved with the news that Roberto Petagine will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus and drain fluid in his left knee. He'll miss 4-6 weeks.

Curt Schilling was served a subpoena to attend a hearing about steroid use before a House Committee March 17 in Washington, DC. Schilling said he would testify at the hearing, and added that it's "not very" likely that he will pitch Opening Day. ... Elsewhere in camp, between six and 12 Red Sox players were randomly chosen for steroid testing. Doug Mirabelli, Bill Mueller and David Ortiz were tested; Johnny Damon said he was not.

According to Ortiz, "All they are going to find is a lot of rice and beans." ... As Jose Melendez noted in today's Keys to the Game: "David ... Big Papi ... muchacho, it is NOT normal to have rice and beans in your urine. Please get that checked out immediately before you find a steak in there."