Rain Tonight? With "cloudy skies and fitful spits of drizzle" in Fort Myers this afternoon, tonight's game against the Twins could be washed out. A decision is unlikely until close to gametime (7pm).

Terry Francona says Byung-Hyun Kim's velocity is returning. "Not back to where he was in Arizona [92-93 mph] but back to where he's throwing 88-90, which his probably good enough. The crispness has been there." ... Wasn't Kim already throwing in the high 80s when he was getting slapped around last year?

Johnny Damon's book, "Idiot: Beating 'The Curse' and Enjoying the Game of Life" (written with Peter Golenbock), arrives April 4. "They wanted someone who was honest to kind of tell what went on during the course of the year. ... It took about 25 hours. We had it done by Dec. 20. The rough draft was out in the middle of January. ... It's a combination 2004 miracle season and my days with Oakland, a few of my early days, some days when I was younger."

Manny Ramirez and Bronson Arroyo did not attend yesterday's World Series ceremony at the White House. ... Arroyo's CD "Covering The Bases" will be released on July 12. ... In Sapporo, Japan, Gabe Kapler hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat of the preseason as the Yomiuri Giants defeated the Nippon Ham Fighters, 4-3. ... Steinbrenner: "Losing that series was very hard. Very hard. I hate to lose. I'm a very bad loser. And I hope my men feel the same way this year. I just hope we get out there and get the job done."

Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch reported yesterday that Boston Dirt Dog's scoop that Nomar Garciaparra didn't want his World Series ring was a hoax. ... Allen has a brief follow-up today; BDD has not yet weighed in.