No WBC For Manny; Trot Hitting 5th?

Manny Ramirez will not play in the World Baseball Classic. John Henry: "We want to support the baseball classic, but it's actually a plus for us that he's coming here March 1 and not playing there."

The team held its first full-squad workout today.

Mark Loretta, who discussed coming to Boston with Theo Epstein after the 2002 season, on playing in the Hub:

I'm excited. I think it's a great time in my career to experience this. I'm excited to experience East Coast baseball, and Yankees-Red Sox and a chance to win a World Series with a traditional team. ... Fenway should work well for me. I'm not really a dead pull hitter. In fact, I like to [use the] middle and the right side of the field, and what's great about Fenway is there's a lot of room in right-center. I'm going to try and hit the ball where it's pitched, and if someone tries to come inside, use the Monster.

Loretta says his Padre teammate Dave Roberts gave him the scoop on playing in Boston. ... Jason Varitek on Loretta and JT Snow: "I've heard Snow is a phenomenal teammate. I played against Loretta in the interleague games and he was phenomenal. They're pretty much guys who have a reputation for being good in the clubhouse. Good people to play with."

Keith Foulke had another impressive mound session. Catcher Josh Bard: "I think he looked strong. He looks healthy. He was throwing all his pitches for strikes." ... Terry Francona said that Trot Nixon may bat fifth against right-handers. I've always wanted to see him in the #2 spot. Here are his OBPs against righties for the past four years: .348, .423, .397, .483.