Wakefield Says His Shoulder Is Healthy

The morning after Tim Wakefield pitched in Game 4 of the ALCS against Cleveland, he was in pain:

I went to get out of bed, I couldn't even pull the covers off of me. It hurt that bad.

He was told he had "a slap (superior labral anterior posterior) tear" in his right labrum and was replaced on the World Series roster by Jon Lester. Now, Wakefield says he's healthy. With 154 wins, he needs 39 more victories to become the Red Sox all-time leader, passing Cy Young and Fat Billy.

Julian Tavarez was surprised, and happy, that Boston picked up his 2008 option:

I come to spring training and I say, 'Hello. Good morning. How are things going?' And they said, 'You have a chance to be No. 5 in the rotation.' ... I asked somebody what was going on. I don't read the newspapers in the offseason.

Mike Timlin was asked if he had ever been offered performance-enhancing drugs:

No, never have. Since I never had that chance to say no, I don't know if I would have said no. ... [Pettitte] used it in probably the same way I would have used it had I had the availability to it ... There are cells throughout your body that are receptive to it and it's going to give you a youth feel.

Benjamin:

John Farrell told the Japanese media that Josh Beckett will make his first start of the spring on Feb. 28, against Boston College. Daisuke Matsuzaka will not throw until the next day, on Feb. 29, at the Twins ballpark.