Smoltz: 40 Fastballs

John Smoltz threw 40 pitches -- all fastballs -- off a mound in Fort Myers this morning. Beforehand, Terry Francona said:

He's excited, because now it's real. It's scheduled, it's there. He'll start trying to follow the glove a little bit. He was all fired up today. He said, "It's time to reintroduce myself to the strike zone."

The DH-less Red Sox play the Reds at 1 PM:

Jason Bay, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
J.D. Drew, RF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Mike Lowell, 3B
Jason Varitek, C
Chip Ambres, CF
Argenis Diaz, SS
Clay Buchholz, P

Tim Wakefield had a great outing (5.2-4-1-1-5) against the Yankees last night -- though New York ran away with the game 7-1 in the eighth inning. George Kottaras was solid behind the plate:

Just trying not to have the anxiety of letting it go by you. Just taking as it is, like with nobody on, basically. Still trying to catch them all and keep them in front. You can only work on it so much. Once you're in the game, it's a different feel, because you don't know what the ball is going to do.

Wake was pleased:

He showed a little more assertiveness, calling some slow ones and mixing in different speeds - on his call, not mine. He just did a fabulous job.

Jon Lester threw 91 pitches in a minor league game yesterday, allowing 10 hits and four runs over six innings. He struck out three. ... Francona says Mark Kotsay is "progressing real well" with his back surgery rehab and might be swinging a bat next week.