Here is a look at the rest of the news out of spring training on Friday at the Red Sox camp in Ft. Myers. We got most of the big news out of the way earlier so we will take a look at things a little different.

Image from the Boston Globe.

Jeff Horrigan has a nice article about the other Japanese import, Hideki Okajima.

Even though much of the focus has been on Daisuke Matsuzaka, pitching coach John Farrell said the Red Sox other Japanese pitcher, Hideki Okajima, also could end up playing an invaluable role on the revamped staff.

Okajima, who signed a two-year, $2.5 million contract after going 2-2 with a 2.14 ERA in 55 relief appearances for the Nippon Ham Fighters, is expected to join J.C. Romero as one of two left-handed relievers in the Red Sox bullpen.

The 31-year-old Okajima, who has impressed so far with his command of the fastball and breaking pitches, is expected to face hitters for the first time in batting practice during today’s workout.

I would have to think that he is going to make the team. I really think the Red Sox want to do everything possible to have Matsuzaka comfortable with his surroundings. With Okajima, they are getting that and more. They are getting a reliever who will help them in the bullpen. Usually lefties face lefties, but reports out of spring training are saying that Okajima can also be effective against righties.

Tony Masserotti at the Boston Herald has a nice piece about Mike Lowell and how he goes out of his way with everyone in the clubhouse.

While Lowell’s performance exceeded expectations, his value proved even greater.

Lowell emerged as a stable, solidifying presence on a Sox club that plummeted in the standings in the final two months of the season, and he did it by crossing lines that are typically drawn throughout baseball and all of professional sports.

An example?

Raised by Cuban parents, Lowell is fluent in both English and Spanish, so he communicates with teammates in their native tongues.

David Ortiz gets a buenos dias, Jason Varitek gets a hello.

And in a game where clubhouse cliques frequently develop, Lowell is one of the few players who can step across the boundaries without the slightest difficulty.

Do not misunderstand.

In clubhouses and locker rooms, cliques are common; Spanish-speaking players often gravitate to Spanish-speaking players, and English-speaking players similarly are drawn to one another. Those relationships are frequently built on comfort and an ability to communicate, which is one reason why the Red Sox acquired Japanese reliever Hideki Okajima to flank starter and $103 million man Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Having been around professional baseball clubhouses, I can tell you that this is true. Usually the clubhouses are set up so that all the Spanish-speaking players are together and other friends on the team are usually next to people they know. After all, they will be spending a lot of time with each other. It is good though to see Lowell’s character. With him being able to fit in and make everyone comfortable around him, it can only bode well for the Red Sox. With all the characters in the Red Sox clubhouse, a nice stabilizing force is what this team needs.

Continue reading more spring training news after the jump.

Matt Clement met with the media for the first time during spring training today. As most Red Sox fans will remember, Clement suffered thru a rough season last year that ended with him having shoulder surgery. Most people thought he just sucked but when he had surgery a lot of damage was found as evidenced from this article from the redsox.com.

Distraught, Clement packed his stuff and went to Birmingham, Ala., where he had a consultation with Dr. James Andrews, one of the most renowned orthopedists in the history of sports.

Initially, even Andrews didn’t get a clear read on what was going on with Clement. He passed the strength tests. Clement’s MRI exam didn’t look all that out of the ordinary for a man closing in on 1,500 innings.

It was then that Andrews recommended arthroscopic surgery. At least then he could get inside Clement’s shoulder and pinpoint the problem.

Six incisions and several hours later, it was clear that Clement’s right shoulder was worse than anyone could have known. Damage was repaired in both Clement’s labrum and rotator cuff.

“It was a scope, that was the best news about the whole thing,” said Clement. “There’s a bunch of holes in there. I woke up and he told me everything I had wrong, and I was like, ‘Geez.’ I was half out of it, thinking, ‘I’m in pretty big trouble here.’ He said, ‘No, I did a heck of a job on that arm; you’re going to be fine.'”

With the abundance of starting pitching the Red Sox already have and the young starters in the minors, it will be interesting to see how Clement is used once he is major league ready. This may not happen til September when roster’s expand but nonetheless still will be interesting how he is used, especially seeing where the Red Sox stand in September (I am hoping for first place and 10 game lead over the Yankees).

I have been searching for this little bit of information but I can’t remember where I read it. It has to do with one of the reasons, the Red Sox didn’t offer Curt Schilling an extension. With three 26 year olds (Papelbon, Matsuzaka, Beckett), Jon Lester and with some other young talented pitching prospects coming up, the Red Sox will definitely want to wait on Schilling. It really is bothering me that I can’t find the article but that was the jist of it. Next time I promise I will bookmark it when I know I am going to write about something later.

David Ortiz was on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan on Friday morning and had a lot of interesting things to say. If you would like to listen to the interview, you can listen below.

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Ortiz with Dennis & Callahan
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That’s all for the Red Sox news from Friday. I would like to pass on one more article even though it is Yankees related. It is actually pretty amusing. The reason it’s funny to me is that it has to deal with the mile high popups and multimillionaires having trouble catching them.

For about 15 hilarious minutes, some of the highest-paid baseball players in history could not catch simple pop-ups, as the fans at Legends Field joined the in the laughter.

“The machine has two wheels, and one was set faster than the other,” manager Joe Torre said. “It took a few minutes to get it set right.”

The baseballs shot upward from home plate had a weird backspin and proved impossible to judge and catch, especially with a very high sky and little breeze. The first one, out to left field, completely fooled Hideki Matsui, who started in, then raced back and couldn’t catch up to it on the warning track.

“I thought Matsui was going to take one off the coconut,” Torre said.

To see the rest of this article click here.

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