For Now, Red Sox Are Talking Only Baseball

Mike Boddicker strolled into the clubhouse carrying not a bag of baseballs, but a red-and-white polka-dot diaper bag.

Jeff Sellers, now a Cincinnati Red, paid a visit to the Boston Red Sox’s clubhouse, just to say hello. First-base coach Al Bumbry stuck his head out the door and, seeing Red Sox Manager Joe Morgan doing the question and answer bit with the media, said, “Look at you. You were in the same position the last time I saw you. You’re still talking.”

The difference is that this is spring training--rather, pre-spring training--not the hustle and bustle of the American League Championship Series. Morgan’s sessions with the media no longer include questions about Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire; instead, Morgan was able to indulge in typical spring training happyspeak the other day (“I like our pitching,” “We’ll hit more home runs”) and, in case there was someone in the crowd who hasn’t heard them, he dredged out some of his old minor-league stories.

The Red Sox’s spring training base will got an adrenalin shot Friday when pitchers and catchers report, and the place will be hopping this week when the rest of the squad straggles in.

For now, though, Winter Haven is sleepy, and the controversy is on hold. Roger Clemens, the multimillionaire right-hander, has had his contract problem worked out. Wade Boggs isn’t in camp yet and Penthouse isn’t in the stands, so that controversy is on hold.

Nor has Mike Greenwell, who wants $1.9 million for the next two years, arrived. Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd’s long-shot quest to make money through arbitration--he will seek $700,000 in his hearing Friday in New York--is another issue on hold.

“For now,” Morgan said, “we don’t have any problems. There are certainly going to be some negative things going on down here, but I don’t think that, overall, it’s going to be that bad. We won a division title last year. We’re the defending champions. And you know what? I think we can win it again. I really do.”

To prove his point, the manager of the Red Sox pulled out a crumpled newspaper clipping from his shirt pocket. The clipping was a mangled portion of some writer’s feature on Oakland Athletics relief ace Dennis Eckersley, and Morgan was particularly interested in a quote in which Eckersley sang the praises of hard work and determination.

Morgan used this to help answer a question about the kind of camp he would run in this, his first spring training as a major-league manager.

“Camp will be run so that the guys will learn something about baseball. We’ll go over things and we’ll keep going over things,” Morgan said. “Everyone will be working hard, I can tell you that. But that doesn’t mean we won’t have fun. We’ll have some fun down here too.”

Even if Boyd throws a temper tantrum if he loses his arbitration hearing? Even if Greenwell doesn’t get his money? Even if Margo Adams’ tell-all expose in Penthouse does, indeed, tell all? “Like I said, I don’t think it will be that bad,” Morgan said.

So while the controversies wait, Morgan is able to talk, for now, about nothing but baseball. Among his comments:

--The notion that Rice must have an exceptional spring to remain with the Red Sox: “Not true,” Morgan said. “He’s not on trial. Sometimes spring numbers are overrated. Some guy has a great spring, you keep him on the team and you get nothing. You vow you’ll never make that mistake again, but you always do. Jimmy just has to do his work, and he’s doing it.”

--On the Red Sox’s need for a left-handed starter: “I’d like to have one, but if one doesn’t come down the pike we’ll go with five right-handers. I’d rather do that than use a left-hander who can’t do the job.”

--On the Red Sox’s home run production: “We’ll definitely hit more home runs this year. We had some guys who didn’t hit as many last year as they can, and getting (Nick) Esasky is going to help.”