Red Sox Notes: Wright's knee passes test, but knuckler needs work; Kimbrel wows minor leaguers

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- While the Red Sox' varsity was seeing its nine-game win streak come to an end in Sarasota with a 10-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, a couple of veteran Red Sox pitchers were getting some important work in a minor league game.

Some thoughts:



Steven Wright's knee is doing better, but his knuckleball still needs some work.

Wright threw four innings in an outing against some Orioles minor leaguers and walked four while giving up four runs on six hits.

"If you at the results, it wasn't very good,'' said Wright. "But it's kind of hard for me to get caught up in that when it's the first game. For me, obviously, I'm going out there and trying to compete but it's also still a test. I'm still in that rehab stage of trying to get the knee used to adrenaline and the ups-and-downs.  I came out on that side pretty satisfied, but obviously, I didn't feel like I had good stuff.''

Wright acknowledged the action on his knuckler "wasn't that good,'' although he threw some he was satisfied with in the final inning.

For the time being, he's appears to be struggling with the mental aspect of trusting his surgically repaired knee.

"It's really hard not to think about it,'' he said. "I have to fight through it (mentally), knowing that the knee itself is fine, there's still some discomfort. Part of that may be that it's been like that for over a year.''

Despite his uncertainty over the knee and the knuckleball needing some work, Wright doesn't think it's out of the question for him to start the fourth game of the season, April 1, at Tropicana Field.

"I think (it's feasible),'' he said. "Obviously, we're running out of days. It's one of those things that I don't think you can rule it out. There's still some unknowns, but right now, I feel there's a pretty good chance (I could make that start).''

Wright has yet to hear anything further from Major League Baseball on any potential discipline stemming from his arrest for domestic assault last December. The charge was later vacated, but MLB could still deem a suspension is in order.

"I try not to think about it,'' said Wright. "When MLB comes out with (whatever they rule), we'll just go from there. Right now, my focus is more on getting healthy and making sure that when I do get the opportunity to go out there and pitch, that my focus is on that. Right now, honestly I haven't even thought about it.''

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Pity the poor Orioles minor leaguers. First, they had to face Wright's fluttering knuckleball, which usually tops out at about 70 mph. Then, when Wright was done, the next inning, in came fireballing Craig Kimbrel, whose fastball is often in the upper 90s.

Kimbrel struck out all three hitters he faced and the young hitters were so overmatched, they could be heard laughing in their dugout, reflecting the sheer helplessness they felt in the box.

"Overall, it was pretty productive,'' said Kimbrel, who hadn't faced opposing hitters this spring after spending much of the last three weeks back in Boston attending to his infant daughter, who has undergone two heart surgeries in four and a half months. "I took my inning today like I was going in (to a save situation). Every pitch had conviction and I had a purpose for every pitch. I wasn't just throwing it up there.''

The plan calls for Kimbrel to get into his first Grapefruit League setting on Sunday against the Twins, then pitching against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday.