"He''s a great kid, man, it''s so sad hearing what happened with him," said Red Sox catcher Luis Exposito, who met Westmoreland in spring training last year and became friendly with him at the team''s rookie development program this past January.

Although the A-Rod deal fell through, the talks upset Garciaparra, and an Achilles'' injury that kept him out until June the next season didn''t help his mood. Nor did the fact that the market for shortstops had plummeted since he rejected the Red Sox''s four-year, $60 million offer.

There goes NJtribefan again, giving us his flowery prognostications. If he only knew what the Red Sox know about probability of prospect hitting at the ML level he''d know his statement is absurd. He''d also know that what the Indians are doing is throwing as much XXXX at the barn and hoping one piece of it sticks.

"He had a thing the other day when we were over in Port St. Lucie," manager Terry Francona said after the Red Sox [team stats] beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-4, yesterday. "He wasn't feeling really good, so we had him checked out with the doctor.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Jed Lowrie last played in a game on Thursday and hasn''t been available for any of the three contests since that game against the Mets in St. Lucie. The only problem is the Red Sox aren''t exactly sure what''s ailing the infielder. #st_include_container{margin-right:10px;} #st_include_container{width:260px;border:1px solid #000;padding-bottom:7px;overflow:auto;float:left;} #st_include_container h5{background:url(''/images/spring_training/y2010/hdr_includes/hdr_bos_260x80_st10inc.jpg'') no-repeat;width:260px;height:80px;text-indent:-9999em;} #st_include_container h6{font-size:12px;padding-left:5px;margin:5px 0;} #st_include_container ul li{font-size:11px;padding-left:10px;margin-left:4px;} #st_include_container ul.video_gray li{padding-left:22px;} #st_include_container ul.st_info li{float:left;}

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- By his own account, this has been a long, stressful spring for Jason Varitek. The captain returned to the Red Sox on Thursday following five days away to tend to his father, Joseph, who is ill. Getting back behind the plate on Sunday was a perfect, if temporary, respite from all of that. "It''s exciting to be back out there and do things," Varitek said. "Getting out there was nice with everything that''s been going on. It was nice to get on the field."

Josh Hamilton promised his oldest daughter a home run on her birthday and delivered when he hit his first home run of the spring, a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning, in the Rangers'' 9-3 loss to the Diamondbacks. ...Kevin Slowey threw three perfect innings for the Twins, but Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis drove in fifth-inning runs for the Red Sox in a 6-4 victory. ... Stephen Strasburg pitched three scoreless innings but the Nationals fell to 0-10 in exhibition play with a 7-3 loss to the Cardinals.

Westmoreland, 19, was drafted in the fifth round out of Portsmouth High School in 2008. He considered attending Vanderbilt University, but committed to the Red Sox after they offered a $2-million signing bonus.

The drama of the Red Sox''s 3-2 win over the Pirates on Saturday peaked during the final play of the game, a whirlwind of alert defense that left many observers wondering whether the contest had ended with a triple play or simply a prolonged double play. With no outs in the top of the ninth inning and visiting Pittsburgh trailing by a run, Gorkys Hernandez stepped up against right-hander Michael Bowden. Brandon Jones was on first base after drawing a walk that moved Jonathan Van Every, who had been hit by a pitch leading off the inning, to second.

NOTES: Twins bench coach Steve Liddle has returned home from the hospital and has been cleared to return to the team. He had been hospitalized with chest pains on Friday. ... Twins closer Joe Nathan, who might miss the season with an elbow injury, did not work out with the team Sunday because of an illness. ... Red Sox IF Jed Lowrie is out with an illness. "He just wasn''t feeling real good," Francona said. "So we had him checked out by the doctor. We just want to run him through some tests before we get him back on the field. We''ve been doing that the last couple of days."

Out of respect to Westmoreland's family, the Red Sox have said little beyond confirming the diagnosis and the timeline of events, which began on March 4 when he left camp. He was diagnosed at Mass. General a day later, made three trips to experts around the country, and will have surgery tomorrow.

FORT MYERS, Fla. ? Red Sox players friendly with stricken prospect Ryan Westmoreland said the 19-year-old outfielder learned of his rare brain condition after experiencing a series of headaches and other symptoms while working out at the minor league camp last month.

It''s a reasonable expectation that when camp breaks here on April 1, the Red Sox will leave Matsuzaka behind in Fort Myers. That would provide a temporary solution to how the Sox intend to fit six starters into five slots. The team still has five healthy starters -- Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield.

The Red Sox scratched starter Josh Beckett [stats] because of an illness. Minor league reliever Ryne Miller took his place and gave up three first-inning runs.

FORT MYERS, Fla. ?? The Red Sox made their first major cutdowns of the spring Sunday, shipping 12 players out of major-league camp and down to the minor-league facility. For the most part, they were depth players or prospects not yet ready for the majors.

FORT MYERS, Fla. ? The Red Sox had resigned themselves to Daisuke Matsuzaka starting the season on the disabled list when he reported to camp a month ago with a sore back. But the hope was he would be ready to take his place in the rotation two weeks into the season.

They had a golden chance for more in the ninth, but it ended in a triple play: Jonathan Van Every was hit by a pitch, and Brandon Jones walked to open it. Gorkys Hernandez lined out to the shortstop, who flipped to the second baseman to force out Van Every. The Red Sox then hung up Jones between first and second for what would be scored a 6-4-2-4 triple play.

"I was very happy with the way it was handled as far as the media and the Red Sox," Lester said. "I think I probably would have dealt with (my treatments) the same, (but) it''s just one less thing you have to deal with."

Starters are expected to have at least 25 innings under their belt in the spring. Matsuzaka hasn't thrown a pitch this preseason, and Opening Day is three weeks away. The fact that the Red Sox don't need a fifth starter until mid-April made it unnecessary for the team to rush him back.

"It's always a crap shoot for the agent and the player,'' said a prominent agent. "If, after these initial talks, Beckett rolls the dice and decides to wait, he risks 1. having a down season or possible injury, which could jeopardize a long-term deal, and 2. the possibility the market isn't going to be what he thinks. The Red Sox could wait and see a possible lowering of the price, but it appears they're more than willing to pay the money.''