HOUSTON -- For reasons no one can quite fathom, Rickey Henderson
hasn't signed his major-league contract, despite the fact the Red Sox purchased his contract from Pawtucket Wednesday and placed him on the 40-man roster.
Henderson agreed to a minor-league deal in mid-February, with an already-agreed upon major-league salary of $350,000. His signing was supposed to be a formality, a simple procedural matter, but Henderson was dragging his feet last night, claiming there were still "issues that haven't been completed," though he wouldn't elaborate.
"This is Rickey being Rickey," shrugged one club official with a smile.
"In my mind," said interim general manager Mike Port,
"we're not at a critical juncture. We prepared the contract for Rickey the same way we prepared them for Carlos Baerga
and Rey Sanchez
(who were on minor-league deals before making the team). It's a very simple matter -- the contract is there for him to sign."
Hermanson struggles
The Sox dropped a 5-1 decision to the Houston Astros last night in their next-to-last exhibition game of the spring.
Leading off the game, Johnny Damon
doubled off Roy Oswalt,
took second on one groundout, then scored on another to account for the only Red Sox run of the night.
Houston's Lance Berkman
smacked an opposite-field three-run homer in the first off Red Sox starter Dustin Hermanson.
An RBI-single from Jeff Bagwell
pushed the lead to 4-1.
Hermanson left after five innings, having allowed three hits while walking three more and surrendering four runs. He was followed to the mound by Tim Wakefield,
who yielded a solo homer to Berkman, the first batter he faced upon entering the game in the sixth.
The numbers game
On the eve of the opener, several Red Sox personnel changed uniform numbers.
The switches: Henderson goes from No. 12 to No. 35; pitching coach Tony Cloninger
goers from No. 36 to No. 40; Little from No. 43 to No. 3; bullpen coach Bob Kipper
from No. 58 to No. 16; Darren Oliver
goes from No. 35 to No. 36.
Also, Luis Aguayo,
who will be with the team during the season as an extra instructor, wil wear No. 58.
Around the bases
The Astros have eliminated any reference to Enron at their third-year ballpark. For the facility is being called Astros Field until the club can sell the naming rights to another corporate benefactor. . . . Manny Ramirez,
who spent the last two days attending to personal business on the East Coast of Florida, rejoined the team but wasn't in the starting lineup. He will play today. . . . Pedro Martinez
had a side session in Fort Myers in anticipation of his start Monday. He threw about 50 pitches, according to Little. Martinez will fly to Boston today. . . . Pitcher Rolando Arrojo
didn't make the trip here. He was with his son who underwent surgery in Florida. He, too, will meet the team in Boston. . . . Newly-hired assistant GM Theo Epstein
was with the club and spent most of the afternoon introducing himself to players and staff. . . . Relievers Ugueth Urbina
and Rich Garces
are unlikely to see action in either game. . . . Principal owner John Henry
was in attendance. . . . The Sox have been contacted by the agent for catcher Todd Greene,
looking for a Triple-A deal. But the Sox want a more defense-oriented catcher for depth in the minors. They are, however, interested in outfielder Karim Garcia,
released earlier this week by Cleveland. Jose Canseco
's agent also called, but the Sox have no interest in a second go-round with the muscle-bound slugger.
