01:00 AM EST on Sunday, March 20, 2005

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Manager Terry Francona confirmed yesterday what everyone had assumed for the last 10 days -- that David Wells would be the Red Sox' choice to pitch the team's season opener April 3 in New York.

Wells replaces Curt Schilling, who underwent ankle surgery last November and is a couple weeks behind the rest of the pitchers in camp.

Wells will be followed in the rotation by Matt Clement, Tim Wakefield and Bronson Arroyo. Clement and Wakefield will pitch the second and third games of the season, against the Yankees, while Arroyo will pitch April 8 in Toronto.

That leaves Wakefield as the team's starter in the home opener, April 11, when the Sox host the Yankees and hoist their championship banner.

"Wells has pitched in Yankee Stadium a lot," said Francona. "He's a veteran. I just think we're setting it up best for our staff, having David take the ball the first night."

Thanks to scheduled off-days, the Sox won't need a fifth starter until April 17, by which time it's expected that Schilling will be ready to be activated.

A whole new level

Clement pitched four innings yesterday and allowed three runs -- all in his final inning of work.

"I'm pretty happy with the way I'm throwing the ball," he said. "I just kind of hit the wall in that last inning."

Clement looks forward to pitching the second game of the season at Yankee Stadium.

"I'm excited," Clement said. "That's why I came here -- to pitch those kind of games. It's an honor to pitch any of those first three games."

He has experienced the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry, the last three as a member of the Cubs, but believes the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry is at another level.

"This is a little different," he said. "The Cubs and Cardinals don't play in the playoffs (the way the Sox and Yankees have met in the ALCS three times in the last six postseasons). That alone, plus the history that goes back to before I was born, (makes this more intense)."

Drawing a blank

The Sox were blanked by the Orioles, 8-0, yesterday, with Boston managing just five hits.

After Clement was charged with three runs in the fourth, Lenny DiNardo had a rough eighth inning, giving up four more runs without recording an out.

Tim Bausher, meanwhile, pitched two scoreless innings and continues to impress the Sox.

An inning for Kim

Byung-Hyun Kim, who had a side session yesterday, will pitch an inning in Bradenton today, his first appearance in more than a week after missing time because of the flu.

Francona said yesterday morning that, despite last year's lost season, Kim still could be a contributor to the club this season.

"As much as talk about (past problems), he can help us win games," the manager said. "He's tough on right-handers, he's deceptive (with his delivery), he can start or relieve. . . . He can be valuable to the club. We just haven't seen a lot this spring because he hasn't been healthy."

Around the bases

Josias Manzanillo was returned to minor-league camp yesterday and given permission to seek a job elsewhere. Manzanillo, who signed with the Sox as a 16-year-old, then returned to the organization this offseason, was a non-roster invitee. That leaves the Sox with 48 players in camp, with Opening Day two weeks from tonight. . . . Manny Ramirez was a last-minute scratch from the lineup, replaced in left field by David McCarty. Ramirez told Francona his back had stiffened up after a session in the weight room and a round of batting practice. . . . Johnny Damon, battling cellulitis and taking antibiotics, is "doing better," according to Francona. . . . Trot Nixon, who missed a few days because of the flu, wanted to return to the lineup yesterday but was held out until today as a precaution.