01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, March 14, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Matt Clement's first year with the Red Sox was really two seasons in one.

There was the promising first half, in which he went 10-2 and was rewarded with a spot on the American League All-Star Team staff. Then, there was the disappointing second half that began when Clement was struck in the head by a line drive on July 26 and ended with a disastrous Game One start in the American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox.

"I guess, in a way, you could think that," said Clement yesterday after tossing four shutout innings in the Sox' 10-inning, 7-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. "In the first half (3.85 E.R.A.), I was consistent. In the second half, I felt like the same guy even after I got hit in the head. It was a more inconsistent second half (5.72 E.R.A.) rather than a bad second half."

There's no arguing the merits of his final start, however. Clement was tagged for eight runs in 3 1/3 innings against the White Sox, setting the tone for a quick Red Sox exit from the playoffs.

It was a performance that had to stay with Clement all offseason.

"You hate to have it happen like that," he said. "I felt like I let the team down. You never want to leave that bad impression. You take a lot of pride in what you do. Ending like I did wasn't fun, but you don't dwell on it."

Clement has been throwing his sinker with more success this spring, and hopes it can give him another dependable weapon to go with his four-seam fastball, cut fastball and slider.

"I really didn't use it much the last two years," he said, "which is funny because it's the pitch that got me to the big leagues. I never wanted to get away from it, but you have success with other pitches and you lose the feel for it."

Fielding clinic

Alex Gonzalez turned in a fielding clinic at shortstop yesterday with two spectacular plays at the position.

Gonzalez ranged deep into the hole to snare a grounder by Willy Aybar, then topped that in the third when he ranged behind the second-base bag in the fourth to make a diving stop of a ball hit by Ramon Martinez. He then scampered to his feet, wheeled and fired to get him at first.

For good measure, Gonzalez homered to lead off the bottom of the third.

"Mike Lowell (who played with Gonzalez with the Marlins) was laughing in the dugout, saying, 'You're going to see that all year,' " said manager Terry Francona.

Added Clement, another former teammate: "You haven't seen anything yet," he said. "That's something you're going to see regularly. In Florida, everybody knows how good he is defensively. He's as good as you can get (at shortstop)."

13 players cut

The Sox made their first cuts of the spring, either optioning or returning 13 players to minor-league camp.

Optioned to Pawtucket were pitchers Jon Lester, Abe Alvarez, Edgar Martinez, Jermaine Van Buren and David Pauley, and outfielders Brandon Moss and David Murphy.

Lester and Pauley will continue to be pitch for the major-league club. Pauley will start tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale and Lester will pitch Thursday.

Reassigned to minor-league camp were pitchers Tim Bausher and Franklin Nunez, infielders Luis Jiminez, Rodney Nye and Josh Pressley and outfielder Tyler Minges.

Not counting Lester and Pauley, the moves leave the Sox with 47 players in camp.

A catcher is added

Short of available catchers in camp, the Sox have brought in Javier Cardona to provide some depth.

Cardona played parts of three seasons with Detroit, but has been out of the game since 2003, when he was released by the Chicago Cubs.

The Sox also have signed a catcher from the Australian National Team, which was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic late last week.

A clarification

Curt Schilling intends to call Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Tracey to clarify his comments made Saturday when he struck outfielder Chris Duffy in the helmet with a pitch.

Schilling said after the game that Duffy should have been in position to get out of the way. Duffy, who suffered a minor concussion and was taken to a nearby hospital for a CAT scan, said while he knew Schilling wasn't trying to hit him, the pitcher needed to "take responsibility" for the beaning.

Little, Epstein chat

Former Red Sox manager Grady Little, now the manager of the Dodgers, spoke with general manager Theo Epstein on the field for nearly 30 minutes. Little also signed autographs near the visitors' dugout. Introduced before the game when the Dodgers' lineup was announced, Little got a mixed reception, but the cheers clearly dominated the boos.

Around the bases

Coco Crisp charged a liner in the first inning, but had the ball pop out of his glove and was given an error. He more than made up for that miscue with a terrific diving catch to take away extra bases from Matt Kemp in the fourth. . . . Kevin Youkilis got his first start at third base this spring and committed an error on a grounder in the fifth.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340