01:00 AM EST on Thursday, March 16, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- There figures to be plenty of interest in David Wells' outing today. Some of it will be on the part of the Red Sox; some of it will be on the part of teams interested in dealing for him.

About a half-dozen teams are expected to watch Wells throw two innings in a simulated game at the club's minor-league complex. The Red Sox have let teams know that they are willing to listen to offers on Wells, who rescinded his trade request on March 4, but could still be dealt.

Wells hasn't faced hitters yet this spring as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.

The Sox -- and scouts from other clubs -- will be watching to see if Wells can field his position and cover first base on the surgically-repaired knee. There seems to be little worry about his arm strength.

In the meantime, the Sox hope Keith Foulke, another pitcher with knee issues, can throw to hitters again tomorrow or Saturday and get into a game by early next week.

The pecking order

It's far from definitive, but manager Terry Francona has been toying with using the following batting order, at least against right-handers: center fielder Coco Crisp, second baseman Mark Loretta, designated hitter David Ortiz, left field Manny Ramirez, right field Trot Nixon, catcher Jason Varitek, third baseman Mike Lowell, first baseman Kevin Youkilis and shortstop Alex Gonzalez.

Against lefties, the switch-hitting Varitek will move up to fifth and Dustan Mohr will see some action in place of Nixon, though it's unclear where he would hit.

Keeping the door open

The Sox are open to talking to John Flaherty about a position with the club now that his playing days are over.

"Anytime you can keep people like that in the game, it's good for the game," said Francona. "And anytime you can keep them in your organization, it's good for your organization."

Flaherty retired March 7. Francona talked to someone who saw the former catcher recently and reported that he was comfortable with his decision.

"He's really at peace [with retiring]," Francona said.

Good stuff

Back in Fort Myers, Tim Wakefield and Curt Schilling threw in a minor-league game. Wakefield pitched five innings, allowing a run on two hits with one walk, one wild pitch, one hit batsman and a strikeout while throwing 67 pitches, 44 for strikes.

Schilling, meanwhile, tossed six shutout innings, allowing four hits while walking one and striking out six. He threw 79 pitches, 67 strikes.

Holding the line

Teams had until midnight last night to release players on non-guaranteed deals and save themselves 5/6th of their salaries. The Sox chose not to do that with infielder Tony Graffanino, with whom they could have parted ways for approximately $350,000.

There's enough interest in Graffanino -- Marlins, Cubs, Mets -- that the Sox believe they can make a deal for him.

The next calendar date of note: March 30, the last date on which teams can release a player and pay just one-quarter of his salary.

Around the horn

Ramirez volunteered to make the trip across the state, and served as DH in the Red Sox' 3-1 loss to the Orioles. . . . Boston has now lost five in a row and seven of its last eight while compiling a 3-10 mark on the spring. . . . Adam Stern, showing no ill effects from last fall's shoulder surgery, made a strong throw from center on a flyout by Nick Markakis to freeze Jeff Conine at second. Conine had been ready to tag and advance to third. "I think they put a bionic chip in there or something," joked Stern. . . . Willie Harris, playing left field, doubled off Brandon Maresters at first in the fifth inning. . . . Right-hander David Pauley, who was hit hard last week by the Florida Marlins, fared much better yesterday, limiting the Orioles to two runs over four innings. . . . Swelled by many Red Sox fans on the East Coast of Florida -- a group that included principal owner John Henry -- the Sox played before the Orioles' largest crowd of the spring. . . . The Sox have a split-squad set for today, with one group hosting the Twins at home and another traveling to St. Petersburg to face Tampa Bay. Josh Beckett will pitch the home game and Jon Lester throws against the Devil Rays.

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