FORT MYERS, Fla. -- If Abe Alvarez were anyone else, he might be entering training camp with a surly attitude and an angry chip on his shoulder the size of the Green Monster.

If Abe Alvarez were anyone else, he would be extremely jealous of young pitching prodigies Jonathan Papelbon and Jon Lester because, truth be told, on the food chain of Boston Red Sox prospects, Alvarez was above both of them not too long ago.

But that's not Abe Alvarez's style, even if the left-hander is virtually a forgotten man in camp, sliced from the team's 40-man roster.

Alvarez's personality actually mirrors the way he pitches.

He's under control emotionally, featuring a laid-back, soft-spoken mentality off the field that manifests itself on the mound in a relatively soft-throwing arsenal of pitches. He needs pinpoint control to be successful.

A few years ago, Alvarez, the Sox' second-round pick in the 2003 draft (Papelbon was selected in the fourth round that year), was on the cusp of major league life. The then rising star was plucked from Double A Portland to make a start for Boston on July 22, 2004, against Baltimore.

Now, though, Alvarez is struggling to put his Red Sox pitching career back together, trying to reopen some eyes after a difficult 2006 season.

Alvarez got off to a hot start with Pawtucket (5-0, 2.18), was battered in one three-plus-inning stint in Philadelphia on May 21 (5 hits, 4 runs, 2 home runs), then struggled badly after returning the PawSox (1-9, 7.58). He finished the season on the disabled list, the result of a broken bone in his right ankle from an off-field mishap, leading to surgery and the insertion of a plate and seven screws.

The Sox, needing room on their roster, trimmed Alvarez, who ultimately re-signed with Boston after receiving an invitation to training camp. Alvarez figured re-signing was his best option given the fact that he was coming off an injury and teams weren't exactly heating up his agent's phone lines with requests for a rehabbing pitcher with only nine days of big-league service time spread over three years.

So there was Alvarez yesterday, four days before the Sox' first official pitchers-and-catchers workout of the spring, getting in some early work while getting his ankle back in shape.

"All that's different from the last two years is that I'm off the roster,'' said Alvarez evenly. "I still have to show that I can pitch and get people out, show that even if I'm not one of the top guys or in the mix of guys, that I can compete.''

It's not as if Alvarez is a grizzled veteran. He's still only 24 years old, though because he has been on the fringe of the big leagues it might seem as if he must be a lot older.

"I pitched with a lot of these (younger guys in camp). I came up faster, but they're catching up to me on the fast track. And now I have to get over the hump,'' said Alvarez.

For the first month last year, it looked as if Alvarez was about to do just that. He was pitching very well in Pawtucket, but then his rhythm was broken by a string of rainouts. By the time he was called in from the bullpen to relieve Lenny DiNardo in Philadelphia, he hadn't pitched in two weeks. He was rusty, and he got lit up, though he refused to use the layoff as an excuse.

After that outing, he was told he was being demoted after a three-day stay in the bigs. It was enough to send anyone's head spinning, even a seemingly mellow, even-keel personality such as Alvarez. His later performances suggested a mental letdown leading to fat pitches in the strike zone for opposing hitters.

"Of course I was disappointed the way the season went. I had the injury, the numbers were awful. But I thought I was pitching better at the end and would end the season the way I started it,'' said Alvarez.

"You have to try to put (the Philly start, the quick demotion) behind you, but as they say, the mental part is about 90 percent of the game,'' said the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder, an International League All-Star in 2005 and an All-American at Long Beach State.

It was difficult for him to do, he admitted.

"You know you had a shot and you come back down and you're thinking the wrong things,'' he said. "That's why you go out there and give up eight runs in three innings (as he did in a start against Columbus), because your head's not in the game. I talked to (former big-league pitcher) Bob Tewksbury (about the mental aspects) and people can tell you things, but you are the one who has to make the adjustments.''

Alvarez is approaching this year with a fresh outlook. His ankle still swells at times, so he won't be able to run as much as the other pitchers, but Alvarez can throw off the mound and do the fielding drills, he says.

He says he has no animosity toward the pitchers who have passed him on the prospect-to-big-leaguer ladder. He's also not about to try to throw the ball 100 miles an hour.

"I have to pitch the way I always have,'' said Alvarez. "That's what got me drafted and moved me up. I'm only 24. I'm not worried. I just have to get guys out.''