PAWTUCKET - There was an unusual scene at McCoy Stadium yesterday afternoon.

Several of the Pawtucket Red Sox coaches and roving instructors, and even strength coach Carl Kochan, were taking batting practice. It brought on a lot of laughs as the players kidded the "hitters'' for a less-than-awesome performance. Even the Louisville players, who were getting ready to take the field for their pregame work, got in on the fun and playfully derided the guys in the cage.

It was unusual under any circumstances, even more so because of the way the PawSox do things. Almost every other day, the routine is the same. That is by design. It is another in the seemingly never-ending steps the Boston organization has taken to help prepare players for the big leagues. Manager Ron Johnson feels it is one reason so many players have jumped from Pawtucket to Boston in the last couple of years and fitted in so well.

"By talking to Tito (Sox manager Terry Francona) and knowing him for a while, it's very important to him that players know how to act and blend in when they go up to the big leagues,'' Johnson said. "We try to do our pregame routine as close as we can to what they do in the big leagues. We try to do our early infield work at the same time. We try to do our cage work at the same time. We try to do set up our (batting practice) groups. We try to set up our day the same. I don't want to go into signs, but there are other things with pitchers and catchers and defensive fundamentals we do. They're all identical.''

When a player is promoted, he has enough to worry about. Letting him know as close as possible what will be expected of him makes for one less worry.

"RJ does a great job of preparing us for what their schedule is and what they do up there. It's as seamless as it can be,'' said infielder Joe Lowrie, one of 11 players who have been with both Boston and Pawtucket already this season. "It's just an easy way to make the transition.''

"We've had what, ten? Is it eleven now? Guys go up there,'' Johnson said, "and just about every one of them has gone up and done something to contribute.''

Jason McLeod, the organization's director of amateur scouting, was among those at McCoy yesterday, among those to enjoy the unusual fun before the game. He loves the way the daily routine is carried out.

"From Ben Cherington (the Sox' vice president of player personnel) on down, our guys have implemented a system, and everybody's bought into it at every level,'' McLeod said. "It's just a great environment to be in right now."