FORT MYERS, Fla. – Julio Lugo knows he will be compared to Alex Gonzalez.

That is a given. Gonzalez’s defensive wizardry at shortstop was so spectacularly and routinely on display in his one season with the Red Sox that no one replacing him in Boston would be able to measure up, certainly not Lugo.

How Gonzalez, who made only seven errors in 2006, didn’t win a Gold Glove is beyond comprehension.

But Gonzalez is gone, allowed to leave via free agency by the Sox. In his place will be Lugo, whom Boston had been coveting for two years as he toiled for the last-place Tampa Bay Devils Rays before a deadline trade to Los Angeles last season.

And Lugo’s error-total history is not comforting, with even manager Terry Francona alluding yesterday to the fact he makes a lot of them, exactly 127 errors in 796 games at shortstop in his seven-year big-league career.That averages out to one every six or so games. (He has nine other errors at other positions, for a career total of 136.)

“He’s made 20-plus errors every year,” said Francona. “That’s part of him as a player, but he brings different things. He has very good range. We like him as a player.”

The Sox didn’t sign him for his glove. And while he’s hardly a liability at shortstop, it is his offensive capabilities, which far surpass those of Gonzalez, that prompted Boston to lavish a four-year $36-million free-agent contract on Lugo in the offseason.

That wasn’t the only reason the Sox have turned to Lugo to plug the parade at shortstop, which has existed since Boston traded Nomar Garciaparra in 2004. Garciaparra’s departure brought Orlando Cabrera, who contributed to the Sox’ first World Championship since 1918, and Cabrera has been followed by Edgar Renteria (2005) and Gonzalez.

The Sox, clearly, are expecting Lugo to be in Boston for a while, at the top of the batting order, a table-setter for the two-headed run-producing monster that is David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in the heart of Boston’s batting order.

Lugo also is being depended on to lend enthusiasm to the team on a daily basis.

“He has a ton of energy,” said Francona. “He has very similar types of attributes as Cabrera. He plays with some confidence. You can tell he likes to compete. He’s got the type of attitude that playing in Boston is going to make him better. Playing in front of a full house all the time will bring out the best in him.

“Runs. We want him to score runs. If he gets on base, a walk or a base hit or a stolen base, scoring runs is what we need him to do,” said Francona.

Lugo certainly didn’t seem cowed by the challenge of replacing Gonzalez or moving from a last-place team in a dead baseball atmosphere to the intensity of playing for a yearly pennant contender in Boston.

“I just need to be myself,” said Lugo, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, after arriving in camp yesterday and participating in a workout at the Sox’ minor-league complex.

“I love what I do. I think I have the best job in the world. I’m happy every day I’m here. I feel blessed I’m a major-league player,” said Lugo, 31.

Lugo was aware the Sox had tried to pry him from the Devil Rays in 2005, when Boston was shopping Ramirez. They also tried to get him last spring before turning to Gonzalez. And when Lugo, who was mystified and uncomfortable with his role as a utility player with Los Angeles after being acquired for the Dodgers’ stretch run, became a free agent, Sox pursued him heavily, beating out the Cubs, now led by Lugo’s former Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella.

“When I was a free agent, this was the first team I wanted to be with,” said Lugo, adding that the guarantee he’d play shortstop, his natural position, was a strong incentive.

Lugo, a close friend and Dominican Republic countryman of Ortiz, is looking forward to playing in front of the customary packed houses at Fenway Park.

“It will be easier here to stay focused, but it is great for me to be able to play in the major leagues. There are six billion people in the world, and I’ve got one of the jobs to play every day in the major leagues,” said Lugo.

“Scoring runs is going to be my job. I have to get on base and let [the Sox’ power hitters] do their job. That’s my game,” said Lugo, a career .277 hitter with 139 stolen bases who has adapted to being a leadoff man after spending the early part of his career as a number-two hitter.

Of course, Lugo is aware that he isn’t Gonzalez when it comes to defense.

“People have to expect me to make good plays and people have to expect me to make errors. That’s every player,” said Lugo pleasantly. “I never compare myself to anybody. I just have to play shortstop and be myself.”

He will also become a teacher of sorts to new double-play partner Dustin Pedroia, who, as camp opens, is expected to be the Sox’ regular second baseman. Lugo and Pedroia spent some time together on a field yesterday working out with some of the other position players who reported early.

“At first sight, I can tell the guy wants to learn. Everything is going to go smooth, but,” said Lugo with a smile, “if I have to scream at him, I will.”

The Sox, meanwhile, are hopeful that Lugo’s career with Boston gets off smoothly without any screams from the fans that he’s no Alex Gonzalez.

skrasner@projo.com