FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A few notes from the Fort on another steamy winter (yes, it’s still winter) day in Florida.
The lineup for today’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates includes six notable players who started Friday night -- Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino and Xander Bogaerts.
• Manager John Farrell on the state of camp:
“There’s certainly a repetition to it but we still have a couple of decisions to be made. I’ve been very pleased with the way camp has gone, first and foremost. The work ethic, the attention to detail by our guys, the new players who have been here have been able to jell very well. I think our clubhouse is growing more united and together by the day.
“I think that’s just a product of a group of guys that are talented, that are hungry and I have every reason to believe they’re going to be good teammates.”
• The Pirates didn’t bring center fielder Andrew McCutchen to the Fort.
• Another hot day, as noted above. The predicted high for the day is 90. The average high for the date is 80.
Today’s lineups:
Pirates
Jaff Decker, left field
Jordy Mercer, shortstop
Gregory Polanco, right field
Stetson Allie, first base
Starling Marte, center field
Tony Sanchez, catcher
Pedro Florimon, third base
Alen Hanson, second base
Gerrit Cole, pitcher
Red Sox
Mookie Betts, second base
Pablo Sandoval, third base
Hanley Ramirez, second base
Mike Napoli, first base
Allen Craig, DH
Shane Victorino, right field
Xander Bogaerts, shortstop
Blake Swihart, catcher
Henry Owens, first base
• Former Red Sox great Luis Tiant on his advice to 19-year-old Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada, who signed with the team Thursday: “I’m going to show you that I belong in the big leagues. The thing is we never know who can make it or not. I don’t care how talented you are you have to stay healthy. You’re hurt sometimes. What I see is good He’s got talent. He’s a good kid.”
• Former big-league outfielder Billy Bean, Major League Baseball’s first Ambassador for Inclusion, is at JetBlue today.
• The Pirates returning to Fort Myers is a bit of a homecoming. They trained here from 1955 through 1968 and then moved to Bradenton, where they’ve trained since 1969.
• Today’s game is a rematch of sorts from the first World Series in 1903. The Red Sox beat the Pirates in eight games. Yes, eight games.
• A pace of play note: Time of Friday night’s game against the Yankees was three hours and three minutes. By contrast, the longest game in the 1903 World Series between the Red Sox and Pirates was 2:02 and the shortest was 90 minutes.
Yes, 90 minutes.
