Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre twisted his right ankle earlier this week, but it has improved quickly. During drills Wednesday, Beltre attempted to swat a baseball out of the way with his mitt, but missed and stepped on the ball. "It was weird," he said. "But it's much, much better. I'm glad it's not as bad as it looked. I took it a little slower today and thankfully it was nothing serious."

Whether fairly or not, J.D. Drew has developed a reputation as someone who doesn?t play through injuries. He played 137 games in 2009, but has played 145 only once in his 12-year career. But Drew was playing last year with an injury severe enough that it required offseason surgery, though he made little issue of it during the 2009 campaign. Drew had bone spurs in his shoulder that would cause him pain when he swung, often forcing him to cut short bating practice. The injury bothered him most during the second half of the season, enough so that he took the last four days of the regular season off to let it rest, and received a cortisone shot to settle down any inflammation in the area. The pain never cleared up, and so after the season Drew went under the knife. ?The bone spurs, like I said, were just a nagging thing. Once the game started, the adrenaline started rolling, you really didn?t think about it once you got a guy out there throwing 96 miles per hour and you had to make contact,? Drew said. Keeping Drew healthy and productive is the responsibility of Terry Francona. ?The more he?s on the field, the better team we are,? said Francona. ?He understands that. It?s my responsibility, our responsibility, if he needs a day off to give him one before it turns into four. He?s had shoulder problems. He?s had finger issues, but it?s easier now that I know him.?

Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell is determined to prove that he can still play. Lowell added that he expected to be showcased for a possible trade this spring and had "no idea" which team he would be playing for on Opening Day. "I'm highly motivated to show I can play," Lowell told reporters. "Where that takes me, I don't know. We'll see." Lowell, who is entering the final season of a three-year, $37.5 million contract, is without a position after offseason thumb surgery derailed his trade to the Rangers and Boston signed Adrian Beltre as his replacement at third base.

Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka had a throwing session on Monday and reported no pain or discomfort in his back. A mild back strain delayed the start of his workouts last week. Matsuzaka, who made 25 tosses from 60 feet and another 25 from 90 feet, told reporters he figured he would play catch for another week or so before deciding the next steps in his preparation. "Aggressive, felt good, we'll do the same tomorrow," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Everybody involved was very encouraged. What we'd hoped for. More importantly, what he hoped for."

Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is coming into the 2010 season confident following a strong finish to what started as a disappointment season last year. "Hopefully everything will start up different," Ortiz said. "I'm not a beginning guy. I'll tell you that right now. I'm an end of the season guy." Through June 5, 2009 he was batting .188 with one homer. After that he hit .266, led the AL with 27 home runs and tied for the league lead with 78 RBIs.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona says that Josh Beckett is the leader of the team's pitching staff. Beckett, however, is in the final year of his contract with Boston. The Red Sox signed John Lackey to a five-year, $82.5 million contract in December. At the time, general manager Theo Epstein told Beckett to ignore speculation that he was on his way out of Boston. "I don't think that he would have contacted me if he didn't have some good intentions there," Beckett said. But Beckett won't talk about his contract situation beyond saying he has talked to the club. "We talked about talking," he said. "That stuff is going to work itself out. I'm really not too concerned with it and I don't really have anything to say about contract stuff today or probably any time during spring training. "I definitely don't want to let that be the focus on what I'm trying to do."

Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka will be limited this spring by an aching back, but he still has high hopes for the 2010 season. "I can't say for sure until I really start throwing the ball, but my expectations for the season are very high," Matsuzaka said Thursday. Matsuzaka made just 12 starts last season because of a groin injury that he hid from the organization. "I'm really ready to be after it and being prepared to throw a lot of pitches," he said. "But right now this [back injury] is something I have to deal with and I have to bear with it for the time being. But it's a little bit stressful."

Red Sox infielder Mike Lowell is preparing for the 2010 season and isn't concerning himself with his uncertain future. Boston nearly traded Lowell to Texas and the club signed Adrian Beltre to play third base this winter. "I don't view this as a major challenge," said Lowell. "If I'm healthy and teams out there think I can play every day, there's going to be a team that wants me to play. If that's beneficial to the Red Sox, I don't think any of this is contingent on whether it's beneficial to me. It doesn't matter. I have no say. But if it's beneficial to the Red Sox, then yeah, they'd make the move. And then you'd go wherever they send you. That's the thing. I can't say, 'Hey, I want to leave,' or, 'Hey, I want to stay.' "It doesn't matter what I think or say. The only time I had that decision was after the World Series when I was a free agent. That's the only time that I had the say. After that, you're a product of the industry. I'm not sour about that. I'm cool with it. If you told me that I'd get traded and then they'd take away my contract, then I might have a much bigger issue with the way things are going."

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein says that pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's back issue isn't serious. The right-hander is believed to have a mild back strain. His throwing program will be delayed, but not seriously altered. "His attitude has been great. He was very accepting when we told him we want to treat it conservatively," Epstein said, as relayed by WEEI.com. "I know he's worked really hard this winter to make up for last year and come out and have a big season. That's what we're all hoping for him. We want to slow this thing down so we don't turn something small into something big. Last year, he never really was able to get into condition to pitch in part because of the way things went early in spring. We want to make sure we avoid a repeat of that."

Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is expected to be sidelined for the start of spring training due to a sore back. The injury, according to sources, isn't expected to keep Matsuzaka from being ready to begin the 2010 season. Matsuzaka told Japanese reporters recently, in comments relayed by ESPNBoston, that his back was feeling sore.