As New Englanders persevere through the snow and ice, down South the boys of summer have returned to action. As far as the hometown Boston Red Sox go, pitchers and catchers reported to sunny Fort Myers, Fla. on Feb. 14. The usual suspects were all in attendance: Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Lowe, Tim Wakefield, Casey Fossum and John Burkett, as well as newcomers Ramiro Mendoza, Mike Timlin and Robert Person. The starting rotation is more or less set, but it's anyone's guess how the bullpen is going to work out. Even during the first few days of spring training there was stress in Fort Myers, as Pedro started saying he wants the Sox to take care of his option for the 2004 season before spring training comes to a close.

Other players made their appearances at various times during the week after pitchers and catchers were due. Manny Ramirez was his typical casually late self, arriving a day later than expected. As usual, Manny's not talking to the media.

Nomar, conversely, came in his usual couple of days in advance, proving his preparation is far superior to most Sox teammates. Nomar didn't keep quiet for long, however, as he made reference to how the media is bothering him and how it portrays him as being unhappy in Boston, which Nomar insists is not the case.

The Red Sox will sport a revamped right side of the infield with the departures of Brian Daubach and Rey Sanchez and off-season aquisitions of former Florida Marlin Kevin Millar and Todd Walker. There's also Jeremy (Jason's brother) Giambi, who is also looking to earn playing time at first and possibly in the open DH slot.

It appears as though Jason Varitek, Johnny Damon, Trot Nixon, Shea Hillenbrand, Nomar and Manny are quite secure at their respective positions, though Varitek has suffered through two straight injury-plagued seasons in Boston.

There are several other interesting things worth noting, particularly the fact that Trot Nixon has put on close to 30 pounds of muscle. We'll see how that works out given the hazardous terrian that Nixon must navigate out near Pesky's Pole in right field at Fenway. There has been a lot of talk regarding Shea Hillenbrand's future in a Red Sox uniform: his name has frequently brought up in trade rumors all winter, with some speculation that he'd end up in a New York Mets uniform.

As usual, Lou Merloni faces competition for his spot as a utility infielder with the emergence of San Diego Padres speedster Damian Jackson. Ex-Giant and Cub Bill Mueller is also a prime candidate to fill Merloni's role.

The Red Sox look to be in decent shape heading into the spring. And, despite the routine controversies surrounding the team, the Sox seem optimistic about the season. On March 31, Red Sox Nation will watch their beloved ballclub battle the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays and their newly minted manager, Lou Pinella.