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Th e Boston Glob e We dne sday , D ec ember 6 , 2006

Exciting signs He’s been hurtin’ for certain

Lester has healthy shot at a return

J.D. Drew’s history details a player with a lot of talent but also a lot of injuries. A rundown of the woes that have caused him to miss multiple games:

Red Sox reach terms with Drew and Lugo

Fractured left wrist (hit by pitch) DL rest of season (from July 4, 2005)

By Gordon Edes GLOBE STAFF

By Gordon Edes GLOBE STAFF

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It was a simple game of catch. It was an affirmation of life, and healing. When Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to spring training in February, a little over a month past his 23d birthday, Jon Lester expects to be among them. Chances are, he’ll be an early arrival, but can you blame him for his eagerness? There is one cycle of chemotherapy still ahead this month, but last Thursday, doctors took a look at his CT scan and told him there were no cancer cells visible. ‘‘Obviously, there was a lot of joy, smiles, and phone calls made that day,’’ Lester said yesterday. Two days ago, just over three months after he announced that he’d been diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a blood cancer, Lester picked up his baseball mitt, hooked up with his buddy Mark Potoshnik, and played catch. It’s what pitchers do in December, when they begin to prepare for a new season. Lester will be no different, a joyous piece of news to his family, friends, teammates, employers, and Red Sox fans, including the hundreds who e-mailed or wrote the young lefthander letters of encouragement. Or the four young college women who started thelesterproject.com, and began selling bracelets of hope in support of the Jimmy Fund. ‘‘I got mail, from little kids with lymphoma to 80-year-old people who survived cancer,’’ Lester said in a con-

Broken right pinkie (hit by pitch) DL June 18July 30, 2001

Stiff neck Three games in May 2004

Sore right shoulder Two games in May 2006 Had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in offseason

Lower back sprain 12 games in August 2001

DREW’S NUMBERS

.393

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — While conceding that Manny Ramírez may be coming back after all — and where have you heard that one before? — the Red Sox completed two moves that should significantly upgrade their offense, especially if the slugging left fielder is going nowhere, as manager Terry Francona suggested yesterday. Agent Scott Boras confirmed yesterday that the Sox had completed a five-year, $70 million deal for outfielder J.D. Drew, who almost certainly will bat fifth and play right field. Then, late last night, the Sox struck a four-year, $36 million deal for their No. 1 target at shortstop, Julio Lugo, the onetime Tampa Bay Devil Ray whose glove is vastly inferior to that of departing shortstop Alex Gonzalez but who gives Francona a dynamic, speedy offensive player who projects RED SOX, Page C3

On baseball

Nick Cafardo

Career on-base percentage

Outfielder has gotten a bad rap

146

Career-high games last season for Dodgers, when he led club in HRs (20) and RBIs (100)

1.29

Career strikeout-to-walk ratio

Strained right oblique DL Aug. 9-Sept. 2, 2003

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It’s hard to remember a significant player who was trashed by Boston fans and media long before he arrived or swung a bat in anger. But outfielder J.D. Drew, who became a member of the Red Sox yesterday (pending a physical) after agreeing to a five-year, $70 million deal, will arrive with some segments of Red Sox Nation looking at him cross-eyed. The reaction to Drew has been strange and unfair, to say the least. What is it about him? Was it Tony La Russa’s evaluation of Drew, pegging him an underachiever in his Cardinal years? Do fans take everything La Russa says to heart because he indicated a couple of years back that Edgar Renteria might not be able to handle the atmosphere in Boston and was proven correct?

Strained right quadriceps DL May 15-June 29, 1999 Includes 25-game rehab assignment in minors.

.286

Career batting average, including high of .323 in 2001

31

LESTER, Page C2

Career high home runs in 2004 with Atlanta, along with runs (118), hits (158), walks (118), OBP (.436), and outfield assists (12)

4

ON BASEBALL, Page C2

Strained left hamstring Five games in April 2004

Right knee tendinitis DL June 28-July 13, 2002 Offseason right knee surgery DL until April 20, 2003

Seasons reaching double figures in stolen bases; a career 74 percent success rate

Sprained left ankle DL July 8-27, 2000

Strained left quadriceps Three starts in August 2006

33

Career-best hitting streak from end of his 2005 season (11 games) through start of 2006 (22)

Chondromalacia of left knee Five games in June 2005

FILE/BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF

Jon Lester was jubilant to learn that doctors found no visible cancer cells in his latest scan.

ROBERT LEITER/MLB PHOTOS VIA GETTY IMAGES

Inside

Bob Ryan

System flunks the college test Like it or not, Ohio State will play Florida for the national championship in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday night, Jan. 8. It is the outcome the system has given us. Once again, of course, we find ourselves discussing the viability of that ‘‘system.’’ The Bowl Championship Series system can work if, and only if, there are but two unbeaten teams that are members of the six so-called ‘‘BCS conferences’’ — the Big East, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Southeastern Conference, the Big 12, the Pac-10, and the Big 10 (which, amusingly, actually has 11 members) — and if there is a general consensus that there is nothing bogus about the way the unbeaten record was accomplished. With Texas and USC last year, we had such a pleasant scenario, and the Longhorns and Trojans delivered a contest worthy of the ‘‘championship’’ designation. That’s called L-U-C-K. You can’t count on luck every year, and when you don’t have luck, you have chaos, anger, and abandonment of logic, as we have this year. It is a terrible, horrible, awful, and embarrassing system, and I hope I’ve made myself clear. In a better RYAN, Page C7

GL C1 00:47 THIRD

Mismatch? Ouma could be up against it when he fights Taylor. Boxing notes, C3.

MIDWEEK REPORT

A throwback day on offense Utilizing old strategy served Patriots well

Losing it Latest setback prompts harsh words for teammates from Celtics’ Perkins. C5

By Mike Reiss GLOBE STAFF

Semi-sweet UMass’s London is two wins away from his goal of a 1-AA championship. C7

ONLINE TODAY BOSTON.COM/ SPORTS

Hot stove: Reports from baseball’s winter meetings in Florida Celtics live: Updates from tonight’s game with the Grizzlies Patriots mailbag: Mike Reiss answers readers’ questions Hall pass: College sports updates

MATTHEW J. LEE/GLOBE STAFF

Hurried, not harried 5 TDs 4 FGs

8 stalled drives

The Patriots have been in 17 hurry-up (no-huddle) situations on offense this season, including four last week against the Lions, when a Kevin Faulk 20-yard gain on a screen pass (above) led to a second-quarter field goal. Overall, the Patriots have scored on nine of those drives.

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FOXBOROUGH — They had been a vital part of the Patriots’ attack in recent years. There’s short time on the clock and a good chunk of yardage needed to score points. Or maybe a simple change of pace is required in the middle of the game. Call on the hurry-up offense. There’s an attacking defense on the other side of the line of scrimmage, looking to disrupt the hurry-up. Counterpunch with the screen pass. The hurry-up and screen pass are a natural pairing, and few teams had been as proficient at executing them as the Tom Brady-led Patriots. But the execution had been off for much of the 2006 season. Sunday might have marked a rebirth. The Patriots went to the hurry-up set four times in their 28-21 victory over the Lions, and the result — with three crucial screen passes part of the mix — was two touchdowns, one field goal, and one lost PATRIOTS, Page C6

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