FORT MYERS, Fla. – In college, he played against Dustin Pedroia. Now that he’s playing in the pros, Jed Lowrie wants to play right alongside him.

Boston Red Sox players and fans may be experiencing a bit of deja-vu this spring as the third-year pro out of Salem, Ore., takes part in his first full Grapefruit League session with the Red Sox.

Lowrie’s rise through the Red Sox system has been eerily reminiscent of Pedroia’s. Lowrie hopes it becomes a carbon copy.

“The guy won Rookie of the Year last year, so being compared to him is an honor,” said Lowrie, rated the fifth-best prospect in the Sox organization by Baseball America. “He’s a guy I’ve respected since we played against each other in college.”

The common threads that bind Lowrie and Pedroia are many. Both played college ball in the Pacific Athletic Conference, both played middle infield positions, both were PAC-10 players of the year (Pedroia in 2003 and Lowrie in 2004), and both were high picks by Boston in the first-year player draft. Actually, Lowrie was selected higher as the 45th overall selection in 2005 while Pedroia went 65th in 2004.

Oh, and both former Portland Sea Dogs and Eastern League All-Stars started their major league careers well behind a couple of established veterans on the Sox depth chart.

“His situation is kind of like mine in ’05,” Pedroia said. “I came into camp and they already had Alex Gonzalez and Mark Loretta, so they told me I’d go Triple A and play a full year down there.”

Lowrie has Pedroia, Julio Lugo, and Alex Cora firmly entrenched ahead of him. Still, Sporting News, which lists him as Boston’s No. 4 prospect, can see lightning striking twice, noting in its baseball preview issue that Lowrie could follow in the footsteps of Pedroia with his “gritty style, ability to hit for average, and solid defense.”

“I told Jed he’s got to get ready for the season, pick guys’ brains and make sure you’re ready because you could get an opportunity to help us out,” Pedroia said.

Lowrie isn’t having any delusions of grandeur, but he has seen Pedroia’s approach, and its end result firsthand.

“I feel like I can come out here every day, work hard, and get to that point, whenever it happens,” said Lowrie, who hit .298 with 13 home runs, 91 RBIs and a .393 on-base percentage while splitting last season between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket.

Through Thursday, Lowrie was hitting just .154 with two RBIs in 13 at-bats, but he and Pedroia are not too worried about it.

“He’ll be fine as long as he keeps within himself and doesn’t try to do too much,” said Pedroia. He’s a smart player and he works hard. That’s a big part of his game is he outworks guys, which is huge.”

Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein said rhere are obvious similarities between the two players.

“They’re both polished middle infielders coming out of the draft who can help, but they’re different,” Epstein said. “Dustin’s an outspoken fiery, hardnosed gamer who gets in anyone’s face, thinks he can hit anyone, and isn’t afraid to talk about it, but Jed is more of a cerebral, almost intellectual type of player who’s a student of the game and is very polished because of his ability and athleticism.”

At least in the short term, Lowrie is ticketed to play at Pawtucket this season. Despite playing just one season in Portland, Lowrie ranks it among his pro career highlights so far.

“No question. They treated us awesome,” said Lowrie, who used to play bubble hockey tournaments at Foreplay in The Old Port. “The front office is great, but the town in general was really a great place to play.

“When we were on the road and went to some of the other towns, we’d talk to the other players and they all loved coming to Portland. It’s by far the best city to go to in the Eastern League.”

Lester wants more

The 2008 spring training season has been noticeably more low key for Jon Lester, and that’s just fine with the Red Sox lefthanded starting pitcher.

Lester, who completed his comeback from a battle with lymphoma last year, is no longer the object of fascination and attention that he was last year. More importantly, he’s not being treated with kid gloves.

“It feels good and it feels nice to be part of everybody else’s program and not be on my own special program,” said the 24-year-old .

Lester looks and says he feels much more comfortable and at ease this spring, even after his second outing of the spring on Wednesday, when he threw two innings, allowing four hits, one earned run and one walk while facing 13 batters over three innings. He also had two strikeouts.

“Today I just tried to relax and throw strikes and I just felt more comfortable with everything,” said Lester, who lasted just one inning after giving up four runs (one unearned) on two hits and four walks in his spring debut. “Obviously it was a lot better. I made it through the innings I was supposed to and got some things done. I took some steps in the right direction today.”

Lester said it’s not just his mental condition that’s improved this year.

“Right now I feel good mechanically and physically. I can definitely tell when I throw my fastball it’s got a little extra on it with good carry through the zone. I just feel stronger,” he explained. “I just feel more comfortable with my mechanics and where my body’s at when I throw the ball.”

Lester has added more weight to his 6-foot-2 frame and is now at a comfortable 190 pounds.

“Having more weight definitely helps, but it takes a little time to get used to. That’s why I got down here early,” he said. “I’m still getting used to having a little extra on the ball again.

“I thought I was normal last year and I wasn’t. It’s just that it has more carry and goes through the zone better. You can tell by guys’ swings. They’re not really turning on the ball and seeing it as well.”

Fathers playing catch with sons

Baseball has long been synonymous as a sport uniquely suited to bonding fathers with their sons. It’s no less for the Bernsteins.

Mark Bernstein of Scarborough has been making a preseason pilgrimage to Fort Myers for the last 25 years. For the last three, son Josh of Old Orchard Beach has been able to join him.

“He came down here to play with me so I could get warmed up for the guys I play with later in the spring,” said Mark, an avid golfer with a 10 handicap.

The two run Palco Air Cargo, a trucking business based in Saco.

“I run the business when he’s not around. These last two or three years are when we’ve both been able to come down at the same time, which is nice,” said Josh, who sports an eight handicap. “It’s great just getting away from the snow.”

Both said the warmth is a big plus, but there are other unique nuances inherent with spring training.

“It’s a more laid-back atmosphere and fan-friendly because you get to talk to and see the players,” Josh said. “We were at a restaurant the other night and Big Papi comes in and smiles at us after we said hi. It’s a great atmosphere.”

Ginter gets the hint

Three years ago, Keith Ginter was coming off a season in which he hit .262 with 19 homers and 62 RBIs for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Two years and three teams – two minor league – later, he was hoping just for a chance to compete for a major league roster spot.

The Boston Red Sox called, but Ginter opted to sign with Cleveland because he felt he was closer to getting a shot to play big league ball.

“They pursued me last year in the free agent market, but I had a lot of different opportunities,” he explained. “[Boston] re-signed Alex Cora, but still wanted me to sign a Triple-A contract. I chose to go to Cleveland because there I was more like an injury away from playing there, but they stayed really healthy last year.”

So Ginter played the whole season at the Triple-A level in Buffalo.

This winter, the 31-year-old Arizona native got a second chance.

“This year I chose the Red Sox because they pursued me again and from everything I’ve heard, it’s a great organization with great people and the front office is very honest with you and that’s all you’re really looking for if you’re a player in my situation,” he said.

That’s a far cry from the days when Boston had a league-wide reputation as a fractured clubhouse of “25 players, 25 cabs” fame.

“Without a doubt, the fact they show interest is a compliment,” Ginter said. “They obviously do a lot of character background check-ups and that just shows what kind of people they want in this organization.

“For me it didn’t take a lot. I think I signed after three or four days because I thought it was a good fit.”

So Ginter is once again preparing for a season in Triple-A with a shot to get back to the bigs.

“As defending world champions, their roster is pretty much set, barring any trades or injuries,” Ginter said. “Our goal as non-roster players is to show them we can play defense, show your versatility and ability to have quality at-bats and not get overwhelmed at this level.”

aneff@bangordailynews.net

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