By Nick Cafardo - Globe Staff
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Any time David Wells, Matt Clement, and Bronson Arroyo pitch, you can bet there will be a boatload of scouts on hand.
Other teams know the Red Sox have extra pitching, and most teams need it at some point.
Arroyo drew a crowd of scouts yesterday in Boston's 7-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at City of Palms Park, including some from the Rangers, Braves, Reds, Cubs, and Brewers. While some were on hand for their regular duty, others were strictly watching Arroyo, who could be trade bait even though the Sox are believed to have promised him he wouldn't be traded after he signed a three-year deal in the offseason.
The personable righthander was concentrating on specific things during his first start of the spring. He worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, three runs, and two walks. He won't rank it as one of his best efforts, but he can build on it.
"People know my tendencies, especially righthanded hitters keying in on my curveball, so I have to try to change some things," Arroyo said.
He struggled with his command on the inside part of the plate when he tried to bust hitters with fastballs. In the second inning, when he threw 28 pitches, he started to feel tired and got his pitches up. He walked two in the inning, although he picked off catcher Ryan Doumit.
Arroyo, who was 14-10 last season, said he's trying to build his stamina, so he's not sweating a subpar first outing.
He said of first outings in general, "If I gave up a hundred runs I'd still get a good night's sleep and come back tomorrow."
This article appears courtesy of The Boston Globe.
