Magadan's makeup has no room for 'relax'

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 11, 2007

BOSTON - Dave Magadan knows what you think: How tough can it be to be the hitting coach for the veteran-laden, star-filled Red Sox? You point Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz toward the plate and watch them round the bases, right?

But the Jesuit High grad and Palm Harbor resident has made a strong impression in his first year on the job by working extremely hard.

"He shows up early, he goes right to the cage, stays late," Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I say this not sarcastically but I never see him. That's because he's always down at the (batting) cage, which is what he's supposed to be doing. He's kind of like a gym rat. He has his times for every player and he's always down there.

"His work ethic has been unbelievable, it's been incredible. I tease him a lot on the plane, 'Hey it's nice to see you around' because I never see him. Pitchers come in the game, our hitters know what to expect. He's very prepared."

Magadan, 45, prepped for this job by playing 16 seasons in the majors, then spending one year as a minor-league hitting instructor and 3 1/2 as the Padres hitting coach.

He was considering several options, and when the chance to join the Red Sox came up he grabbed it, for reasons both personal (his wife Monique is from the area) and professional. And he couldn't be having a better time.

"You look at it on paper and think, 'Well, I'm just going to put my folding chair out and just show up every day,'" Magadan said. "But there's always something going on, there's always somebody that's struggling, that wants to do better.

"You have to know the hitters. If a guy wants to get back where he once was, you've got to know as a hitting coach where that was. Everybody in this room has been through a slump at one time or another. It's been work. But it's been fun work."

FAMILIAR FACE: Longtime Red Sox OF Trot Nixon will be the enemy as he returns with the Indians. And though several Sox players spoke well of him, their fondness apparently has its limits.

"When he was here he bled for Boston," reliever Mike Timlin said. "I love the guy to death. But if he steps in too far, I'll have to hit him in the neck."

RED ALERT: Sox OF Bobby Kielty, who stands out because of his red hair, is likely to be standing in rightfield Friday night, ahead of J.D. Drew. Kielty hits right-handed and has hit well against Cleveland left-handed starter C.C. Sabathia, 9-for-29 with four doubles.

MISCELLANY: Heavy rain is forecast for Boston on Friday, but the latest reports are that it will clear out by game time. ... The Sox went through a two-hour workout Wednesday; the Indians were to do the same in Cleveland. ... Both teams are scheduled for official workouts today. ... Francona said knuckleballer Tim Wakefield appeared to come through Tuesday's simulated game with no problems, which makes him the likely Game 4 starter.

Money matters?

The Red Sox spent around $150-million to get to baseball's Final Four. So did the Indians, Rockies and D'backs. A look at their opening-day payrolls, and where they rank among the 30 teams:

Rk Team Payroll

2. Red Sox $143,026,214

23. Indians 61,673,267

25. Rockies 54,424,000

26. D'backs 52,067,546

Source: USA Today

[Last modified October 10, 2007, 20:13:07]