A bone-chilling wind blew across McCoy Stadium as the 2006 Pawtucket Red Sox were introduced to the media Tuesday evening — a reminder not just, as T.S. Eliot wrote, that April is the cruelest month, but of how baseball yields its pleasures slowly. Following the arc of the old agrarian calendar, the national pastime moves from frigid spring days through the October harvest, unveiling surprising drama along the way.

While the big team in Boston remains a focal point, the Sox’ top minor league club — increasingly popular because of its cheap prices, like $9 box seats —— is also poised for an exciting year. With a heightened emphasis on building the farm system in recent years, the PawSox are the beneficiary of a talent-laden roster that includes such leading prospects as pitchers Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen, and infielder Dustin Pedroia (hard-throwing reliever Craig Hansen, who sparkled during spring training and is currently assigned to AA Portland, can also be expected to join Pawtucket later this season).

Asked about his goals for this year, Delcarmen, who spent some time with the Red Sox last season, said, “Trying to get back to Fenway as quick as possible, and just trying to throw in the strike zone, and mechanically-wise, be there, and just try to stay healthy.” As to balancing expectations with the hype surrounding the Sox’ superlative crop of young pitchers, the Boston native says, “I know Cla [Meredith], Abe [Alvarez], and all these guys, even [Jonathan] Papelbon, who’s up there right now, we played for each other for, like, two years, so we got to know each other and we try to keep each other down to reality. It’s just a step away for all of us. We hope the best for each other and try to keep our head on straight.”

The PawSox ( www.pawsox.com ) open their season this Thursday, April 6, against the Indianapolis Indians. While one highlight will come with the June 25 celebration of the 25th anniversary of the longest game in baseball history — a 33-inning drama over two days — a number of players, not surprisingly, are looking to the future. Asked about his ambitions, Lester, a southpaw who wielded a league-leading 2.61 ERA for AA Portland last year, said making “the big leagues — that would be nice. Other than that, win.”
 

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