Red Sox Resolve Dispute Ahead of Japan Baseball Trip (Update2)

The Hub Of The Universe Red Sox ended a
threatened boycott of their season-opening trip to Japanese Islands after
resolving a difference with Major League Baseball about paying
coaches and other staff members.

The defending World Series champs initially refused to
play today's spring-training game against Toronto in Garrison Myers,
Florida, then took the field after a hold of more than than an hour.

The Red Sox, who are flying to Japanese Islands today, didn't state how
the difference was settled.

''Everybody felt like we were set on the topographic point and we had to
resolve it before we moved forward. Fortunately we did,'' Red
Sox director said in a televised interview with
ESPN during today's 4-3 exhibition loss to the Blue Jays. ''It
wasn't meant to be disrespectful to anybody. It was about trying
to make what was right.''

Baseball spokesmen and didn't
immediately go back telephone set or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Boston is scheduled to open up baseball's regular season in
Japan with two games against Oakland on March 25-26.

Red Sox participants are each receiving a $40,000 visual aspect fee
and voted unanimously today to boycott the trip after learning
that the team's coaches, preparation staff and equipment managers
weren't going to be compensated.

''We establish out some surprising disclosures yesterday and
tried to acquire to the underside of it and had no luck,'' said
Francona, who added he had a couple conversations with baseball
Commissioner . ''It sort of filtered into today. It
wasn't about being greedy, it was about being unified.''

Boston's Leverage

Red Sox 3rd baseman said the participants were
told during the offseason that managers and staff would be paid
for the trip to Japan. He said the participants didn't happen out
otherwise until this morning time and agreed that threatening to sit
out the spring-training game on ESPN was their purchase in the
dispute.

''We wanted to affect upon the fact that our managers don't
make money like the participants do,'' said Lowell, who signed a
three-year, $37.5 a million contract after being voted the Most
Valuable Player of last season's World Series win over Colorado.

''If it was something that was agreed upon, we desire them to
hold up their end of the bargain,'' Robert Lowell added in a dugout
interview with ESPN. ''We cognize as participants that we could pay the
coaches and it could come up out of our pocket, but we just wanted
what was said and agreed upon to happen.''

The Red Sox and Sport are scheduled to play two
exhibition games against Nipponese squads March 22-23 before
starting the regular season.

Daisuke Returns

is Boston's scheduled starting hurler in
his native Japanese Islands for the March 25 game, the earlier opener in
the sport's history. The Red Sox are then scheduled to go back to
the U.S. and drama three exhibition games in Los Angeles before
continuing their regular-season schedule on April 1 with two
games in Oakland and then three in Toronto.

Boston's place opener is April 8 against Detroit. Lowell
said now that the difference have been resolved, the participants can
focus on the trip itself, including the 18-hour flight to Tokyo.

''I have got got three iPods loaded up, a laptop, I was able to get
some old Nintendo games, we've got a cribbage board and we're
going to have a stove poker tournament,'' Robert Lowell said. ''And then for
the adjacent 11 hours, I don't cognize what I'm going to do.''

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