pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to fort meyers on thursday, february 18th ... everyone else arrives by the 23rd ... reports out of florida say jon lester, jonathan papelbon, manny delcarmen and kevin youkilis are already there and working ... justin masterson is also there but he'll realize sometime in the next week his training camp is in arizona ... pedroia's not there cause he's too busy with his "laser show" on weei (every saturday with mut & bradford)

so why is florida on my mind today ... because today was "truck day" in boston ... for most, the departure of the red sox equipment truck each february is a simple reminder the team's spring training is just ahead ... but for some, this truck thing has become an event, a ritual ... there are actually people who gather annually in the dead of winter on van ness street outside fenway park to watch and take endless pictures of employees of a local mover load big, brown boxes into a big, long truck ... there are no executives shaking hands ... no players signing autographs ... no team officials passing out souvenirs ... no podium, microphones or speeches ... no cheerleaders, high school bands or parade ... just a truck, lotsa boxes and men in jumpsuits ... but if you check local sports websites, they all have video of the truck, the boxes and the men ... the boston globe has 26 pictures of the "event" ... this one i just don't get