The right-hander is always on the cusp of the roster but often survives.
Boston Red Sox reliever Scott Atchison will have to sweat out another spring training as he tries to make the team.FORT MYERS, Fla. - Scott Atchison knows the drill.
"It's not really different this year. I know my situation, and they know what I can do,'' the Boston Red Sox relief pitcher said.
"I just have to show them I'm healthy, and perform well enough to prove myself.
That's Atchison's story every year. In a year the club is bringing in a number of candidates to audition as starters, the bullpen is also unsettled and the right-hander hopes to grab a spot.
In 2011, his second year with Boston, he bounced up and down from Triple A. In 17 Red Sox games, he had a career best 3.26 ERA.
His season ended on Sept. 25 with a groin injury. As he tried to regain his health, the Red Sox missed the playoffs.
"I don't know if I would have been ready or not, had we made it. The first round would have been tough,'' he said.
"It would have depended on how much pain I could have endured. I'd like to think I'd have found a way.''
Atchison turns 36 in three weeks. He is one of 14 pitchers in camp as non-roster invitees.
He pitched one perfect inning against Minnesota in Wednesday's B game, and expects to face Baltimore Sunday in Sarasota, Fla.
IGGY HITS: Jose Iglesias' bid to win the shortstop job depends on his hitting. He helped his cause with an eighth-inning, bases-clearing triple against St. Louis Thursday in Jupiter, Fla.
Iglesias went 1-for-4. He is hitting .286 in the Grapefruit League, which does not count his two hits against Minnesota in a "B'' game on Wednesday.
Iglesias' triple tied the game at 3-3. The Cardinals scored six in the bottom half and won 9-3, handing Boston (3-1-1) its first Grapefruit League loss
Four runs in the eighth-inning barrage were charged to Chris Carpenter, the pitcher acquired from the Cubs as compensation for departed general manager Theo Epstein.
PITCHING UPDATES: Josh Beckett pitched three shutout innings of two-hit ball in his start against the Cardinals.
Felix Doubront allowed three hits, three walks and two runs in two-plus innings. The 24-year-old left-hander tossed two scoreless innings, but left after allowing the first two Cardinals to reach base in the sixth.
They both scored. Doubront is bidding for the No. 5 rotation spot, and his first start had been a good one, albeit against Boston College.