DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ

THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE

August 5, 2004 ... No game scheduled ... Pokey Reese is eligible to return from the disabled list, but he has yet to resume baseball activities as he recovers from a strained right oblique.

Doug Mientkiewicz played on a high school All-Star team with Johnny Damon and Mark Bellhorn that won a national title in '92. He played with Mark Bellhorn on Team USA in '94. He played against Jason Varitek (Georgia Tech) in college, knows Gabe Kapler from the minors, worked out with Schilling as well as Garciaparra in Arizona. He also is one of three former Minnesota first basemen for the Sox (David Ortiz and David McCarty are the others).