By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- John Lackey wasn't trying to fool anyone in his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday, so when former Red Sox shortstop Alex Gonzalez drove a pitch out of the ballpark for a solo homer in the first, Lackey wasn't about to give him much credit.
"I threw a bunch of fastballs," said a smiling Lackey, who pitched two innings in the Red Sox' 6-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. "It was pretty obvious what was coming and he hit one."
Lackey concentrated almost exclusive on four-seam fastballs in order to build arm strength and work on fastball command.
He said he already feels a bit stronger physically this season. That may be somewhat attributable to the loss of about 15 pounds, along with a slightly more aggressive approach to spring training.
"Coming into spring training in 2010," said Lackey, "I basically wanted to get through it healthy because I hadn't done that for the two years beforehand. I think I'm kind of walking a fine line of pushing it a little more this year and still making it through healthy."
Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam