There's a tarp over the field at City of Palms Park, but the rain is expected to taper off by mid-morning.

More importantly, Dustin Pedroia is out of the lineup for a third straight day. The second baseman hasn't played in a game since he sprained his wrist on Tuesday. The plan as of Thursday was that he'd be back in the lineup today, but team trainers told Pedroia to sit out one more day as a precautionary measure.

That, at least, is the official story.

"I got benched," Pedroia said. "I told Tito he looked like Corrado Soprano."

Pedroia took batting practice in the cage this morning and said his wrist felt OK.

"If this was the season and he didn't play me, it was going to get ugly," he said.

Pedroia did say he'll be in the lineup on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota.

"I guarantee it," he said. "I'll be there -- with bells on."

The lineup expected to play once the tarp gets pulled:

SS Scutaro
LF Hall
3B Lowell
1B Youkilis
DH Ortiz
RF Drew
C Varitek
2B Hulett
CF Reddick

P Lester

Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Daniel Bard, Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen all are scheduled to pitch as well, though that might get tricky if Lester throws five or six innings. The velocity of the fastball of Delcarmen again will be worth monitoring.