"Less than two weeks before the start of spring training, Roy Oswalt still needs a job and the Red Sox could use another starting pitcher.

Perfect match, right?

Not according to one major league source, who said yesterday there has been "no sense of progress" in any conversations between the Red Sox and Oswalt's camp. That was consistent with general manager Ben Cherington's recent characterization that it's "unlikely" another starter will be acquired before spring training.

So what you see with the Red Sox seems to be what you'll get. When camp opens Feb.?19, the rotation will consist of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and a bunch of questions, from whether Daniel Bard and Alfredo Aceves can handle reliever-to-starter transitions to the viability of low-risk reclamation projects Vicente Padilla, Aaron Cook and Carlos Silva.

And that's perfectly fine with Bobby Valentine."