By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

Before sojourning off to the Far East, Terry Francona imparted his hopes for Craig Hansen in the 2008 season.
“He’s going to be the Manny Delcarmen of this year,” said the Red Sox skipper.

Compliment, considering Hansen’s good buddy Delcarmen (their lockers at McCoy Stadium resided next door to each other last season) started last season in Pawtucket and ended up pitching in the World Series?
“Yeah, definitely,” said Hansen with a grin.
While Delcarmen had the Fall Classic on his plate, Hansen spent his time in the Arizona Fall League. For two pitchers who are linked by the same nightmarish fate that occurred last May 5 in Buffalo (the pair combined to blow an eight-run lead in the ninth inning), the fact both winded up pitching in different places sheds light regarding their perception with Boston’s higher-ups.
 Delcarmen ended going on to reach his believed zenith. Meanwhile, Sox execs still patiently wait for Hansen, who Boston invested a first-round pick coupled with four years and $4.4 million almost four years ago, to join Delcarmen in the same stratosphere.
There’s never been any doubt about Hansen’s physical gifts, the high 90s heater quickly rising to the top of the list. The question has always virtually revolved around the neck up. Does Hansen have the mindset to thrive and survive Boston’s baseball pressure cooker?
Even though it seems Hansen has been slipping and sliding like a Rhode Island driver navigating through icy conditions ever since Boston drafted him out of St. John’s, the flame-throwing right-hander honest-to-goodness believes the inconsistent bouts are behind him.
What makes him so sure? Let’s just say he thinks of Delcarmen as more than just a pal these days. He’s someone Hansen emulates and would like nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of.
“We always talk. Manny got into a groove and stuck with it,” said Hansen. “He got into a good routine.”
That “routine” Hansen spoke of helped Delcarmen stay put in Boston after being recalled last June 17. Delcarmen’s confidence grew exponentially as his volume of work increased, for he finished with a 2.05 ERA in 44 appearances and was included in all three of the postseason series the Red Sox partook in.
Sometimes it helps to witness someone you have strong ties with vault past you. While publicly you’re congratulating the success, deep down inside you want to set foot on the same stage.
In order to catch up with Delcarmen, Hansen knew he had to undergo a complete overhaul. Everything had to change, from what he ate for breakfast to how he conducted himself once he punched in at the ballpark.
The self-evaluation taught him that sheer talent will only carry you so many places. While Hansen shied away from what his revamped style specifically entails, let’s just say his days are filled with a means and a purpose.
“I feel that I have that routine now,” said Hansen. “It has to do with what happens between waking up and falling asleep.”
Perhaps we expected too much from Hansen too soon. One day he’s carving up Big East batters and enjoying college life, then before you can blink he’s in the heat of a playoff race.
After being rushed to the bigs in ‘05, Hansen’s ’06 season saw him shuttle between Pawtucket and Boston, where he posted (cover your eyes) an ERA approaching seven in 38 innings.
If Boston did Hansen a disservice by throwing him in the deep end of the pool before he knew how to swim, the Red Sox sent a strong message by not including Hansen in their September callup plans. He was left out in the cold despite posting a 1.23 ERA and a 25-9 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in his final 22 innings, a span that saw Hansen rediscover the slider that made him a dominant college pitcher, yet has been on a milk carton ever since he turned pro.
“I went through a couple different mechanics last year before going back to old ways and staying true to what got me drafted,” said Hansen. “The slider feels back; I told [Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson] ‘Let’s get the season going.’
“The only thing I can do is learn from today and go forward,” said Hansen, who will go from Fort Myers to Los Angeles to Pawtucket in a six-day span. “I can’t look back because if you do that, you start to fall back.”
Even though to date he has a small sample size to go by, first-year PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur believes the key for Hansen going forward is to curb frustration before it snowballs out of control.
“I know he got to the big leagues quick,” said Sauveur. “It’s just a matter of finding that command and staying positive. If you get negative, then you’re done.”
Hansen’s goal for the season isn’t different from any other in his current position. He now knows the best way to attract the notice of those perched high above Fenway Park is to show he’s no longer hit-and-miss.
“I want to go to the field and give them a reason,” said Hansen. “I want to be one of the guys they can call down and rely on and have confidence I can be used in any situation.”
For Hansen, being a copy cat agrees with him just fine.