BOSTON - Red Sox executive Mike Dee won't be making a fishing trip any time soon.

Instead, he's off to North Carolina for a NASCAR drivers' meeting or to New York and the commissioner's office to discuss online media.

Like striped bass in Boston Harbor, opportunities abound for Fenway Sports Group, a Red Sox sister company that is expanding the team's marketing reach into college sports, auto racing, golf, concerts and even beach volleyball.

The Red Sox famously dubbed the New York Yankees an "Evil Empire." In truth, it's on the Boston ballclub that the sun never sets.

"Baseball's always going to be our core business, but it's a mature business. It's going to be harder to squeeze more juice from the orange," said Dee, who has the dual role as the Red Sox's chief operating officer and the president of Fenway Sports Group.

"I tell people, 'I spend 80 percent of my time with the Red Sox, and the other 80 percent of my time with the Fenway Sports Group.' "

According to Forbes magazine, the value of the Red Sox, not counting Fenway Park or the team's television network, has more than doubled, from $339 million in 2001 to $724 million in this year's accounting.

If the Red Sox were strictly in the baseball business, this would be the time for the marketing folks to relax.

But major league baseball has a luxury tax that essentially forces big-money teams to send 40 cents of every new dollar to the have-nots. So when Red Sox co- owner John Henry looked at ways to grow his business, he had to look outside the sport.

Fenway Sports Group was born, and Dee was given wide latitude to look for new business opportunities.

"With revenue sharing, we were looking at trying to draw revenue from other areas that are untaxed. We really had to leave the sport of baseball to do that," Henry said.

"We've sold out about everything we can sell here. But we have tremendously creative people looking for additional challenges."

ETC.: The White Sox signed veteran left-handed reliever Mike Myers. . . . The Mets placed infielder Damion Easley on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained left ankle and recalled infielder Anderson Hernandez from Triple- A New Orleans. . . . The Phillies recalled right-hander Yoel Hernandez from Triple-A Ottawa to replace left-hander Mike Zagurski, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right hamstring. . . . The Cardinals signed infielder Miguel Cairo to a minor league contract. . . . The Devil Rays placed shortstop Ben Zobrist on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right side muscle and recalled infielder Joel Guzman from Triple-A Durham. . . . International Olympic Committee vice president Thomas Bach said baseball needs to strengthen its anti-doping program if it wants to regain Olympic status.