Next week for Garciaparra rehab?
While Nomar Garciaparra has been providing daily progress reports on his Achilles' tendinitis, he and the team have made it a point not to mention a specific timetable regarding a rehab assignment.
But yesterday, team physician Bill Morgan said if all goes well, Garciaparra could be heading out to play sometime next week.
"I think Nomar's on track," said Morgan. "He'll have another outing tomorrow hitting and running, and hopefully we'll get him in a playing situation next week. We're waiting for him to say, `It's not bothering me.' The worst thing to do now is push it and have him take a step backward."
Garciaparra again faced live pitching from Harvard pitchers yesterday and appeared to drive the ball better. He also ran the bases. He continued to say he was making progress, and will be able to go on rehab once he can do things intuitively.
Kim bound for Korea
The Red Sox confirmed that Byun Hyung Kim will return to Korea to have his ailing back examined by a specialist there. The righthander has been experiencing back and hip pain, which forced him to miss an outing in Pawtucket last Saturday. In two outings after his May 13 demotion, he had mixed results. In the first, May 14, he pitched two innings, allowed three runs, three hits, and one walk, with two strikeouts. Four days later, he allowed only two hits in two scoreless innings. According to manager Terry Francona, there is an imbalance in Kim's leg strength, which the Korean specialist has told general manager Theo Epstein he might be able to fix in 5-7 days. Kim's velocity has dipped dramatically into the low to mid 80s, a far cry from the mid 90s he was throwing last season . . . Manny Ramirez is keeping his fingers crossed on getting Raul Mondesi in a Red Sox uniform. Ramirez said he spoke to Mondesi last week and that Pedro Martinez also has talked to him. The Ramirez-Martinez duo is working hard behind the scenes, but Mondesi may not be in the Sox' price range . . . Andy Dominique had been holed up in an area hotel since Monday night awaiting word on Bill Mueller. With word coming yesterday that Mueller was going on the disabled list, the 28-year-old Dominique gets his shot at The Show. "When I was in the Philadelphia organization, Lee Elia told me to keep going and work as hard as I can because you never know which team is going to need a hitter," Dominique said. "Well, my time has finally come, and I'm just thrilled to be up here. I'll do anything they want me to do." Dominique likely will be used as a righthanded bat off the bench and occasionally as a DH. By the eighth inning last night, the Sox had a defensive alignment that included Dominique at first base, David McCarty in left field, Cesar Crespo at shortstop, Kevin Youkilis at third base, and Gabe Kapler in right field, with Lenny DiNardo pitching. Dominique struck out in his first major league at-bat, but fans chanted his first name as he stood at the plate.
Boras weighs in
Agent Scott Boras was in town last night to see clients Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek. He didn't think there would be any new substantive contract talks with the Sox brass but said he would touch base nonetheless. "I will speak to Theo, but I would say we'll likely wait until the end of the season for further talks," Boras said. He watched Varitek get on base five times last night, a sign that his client is going to do well in his next deal, whether it is here or elsewhere. "I have enough clients in the game who recognize the contributions that Jason makes on and off the field," Boras said. "He's really arrived. He's got a 25-year-old's body." Boras is aware of the talk that catchers tend to decline in their early 30s -- Varitek is 32 -- but won't have any of it. As for Lowe, who pitches tonight, Boras doesn't buy into the theory that the contract situation is affecting him. "I doubt that," Boras said. "I don't think Mike Mussina or Bartolo Colon were affected by their situations in the last year of their contracts. I think Derek has the best stuff he's ever had. I have other clients who tell me that all the time from opposing teams. He's having some issue with his mechanics now, but he's a hard worker and he'll figure it out." . . . Amazingly, the Sox have left the bases loaded in five of their last 16 innings . . . Pokey Reese was pinch-hit for in the seventh after he appeared to tweak his leg on a play in the top of the inning. There was no word on whether Reese was hurt or simply replaced as a precaution . . . Ellis Burks said the swelling in his left knee has subsided, though he has not yet started to run on it. Burks doesn't know whether he'll go on a rehab assignment . . . Epstein was on an undisclosed scouting assignment yesterday.
