Wells may miss a month

David Wells is on the 15-day disabled list. That much is fact. What's wrong with him? Depends whom you ask.

Red Sox doctor Thomas Gill, in a two-paragraph statement, called Wells's injury a "foot sprain." Wells was even less revealing.

"The foot," he said. "A foot's a foot. I'm not trying to be sarcastic here. My foot's sore, all-around sore . . . especially today."

According to two team sources, Wells injured the plantar -- or sole -- region of his right foot.

Gill said there is "no exact time frame for his return," and Wells said, "I can't give any timetable."

Manager Terry Francona said that a month to a month and a half "sounds about right."

"I got my foot in a boot right now," Wells said. "Just let it take its course and see. We'll just see. I'm not a doctor.

"I've sprained it before, but not to the point where I've been on the DL. I've come back from them before. This one's a little more severe than the last one."

Wells said he had an MRI that showed no break, but added, "I can't read them. From the side to the bottom, somewhere, today it feels like the whole foot. Until the swelling goes down, if they do another MRI, I don't really know."

Wells, who expects to wear the plastic boot for about a week, said he hadn't been masking any ailments before injuring his foot.

"I've been feeling pretty good," he said. "Sometimes I'm not 100 percent. I go out there and still pitch. There's injuries that you can play through and there's certain injuries you can't. I think when you're dealing with the feet, it's a little tougher to deal with than anything else."

Wells said he'll probably be able to ride a bike, swim, and throw within 4-7 days.

Asked if he considered this a freak injury, the 41-year-old Wells said, "I would think. It's like the guy running down the line comes up lame. Nomar [Garciaparra] swings, takes two steps, pulls a groin. It can happen to anybody."

Wells was hurt while attempting to field Javy Lopez's slow roller in the fourth inning Monday night. He gave up a homer to the next batter, B.J. Surhoff, then two more hits to the next four hitters. He was lifted at that point, after 3 2/3 innings.

Wells's contract, which guarantees him $8 million over two seasons, is largely incentive-based. He can make an additional $10 million in incentives. "That's what my contract is, incentive-loaded," said Wells, who is 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA. "But there's nothing I can do. If I could turn back time, I'd do it. But I signed the contract and that's the situation that it's in. I have to deal with it.

"Yeah, I'm bummed by it. I'm not going to lose any sleep. My health is more important than the money. The money, it's nice to have. But if you're not going to get it from your incentives, then so be it."

Pitching shuffle

Triple A lefthander Lenny DiNardo was summoned to fill Wells's roster spot.

DiNardo will pitch in long relief, the job that belonged to John Halama, who will start next Tuesday in Detroit.

Rehabbing righthander Wade Miller will pitch tomorrow in Pawtucket, meaning his day to pitch again also would be Tuesday. It's possible that Miller makes two rehab starts with Pawtucket, then joins the Sox rotation May 8 vs. Seattle. Miller's pitch count is expected to reach 90 tomorrow, then 100 the next time out. The questions are: Does management think he's ready? And, are there any lingering medical risks associated with the frayed rotator cuff that prematurely ended his 2004 season?

DiNardo, meanwhile, was 0-0 with a 3.14 ERA in three starts with the PawSox, being touched for only nine hits in 14 1/3 inings.

He worked a scoreless ninth inning last night despite facing a treacherous situation. Baltimore loaded the bases with no outs (two singles and a Kevin Millar error), bringing up Miguel Tejada. DiNardo fanned Tejada swinging, then got Sammy Sosa to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Mantei OK

Matt Mantei's ankle, sprained in the seventh inning Monday night, felt good enough that he said before last night's game that he probably could pitch if needed. "Except I know I'm not going to," Mantei said. "I'm sure they'll be careful and give me tonight and tomorrow off, too." Mantei hurt himself backing up third base . . . Manny Ramirez passed Joe Carter for 42d on the all-time home run list with his 397th. Dale Murphy (398) is next. Ramirez has 7 homers and 21 RBIs in the last 11 games . . . Bill Mueller went 2 for 4 with a walk and two RBIs in his first start since last Wednesday . . . Plenty of good seats remain for Miller's rehab start with Pawtucket tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. Box seats at McCoy Stadium cost $9, general admission seats $6 . . . Bronson Arroyo stuck a CD in the clubhouse sound system yesterday not realizing that it included his own singing. A few teammates perked up when Arroyo's cover of the Goo Goo Dolls' "Slide" was heard. "He's the only guy who plays his own [expletive] in the clubhouse," Mantei cracked . . . David Ortiz's second-inning double was the 200th of his career.