Foulke will be activated on Thursday

Manager Terry Francona confirmed that Keith Foulke will make his third and final rehab appearance today for Single A Lowell and be activated Thursday, when rosters expand.

Foulke, back in the Sox clubhouse yesterday, sounded less than enamored of his two appearances in Lowell.

''Velocity was down, command wasn't as sharp as I want it to be," he said. ''I'm not out there to fool myself. Saturday didn't go very well. I wasn't happy with that at all. [Sunday] I went out and made some major adjustments, and was a lot closer to where I want to be."

Foulke said his body feels better, his surgically repaired left knee stronger.

''The problem is now I have to go back and correct a lot of bad habits that I formed," Foulke said. ''I'm definitely capable of doing more now than two months ago."

Foulke doesn't know if he'll close immediately. ''That ain't my decision," he said.

Francona yesterday said that issue was unresolved. ''I'm not going to give him the ball if he's not ready," the skipper said.

Foulke believes mechanical adjustments should produce an uptick in his velocity, but he sounded somewhat perplexed about the fact that he's thrown in the mid 80s this year.

''Maybe I'm just getting old," Foulke said. ''I don't know what the deal is. A few years back I was a 90-93 guy, consistently. That's when I was dominating. That's where I want to be. Hopefully, over the next month or so we can get back there and keep working toward next year."

''I got plenty to prove. ''The day I have nothing left to prove you will never see me again."

But, the pitcher gave this warning: ''I'm not a savior. I'm just a part of the puzzle."

Tracking Trachsel

The Sox inquired about Mets pitcher Steve Trachsel over the weekend but were told he was not available, according to league sources. There was a published report yesterday that a deal might be in the works, but sources said it was highly unlikely. ''The Mets would be crazy to move Trachsel," said one league source. Trachsel, who had missed most of the season with a back injury, shut out the Giants on two hits in eight innings last Friday in San Francisco . . . The Sox claimed reliever Chad Harville on waivers from Houston. Harville was 0-2 with a 4.46 ERA in 37 games for the Astros, and the fact that a playoff contender would let him go raises questions about his effectiveness, although in his last 13 appearances dating to July 17, he had allowed just two earned runs in 15 1/3 innings for a 1.17 ERA. He was not at the game last night.

Hurricane vigil

Jonathan Papelbon stayed up until 3 or 4 a.m. yesterday, watching TV reports on Hurricane Katrina. Papelbon, who was born in Baton Rouge, has family in Mississippi and Louisiana. ''They're riding it out," he said. ''They should be safe." His fiancee, Ashley Jefferies, managed to fly out of Jackson, Miss., Sunday evening and make it to Boston. The two have a wedding planned in early November at the Ritz in New Orleans. ''Hopefully, everything is still intact," Papelbon said . . . For those wondering why Johnny Damon was called out after he was struck in the left hand while swinging and missing at a two-strike pitch from Trever Miller, a reading from the rulebook: ''Rule 6.05 A batter is out when (f) he attempts to hit a third strike and the ball touches him."