No masking his disappointment

This may be Doug Mirabelli's team for now, but that doesn't mean Jason Varitek is ceding everything to him. Not yet.

With Varitek at Fenway Park yesterday, the day before he undergoes arthroscopic surgery to repair partially torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee, the catcher pulled his chair toward a meeting between Mirabelli and last night's starter, Jon Lester, in the clubhouse an hour and a half before the game against the Indians.

Mirabelli hadn't caught Lester before and so, as promised, Varitek offered his wisdom to the man who will replace him behind the plate for nearly every game, not just during Tim Wakefield's starts.

``I'm not going to disappear unless they make me, and they're going to have a hard time doing that," Varitek said. ``Dougie and I will continue to communicate . . . I'll try to help in any way that I can right now, or just being a supportive teammate."

Reluctant to place a timetable on his return before surgery this morning, Varitek acknowledged that he considered staying in the lineup while rehabbing the knee.

But, after speaking with manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein, it was determined that it would be better for Varitek to have surgery.

``Right now I can't put any pressure on my foot at all hardly, I have a little trouble walking," said Varitek.

``But we talked about the possibility of maybe taking on a lesser role, trying to work through it, doing those things. They felt that where it's at, toward the back [of the knee], with squatting it won't allow me to really get into a squat.

``I had asked because I wanted to have the team's [opinion]. Ask Tito, ask Theo. They're very supportive. [They said,] `We just need to get this taken care of, get this done, so we can have you instead of 25 percent, we can get you for two, three weeks at closer to 100 percent.' "

After absorbing a big hit from Angels catcher Mike Napoli Saturday on a slide into home, Varitek said he anticipated the swelling and irritation -- something Francona said had been bothering Varitek for a while -- would subside. It didn't.

And, when running the bases Monday night, Varitek aggravated the injury so much that he could not put any pressure on the knee.

From the looks of it yesterday -- and by his own admission -- he still can't.

Varitek hobbled into Fenway Park's interview room with a soft white brace around the knee and, later in the clubhouse without the brace, put even less strain on it.

Once he leaves surgery, Varitek will be eager to begin his rehab.

``It's not the end of the world," Varitek said. ``It's probably more the end of the world for me than it is for [the team]. They're going to be fine."

Matt Clement, who has not started since allowing five hits and six walks in 4 2/3 innings June 14 at Minnesota, was scheduled to meet with Francona and the coaching staff before the game to discuss the ``frustration" Clement has had with his throwing. Clement has struggled with an injury to his right biceps, which he said was inflamed and tired, not torn.

``I've never been through this before, so I don't have anything to play it off," Clement said after his bullpen session Tuesday. ``It's not like I can say, `Hey, I was hurt in 2002, I rehabbed, and I felt like this or that.' I've never been in this position before.

``I sometimes get frustrated when it doesn't feel good, and they're saying, `You're progressing great. That's exactly where we want you.' So, other days it feels great, and I'm ready to speed it up, and we go too quick.

``This is dreadful. I just do as much work as I can do. I do all the stuff with my arm that I can do, and do my running, and do what I can do to keep busy."

Jason Johnson is scheduled to start Sunday at Tampa Bay and will remain in the rotation with Kyle Snyder staying in the bullpen. Snyder, who has had four major arm surgeries in his career, seems to fit the bullpen role Francona has been seeking, with 4 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit relief Monday night. ``It's not a slap in the face, it's more of a compliment," Francona said. ``If we can get five, six good innings out of Jason, I think we think Kyle can impact our bullpen. That's welcome. That's kind of that guy we've been missing." . . . David Wells got through a side session and his right knee seems to be fine . . . Keith Foulke might be able to throw today, depending on how his back feels. He is also scheduled to pitch Saturday.

David Ortiz was named American League Player of the Month for July. Ortiz, who also won the honor in September 2005, batted .339 in 26 games last month with league highs of 14 homers, 35 RBIs, 87 total bases, and 21 extra-base hits. He's the only member of the Red Sox to win the award since 2003 . . . Last night marked the second time in the regular season Ortiz has struck out four times in a game since he joined the Red Sox. The other came May 24 against the Yankees as part of an 0-for-5 day . . . Lester's first-inning pickoff was his team-leading fifth of the season . . . Infielder Enrique Wilson was granted his release Monday and will retire. Wilson was at McCoy Stadium Tuesday to collect his belongings. In 62 games with Pawtucket, Wilson hit .222 with three homers and 18 RBIs . . . With the walkoff win, the Red Sox have three in the past five days and seven this season . . . Manny Ramírez hit his 30th home run (and 465th of his career), reaching the plateau for the ninth season in a row and 11th overall. Ramírez extended his hitting streak to 18 games with the blast . . . Jonathan Papelbon, who got the win in relief, has not given up a hit since July 13 against Oakland, a stretch of seven innings.

Gordon Edes of the Globe staff contributed to this report. RED SOX NATION For Red Sox news, photos and commentary from last night's game, go to www.boston.com/redsox