Clement faces a lengthy rehab

With the extensive damage that Dr. James Andrews found in Matt Clement's right shoulder during surgery Tuesday afternoon, baseball does not appear to be a part of the pitcher's near future.

While the Red Sox were still being close-lipped on the situation, Clement's agent, Barry Axelrod, compared the damage to that suffered by quarterback Drew Brees, whose surgery was also performed by Andrews. Brees tore the labrum in his right shoulder and suffered damage to his rotator cuff, had surgery in January, and is back playing in the NFL for New Orleans.

Axelrod said Clement likely will be immobilized for at least several months before being allowed to think about throwing. Beyond that, Axelrod wasn't willing to speculate. Axelrod did say Andrews told Clement ``absolutely" to the question of whether he would ever be able to pitch again.

``Once they were in there, they found a lot," Axelrod said of the surgery Andrews completed in Birmingham, Ala. ``There were tears. The way the doctor described it, it was like three surgeries in one."

With Clement still groggy and unable to give the team permission to release medical information, the team did not give a statement on the pitcher's condition until the fifth inning of last night's game. That statement said little, only that the surgery was ``to address ongoing issues with his right shoulder. There was significant abnormality identified at the time of surgery, which was addressed."

Clement underwent an MRI Monday, as well as a strength test, which he passed. The MRI showed the normal wear and tear expected for a pitcher of Clement's age (32) and experience, but Andrews also found an area of interest, which he determined to investigate during exploratory arthroscopic surgery Tuesday.

During the procedure, Andrews considered terminating the surgery because of the extensive damage but decided to continue. ``Obviously [there was] some level of disappointment," Axelrod said. ``A week ago Matt was hoping to get in a game by the end of the season. Having them find everything they found was a disappointment.

``The silver lining is they found something. Something was wrong. This has been a tough year for Matt, having some element of society doubting him, doubting himself. Once you pinpoint something, in some sense, some way that's a relief."

Coco Crisp made an unexpected appearance at Fenway Park yesterday, showing off the new cast over his surgically repaired left index finger. ``Everything went good," Crisp said. ``Feels a little throbbing right now."

Crisp said he anticipated being ready to start workouts in January. ``When I broke it in the fifth game of the season, it was a time thing where it was going to eventually heal through the course of the season," Crisp said. ``It didn't actually do that. I just kind of brought it back to the very beginning. I knew something was wrong with it because of the way it had been feeling for weeks . . . Hopefully next year both hands will be healed -- God willing -- and I'll be able to go out there and be healthy for a full season."

Alex Gonzalez left the team Tuesday night not long after 6 and immediately headed to Miami because of a family matter, requiring his replacement in the lineup by Alex Cora. Manager Terry Francona said Gonzalez is not expected to come back, and doesn't need to come back . . . Francona announced Devern Hansack would take Curt Schilling's spot for the final game of the season Sunday . . . Francona remains undecided on whether Manny Ramírez will be seen on the field this weekend against Baltimore.

Before the game, Johnny Pesky was honored by the team on his 87th birthday . While the right-field foul pole has unofficially been known as Pesky's Pole since Mel Parnell coined the term in the late '60s, a plaque now officially calls it as such. Yesterday's dedication was also attended by Bobby Doerr and Frank Malzone. Trot Nixon presented the plaque to Pesky, before the Sox legend -- in his 56th year with the team -- threw out the first pitch to Tim Wakefield . . . The Red Sox honored five minor leaguer players in a brief pregame ceremony: righthander Clay Buchholz (pitcher of the year), infielder Jeff Natale (offensive player of the year), outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (defensive player of the year, base runner of the year), lefthander Jose Alvarez (Latin pitcher of the year), and infielder Richard Burgos (Latin player of the year) . . . The Sox dropped to 31-42 since the All-Star break . . . Though the Sox won't set the major league record for fewest errors in a season, they did manage to establish a mark for errorless games in a season with 105. The 1998 Orioles and '99 Mets had shared the record of 104 . . . The nine runs allowed by the Sox in the seventh inning marked the most in one frame since July 4, 2004, at Atlanta . . . Tampa starter Tim Corcoran's win was his first since July 9.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.