Francona's trip to Japan is off

ST. LOUIS -- The Red Sox sent out word last night that Terry Francona, who last week had agreed to replace Ken Macha as manager of a team of major leaguers going to Japan next month for a series of exhibitions, has withdrawn.

The reason? Francona is hospitalized in California, where he had gone on personal business, with an infection in his left foot. He is expected to recover, according to the club, but was told by doctors that his treatment would preclude his trip overseas.

Francona agreed to manage the team after Macha withdrew after he was fired by the Oakland Athletics.

There are no Red Sox players on the team, though David Ortiz, who created a sensation on the 2004 tour, was asked to go, as was closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Ortiz declined, while Papelbon, who had expressed interest in going even as the club discouraged his participation, gave up the idea once he hurt his shoulder.

Adhering to commissioner Bud Selig's request that no major announcements take place during the World Series, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein had no comment last night when asked about the news that reliever Mike Timlin has agreed to a one-year deal to remain with the team.

According to the information filed on Timlin's behalf with the Players Association, the 40-year-old setup man will receive a salary of $2.8 million, plus incentives.

Timlin went 6-6 with a 4.36 ERA in 68 appearances last season, and in his four years in Boston he's appeared in 297 games.

He went on the disabled list from May 26-June 13 when he developed a shoulder strain.

Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who batted just .125 (2 for 16) in the ALCS against Oakland and did only slightly better (3 for 13, .231) in the division series against the Yankees, is now hitless in his past 20 postseason at-bats after going 0 for 4 in each of the first two games of the World Series.

Rodriguez grounded into a force play with the bases loaded in the first inning of Game 2, and struck out with runner on third with no outs in the fifth.

"We released him earlier today," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said with a straight face yesterday.

"I look for Pudge to still have a good series. I think Pudge by nature is such a fierce competitor, I think he's put himself in a trap where he's trying to do too much.

"He wants it so bad and it's hard to criticize a player for that. So I'm going to talk to him today about just going back to being Pudge, not try to do too much."

Leyland said while an extra adrenaline surge has been useful for pitcher Kenny Rogers, who has become uncommonly animated this postseason while putting up 23 consecutive zeroes, that adrenaline can be counterproductive for other players.

"In Pudge's case that has hurt him so far," he said.

The Cardinals have their two best pitchers, Chris Carpenter and Jeff Suppan, lined up the next two days, but manager Tony La Russa admitted that Anthony Reyes's strong performance in Game 1 has caused him to rethink his plan of having Jeff Weaver come back on three days' rest in Game 5, with Carpenter and Suppan then going on short rest if the Series goes seven games . . . Leyland said he is concerned how tonight's starter, Nate Robertson, will respond to a two-week layoff. Young star Justin Verlander, Leyland said, did not have his usual velocity in his Game 1 start after his protracted layoff. "The fastball was not there, which really totally surprised me, shocked me," Leyland added.

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.