Ellsbury back to Pawtucket

Before last night's game, Red Sox manager Terry Francona could not have been more pointed in refuting any suggestion the Sox are thinking of keeping rookie Jacoby Ellsbury as an extra outfielder. In case anyone didn't catch his drift, Francona announced after last night's 15-4 victory that Ellsbury had been returned to Triple A Pawtucket. The Sox did not announce who will be joining the team in Detroit for a weekend series against the Tigers.

Ellsbury entered last night's game in the fifth inning and had two singles. He hit .375 (6 for 16) in a half-dozen games after his promotion from the PawSox last Saturday, and dazzled with his speed.

"I think maybe the best thing I can do is caution the people who are ready to put him in the Hall of Fame," Francona said. "That, in this area, tends to happen because the fans and the media know so much about kids coming up. Then he gets an infield hit and a base hit to right. He's not on the way to Cooperstown yet. I think his future is very bright. He's not the finished product, but he's not supposed to be when you've had this many at-bats.

"We'll have to make some decisions here on how to best go about the next phase of his development. For four or five games, he's shown in brief glimpses he can be very exciting . . . [But] I'd be very surprised if you see Jacoby Ellsbury be a part-time player in Boston at this juncture of his career. That's not in his best interests. For three or four days, sure. But not for a couple of months."

The Sox would like to see Ellsbury elevate the ball more consistently, the way he did in Portland and Pawtucket. A September call-up is a virtual certainty, with Ellsbury conceivably figuring into postseason roster permutations because of his speed -- in the Dave Roberts role, for example.

One inning into last night's hit-a-thon, Francona's decision not to play Wily Mo Peña against Tampa Bay's soft-tossing lefthander, J.P. Howell, looked golden. J.D. Drew, who would have sat if Peña had played right field, tied a big league record with two singles in the first. Coco Crisp, who would have been a spectator if Peña had started in center, hit a grand slam off the Coke bottles.

But the fact he was not in the lineup is a measure of how marginalized Peña has become in the Red Sox scheme. The Catch-22 (it's only a coincidence that's the number Peña wears) remains as true today as when he first came to the Sox. Peña needs to play in order to play better. The Sox can't afford to play him more because he's playing so poorly.

Peña struck out four times in his last start, Tuesday night against Devil Rays lefty Scott Kazmir. He is batting .182 (14 for 77) in his last 32 games, his average plummeting from .278 to .212. In 52 at-bats since June 1, Peña has one home run. In that span, he has struck out 21 times and walked three times. Francona has called upon him 10 times to pinch hit this season. He's 0 for 10 with four whiffs.

The Sox are scheduled to face two more lefties in Detroit, phenom Andrew Miller tonight and Nate Robertson Sunday. Francona said he has no idea whether he'll use Peña, and can anyone blame him if he doesn't?

On the other hand, Peña is only 25. He's 19 months older than Sox rookie Dustin Pedroia, 20 months older than Ellsbury. But his career path is such that his playing time is shrinking: He's on pace for 217 at-bats this season, which would be his fewest since he was with Cincinnati in 2003, his first full season in the big leagues.

Peña's performance, of course, is doing little for his trade value. The Sox like him because he gives them insurance. Would they move him if they could get value in return? With Drew signed for five years, it's hard to imagine why they wouldn't. But how do you get value when he's playing poorly, when he plays at all?

"One thing that has changed a little bit in the dynamic of Wily Mo playing is when we see Coco's defense in center field, how it has impacted our team, that has probably lessened Wily Mo's at-bats out of the center-field role," said Francona.

"I will admit that, yeah. I've been frustrated sometimes because I know I have a responsibility to try to get him some at-bats because it's all about winning, I agree, but at the same time, you're trying to develop players, and that's not always the easiest thing to do."

Peña entered the game in the sixth inning, replacing Drew, and went 0 for 2.

Some eyebrows were raised at the news that Clay Buchholz, the Sox' top pitching prospect in Portland, was used out of the bullpen Wednesday, going 1 1/3 innings against New Britain. The official reason given is that Buchholz is likely to pitch an inning or so of relief in the All-Star Futures Game, and the Sox did not want that to be his first relief experience. The Sox also have a limit on how many innings a Double A pitcher throws -- around 165 -- and Buchholz has pitched 86 2/3, so a bullpen appearance might help on that count as well. It's also a possibility, more than a probability, that Buchholz could get a big league summons this summer if the bullpen needs help, much like Jonathan Papelbon made the jump in 2005, which he began as a starter in Portland. But at this stage, that would appear to be a long shot for Buchholz, who has been dazzling (7-2, 1.77 ERA, 116 K's, 22 BBs) for the Sea Dogs. "There is no hidden agenda," Francona said . . . In his postgame press conference, Josh Beckett apparently was misinformed when he said Devil Rays catcher Dioner Navarro fractured his jaw in a sixth-inning collision at first base with the Sox pitcher. Navarro, who came out of the game after the collision, went to the hospital but was released and joined his teammates . . . Kevin Youkilis sat for the second straight game with a strained left quadriceps . . . Joel Piñeiro (ankle) should be ready for a rehab assignment Wednesday in Lowell, Francona said . . . Brendan Donnelly (forearm) threw a side session on flat ground yesterday and should throw a bullpen session by the end of the week, Francona said.