Francona unmasks an emergency catcher

There was a small basket of flowers, with a note attached, sitting in front of Jason Varitek's locker before the game. Though its purpose wasn't obvious to the casual observer, a "get well" wish would be appropriate. That is what Varitek needs at the moment.

One of the victims of the illness that's making its way through the clubhouse - it has also felled Manny Delcarmen, bullpen coach Gary Tuck, and strength coach Dave Page - Varitek was told to head home before last night's game. Kevin Cash got his third straight start behind the plate.

"He's having a tough time," said manager Terry Francona. "He's really having a tough time. It's knocked him off his feet and he's struggling.

"The guys that are getting it are not able to function. It's just knocked them completely off their feet. He was here for a little while and we're getting him out. What they have is very contagious, so the clubhouse is probably not the best place to not spread something."

The flu-like symptoms that have affected Varitek since Sunday have also created a roster problem: no backup catcher.

Before Josh Beckett came down with a stiff neck yesterday and had to miss his scheduled start, the Sox had intended to designate Joe Thurston for assignment and bring up a catcher. That plan took a back seat when Beckett was forced out, as the Sox decided to bring up David Pauley from Pawtucket for the spot start. (Thurston was still designated for assignment.)

That still left the problem of needing another catcher.

Enter Dustin Pedroia.

With emergency catchers Mike Lowell and Alex Cora on the disabled list, Francona approached Pedroia to fill the role. He said he was up for the job, though a set of equipment has to be procured. Pedroia hasn't caught since high school, but his brother was a catcher and familiarized him with the position.

"Pedroia says he can be the backup catcher, and at this point, that was good enough for me," Francona said. "Once somebody says he can do it, he may not get a second [chance]. We'll get some equipment to fit him and he'll be all right."

Pedroia did seem to have a plan for catching Jonathan Papelbon. He'll go with the fastball.

"Yeah, might chase it to the backstop, though," Pedroia said.

The Sox have the option of sending Pauley to Pawtucket today and bringing up a catcher (George Kottaras or Dusty Brown) if Varitek is still under the weather.

Lowell swings away

Lowell took live batting practice on the field yesterday, the first time he had done so since injuring his thumb. He was out for early batting practice, at 3:30 p.m., and did well enough that, barring any problems resulting from the activity, he'll do it again today. "I wanted to watch him," said Francona, "because when a guy comes in and tells you how good he feels, you want to have your eyes on him, where you can say, 'Hey, whoa, slow down, big fella, you don't look that good.' And he looked great. I was waiting to have him kind of nurse the bat through the zone and he looked great. So again, how he responds to that is important but he really did look good. I was very impressed. Very pleased." The absolute earliest that Lowell could take another step, a rehab assignment, would be this weekend . . . The stricken Delcarmen was in street clothes before the game, heading out of the ballpark.

Ready, willing

Coco Crisp proclaimed himself still sore but prepared to play last night. Though he hasn't played since April 15 in Cleveland, his injured hamstring is apparently fully tested and ready to go. "The actual warm-up, there was a fly ball out there that I ran from left-center to right-center trying to catch a fly ball," Crisp said. "So it felt good. I feel like I can go today, go out there and play at the level of 100 percent." Francona indicated that Crisp might be back in the starting lineup by tomorrow, when he would face Angels lefthander Joe Saunders.

Don't push it

Cora still won't be allowed to throw until the Sox return from Tampa after the weekend series, as he attempts to recover from his elbow injury. "The way the doctor explained it is they don't want to be pushing this thing," Francona said. "It's like a scab. If you push and pull, you're going to pull the scab off. I think AC's probably doing enough prodding on his own." . . . Pedroia's first-inning double extended his hitting streak to 11 games . . . Jacoby Ellsbury's first-inning home run was his first career leadoff shot . . . Thurston said that, assuming he clears waivers, he will accept an assignment to Pawtucket . . .The Sox re-signed pitcher Bryan Corey to a Triple A contract. He was designated for assignment April 11 and had elected free agency after amassing a 14.54 ERA for the Red Sox . . . To celebrate Earth Day, the Red Sox wore the "Official Greening Logo" on their sleeves . . . Yesterday was Francona's 49th birthday.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com