Red Sox notebook

After scan, Pedroia is ready to reboot

By Amalie Benjamin

Globe Staff / July 17, 2010

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As Dustin Pedroia walked around the clubhouse yesterday, still hobbling slightly in his boot, there was a noticeable difference. That was also the case as the Red Sox second baseman played catch with third base coach Tim Bogar, and as he took batting practice. The crutches were gone.

After receiving good results from yesterday’s CT scan, Pedroia was given the green light to put weight on his broken left foot. He was able to start baseball activities, though he will continue to wear the boot. He will be re-evaluated in 10 to 14 days, meaning a return on the upcoming West Coast trip is unlikely.

“The scan showed on Pedey a lot of healing, which was really good news,’’ manager Terry Francona said. “He’s allowed to start weight bearing. He can do a lot, though, with the boot, but he’s got to keep the boot on. He can hit, he can do anything he can do. That thing’s a little burdensome, which I’m sure that’s why he has it on. But there’s a lot of healing, so that’s good.’’

The significant concern is trying to keep the second baseman from overexerting himself. Even Pedroia is struggling with pain tolerance, especially determining the difference between what he can play with and what is too much.

“That’s the part I’m having trouble with,’’ he said. “I asked [the doctor] that. He said it’s like a sharp pain. I said, well, is achy a problem? I don’t know. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve played with some pain before. But I don’t know.’’

The Sox have emphasized that Pedroia can’t take on too much too fast, because he could do more damage if he’s not careful.

“That’s what Tito told me,’’ he said. “He called me an idiot. He said if I come back in a week and a half and then I get hurt and I’m out for the rest of the year, what good are you going to do us then? First good point he’s made since I’ve known him.’’

As Francona said, “We’ve got a guy that’s doing everything in his power to play. What I’m kind of worried is he’ll try to do too much. Listening to the doctors, they’re relying on him a little bit, which scares everybody. If it’s sore, he’s got to back off, and getting an honest answer out of him is tough . . . All the good qualities that we love in him, we don’t want him to hurt himself.’’

Pedroia spent part of the afternoon being fitted for a special shoe by New Balance that will help protect his foot when he returns. He also made an addition to his boot, a black sock with skulls on it that was sent to him by a fan.

“I’m happy with the fact that it’s healing,’’ Pedroia said. “I didn’t think it would take this long. I know they told me six weeks and I thought I could come back sooner than that. I guess I have to be smart because if I come back too early and that bone breaks off, I’m out for the rest of the year. Just got to be smart and let it heal.’’

Varitek a little behind

Jason Varitek also underwent a CT scan on his broken foot yesterday. The results weren’t as good as Pedroia’s, with Varitek still confined to his crutches in the clubhouse yesterday. “Tek is a little bit behind,’’ Francona said. “There’s not as much healing with Tek, which I think they expected, and he’s probably a couple weeks behind Pedey. That’s very broad. Things can change, but that’s about how it was explained to me.’’ . . . Adrian Beltre returned to the lineup last night after missing Thursday night’s game coming off his strained hamstring on Sunday and his appearance in the All-Star Game. Francona was planning to watch Beltre closely in batting practice, and said he would have removed him had he been wary at all. “He’s certainly not 100 percent,’’ Francona said. “I think what we’re hoping is we can get the production out of his bat. If we need to pinch run for him later, we certainly would. It’s not perfect. We recognize it. He’s not going to be perfect tomorrow. He hasn’t felt perfect for a while, but he’s been a pretty good player.’’ . . . Victor Martinez took more batting practice from the left side yesterday, with the left being far less painful for him than the right. Martinez still can’t catch, and can’t put on his glove without significant pain. The Sox are waiting until the pain subsides before Martinez takes any additional steps in his recovery.

Relief is on the way

The Sox will make a couple of roster moves today, one of which will be the activation of Manny Delcarmen from the disabled list. To open one spot, the Sox designated Fernando Cabrera for assignment last night, the reliever packing his bags after the game. Earlier in the day, Robert Manuel was optioned back to Pawtucket to make room for Cabrera. To get Cabrera on the 40-man roster, Josh Beckett was shifted to the 60-day disabled list. That’s a purely procedural move, as Beckett has been on the DL since May 19 and will be done with his 60 days before he’s ready to return to the club. “We obviously have some moving parts,’’ Francona said. “We’ll kind of get our house in order.’’ . . . Jeremy Hermida played left field for Double A Portland last night, going 0 for 4 with an RBI . . . Even before Jed Lowrie hit a home run for Pawtucket last night, Francona was effusive in his praise. “He’s doing really well,’’ the manager said. “We got a report from Bruce Crabbe that was about as upbeat as we’ve seen in a long time. The light’s kind of come on with Jed. He feels like he’s turning that corner, starting to see the player that we’ve all talked about. He’s not dragging, he doesn’t feel fatigued. I think he feels pretty good about himself.’’ . . . Adrian Beltre connected for his 16th career home run against Texas, tying for his most against any AL club (also Angels) . . . Francona reported that Jacoby Ellsbury has been working out with Tom Goodwin in Fort Myers, Fla., and that the outfielder requested he be able to do more than had been originally planned. “There were some parameters set up for him for his day’s schedule and he wanted to do a little bit more, which we were completely OK with,’’ Francona said.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.