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WORKOUT DAY: Biding his time

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

DENVER -- Tim Wakefield isn't on the Red Sox' 25-man roster for the World Series, but he continues to take part in workouts and is uniform and in the dugout during games.

Wakefield even did played some catch in the bullpen Thursday at Fenway.

''It takes a little time to decompress,'' said Wakefield, ''and I want to be a good teammate, too.''

Wakefield is sidelined with recurring inflammation in his right shoulder, an ailment which first struck him in late August and forced him to miss a start. Had the problem come about in June or July, Wakefield said, he would have been shut down, with an eye toward getting him ready for later in the season.

But with only a month to go in the regular season and the Sox still needing to clinch a playoff spot, he returned to the rotation after missing just one start.

He will undergo an artrhogram after the Red Sox' season is complete and then get a strengthening program for the offseason. He's been assured by the Red Sox medical staff that a surgical procedure is ''very slim. There's nothing structurally wrong with the shoulder. (The inflammation) causes problems like internal impingement.''

The Sox have until early November to inform Wakefield whether they intend to pick up his rollover option for $4 million. Wakefield, asked whether this setback might influence the Sox' decision, responded: ''I don't think so.''

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 4:51 PM | Permalink