PHILADELPHIA - Should Adrian Gonzalez move to right field in order to make room in the lineup for David Ortiz? Manager Terry Francona says he has discussed the issue with general manager Theo Epstein.
"We've talked about it ad nauseum," Francona said. "We'll talk about it a little bit more."
Keeping Ortiz out of the lineup, as Francona has done during the first four games of this nine-game interleague road trip, deprives the Red Sox of one of their best hitters. But playing Gonzalez in right field could prove costly - and there's a chance that by playing out of position, Gonzalez could suffer an injury.
"What I want to do is to have Theo say, 'OK,' and then I can blame him," Francona said, tongue firmly in cheek. "That's what we're shooting for here."
Ortiz went hitless - though he did have a walk - in three plate appearances as a pinch-hitter in Pittsburgh. He entered the series in Philadelphia hitting .311 with a .391 on-base percentage and .581 slugging percentage, numbers that almost certainly will land him in his seventh All-Star Game appearance.
If he doesn't play in Philadelphia or Houston, he'll go close to two weeks without getting three or four plate appearances in a game.
"I don't think he's not comfortable pinch-hitting," Francona said. "I just think he wants to play. I don't blame him. I'm not any more happy about this than he is. I think it's awful. I just don't know what to do. He understands it, too. I don't blame him for not being happy. He's having a great year, and he's not playing. That's awful."
The Boston Herald reported that Ortiz will play first base on Wednesday, batting against Phillies righty Vance Worley, and Gonzalez will play the outfield.
Neither Clay Buchholz nor Carl Crawford has a timetable for a return, Francona said on Tuesday.
Buchholz landed on the disabled list 10 days ago with a lower-back strain. He threw a bullpen session during the off-day on Monday, but there are no plans for him to be activated or to go out on a rehab trip.
"We're going to be really careful with him, obviously," Francona said. "He's not going to pitch until we're comfortable he can go out and handle it."
Crawford is eligible to be activated from the disabled list this weekend while the Red Sox are in Houston - his hometown - but he's not likely to return until the Red Sox get home next week. He jogged a half-dozen 90-foot spans on Tuesday, but hasn't done anything more strenuous than that.
"I guarantee, when you see him, he's OK," Francona said.
Bobby Jenks signed with the Red Sox expecting to join Daniel Bard as a primary set-up arm in front of Jonathan Papelbon. Jenks instead has endured two stints on the disabled list and is sitting on a 6.57 ERA in 1261/3 innings.
"I might be the most frustrated one here," he said.
Jenks landed on the disabled list in May with a right biceps strain after compiling a 9.35 ERA in his first 11 appearances. He hadn't allowed a run in 362/3 innings since his return when he felt discomfort in his ribs and went right back on the shelf.
(The injury originally was listed as back tightness, but Jenks said Tuesday he'd hurt his ribs, not his back.)
"When I came back off the DL the first time, I was throwing the ball extremely well," he said. "No one could be more frustrated than I am - or happier to be back."
Jenks and lefty Franklin Morales both were activated from the disabled list on Tuesday to reinforce the Red Sox bullpen. Scott Atchison and Tommy Hottovy were optioned to Pawtucket to make room on the roster.
Morales struck out two — including Domonic Brown, who previously had doubled and homered — in a scoreless seventh inning on Tuesday. Jenks labored but ultimately escaped the eighth inning without allowing a run, striking out Shane Victorino to strand two runners.
John Lackey pitched terribly in his last start. No one can dispute that.
But Francona - as he tends to do - is putting a positive spin on his embattled righty. Lackey had survived early trouble in his previous start and pitched through the eighth inning, striking out five and walking no one. His ERA since his return from the disabled list is 5.03, but his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a more respectable 3.75.
Lackey will have a chance to right the ship on Wednesday against the Phillies, a team against whom he has a 3.44 ERA in three career starts.
The fact that there's only a 10-percent chance of precipitation on Wednesday is a step in the right direction. The rain clearly affected his control of the ball last week.
"You could tell he couldn't command anything," Francona said. "I know Curt (Young) went out to the mound and was like, 'OK, let's find something.' He was like, 'I'm trying.' It just wasn't happening. But his three starts up to that were really good, so I'd like to hang my hat on the fact that, OK, it was a bad day, move on."
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