No One Knows When Buchholz Will Return

Clay Buchholz last pitched on June 16, and neither he nor the Red Sox have any idea when his next start will be.

[W]hen it feels all right to take the mound, that's when I'll do it. It's something that I don't think I can really rush into or try to do more than I can ... I know it's not anything structural ... It's a muscle that's always working. There's never really any rest. Obviously walking around, you're working your back. ... Me going out there not 100 percent and not 80 percent, I don't think it's going to help the team. ... I'd rather be ready to pitch at 100 percent.

Terry Francona disagreed (sort of):

I don't know if that has to be the case. I just think he has to be able to go out and be able to pitch every five days and have it not get in the way. Again, just try and use good judgment. I don't know that anybody is 100 percent at this time of the year.

Buchholz said playing catch at 50% on Thursday and Friday was "a step in the right direction ... I actually went a little bit harder than that, because I didn't feel anything like I thought I was going to. Throwing has never really been the issue. It's been pitching when throwing off the mound."

Mid-to-late August is the best case scenario, assuming Buchholz can begin throwing off a mound in the next week or so. Which means it could be September ...

Carl Crawford went 0-for-3 with Pawtucket last night -- "[he] wasn't able to manage even a loud foul ball" -- and is likely to be activated tomorrow in Baltimore.

Is John Lackey at it again? After allowing four hits and three runs in the first inning yesterday (and being burned by some poor fielding), he said:

Honestly, I felt like I made some good pitches in that inning. Had a lot of balls on the ground and kind of ran into a little bit of bad luck."

Note: He's not getting ready to catch a pop-up.