Trot Nixon is expected to be activated Wednesday after traveling with the team to Colorado today.

08:59 AM EDT on Monday, June 14, 2004

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

Journal photo / Bill Murphy Trot Nixon, before batting practice at McCoy Stadium Thursday, returned to Boston last night after going 1-for-5 in his final game with the PawSox.

BOSTON -- Trot Nixon's minor-league rehab is complete.

Nixon arrived at Fenway Park late yesterday afternoon to join his teammates after completing a four-game stint with the PawSox. He will travel with the club to Colorado today and likely will be activated on Wednesday.

Yesterday, Nixon served as Pawtucket's designated hitter and went 1-for-5. Overall, he finished 4-for-10 with the PawSox.

"He looked like a very healthy player," said Boston general manager Theo Epstein. "He played well in the outfield, ran the bases fine, and it was the best he's looked physically."

Nixon said he felt ready for the majors after Saturday's game in Pawtucket, but said he wanted to leave it to the organization to make a final decision.

"I feel real good," he said. "My quad responded real well [yesterday]. Playing four days in a row, I think it responded a lot better than I thought it was going to. The more I ran, the more it stretched [out], the better the quad felt. It's still there, but it doesn't feel stressed; it doesn't feel sore or anything like that after playing four days in a row."

After a brutal game in the field and at the plate on Saturday, Nixon and Pawtucket manager Buddy Bailey spent a long time before yesterday's game working on fly balls, and testing Nixon's quad with no ill effects.

"I'm very eager [to contribute]," he said. "I don't want to . . . go up [to the plate] and not have a chance because I'm swinging at everything up there. I did it a

couple of times [yesterday] where I just wanted to try to hit the ball out of the park in my last couple of at-bats. But, I think [I should] stay within my realm and not try to go out there and try to jack every pitch, or worry about getting a hit every single time.

"I just need to go out and have good at-bats and play good defense and the rest should take care of itself."

Although he's been out of the major league lineup since injuring his back in spring , then experiencing the setback with the quadriceps injury, Epstein said he's sure once Nixon returns, the possibility of a setback will be minimal.

"It's been a while," said Epstein. "But, he's done a good job rehabbing it. His back has been [normal] for over a month now, and it's been the quad we've been dealing with for five weeks, so we're taking our time and he's right on the verge of being ready.

"This is huge. We're getting back a guy who gets on base, a guy who hits for power, a guy who fields his position, a clubhouse leader and a guy who plays the game the right way. He makes this team better. This gets us pretty darn close to fielding the roster we thought we were going to field."

Just because Nixon's rehab is over, that doesn't mean his treatments will cease. He'll continue heat, ice and ultrasound treatments before and after each game he plays. He acknowledged after Saturday's game in Pawtucket that he was nervous before that game, and was thinking about his leg. He won't be 100 percent for some time but is hoping to keep the issue out of his head, so not to affect his playing.

"The only way that will probably be in the back of my mind when I'm playing is if I feel it," said Nixon. "I think everything else I'll just go about it on instincts and so forth. You just have to go out there like any other person does, just preparing myself probably a little bit more with my quad stretches. I think the more that I stretch, that this knot, this scar tissue, might break up even more as I stretch it out."

Once injured third baseman Bill Mueller returns to the lineup -- and if everyone else remains healthy -- Epstein will have his lineup. Mueller will join the club in San Francisco and take batting practice. He's already begun to throw after having knee surgery almost three weeks ago. According to Epstein, Mueller has regained his range of motion and could be back in the lineup in a week or two.