01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, May 21, 2005

BY STEVEN KRASNER and SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writers

BOSTON -- Curt Schilling is out of the boot.

But despite the fact the Sox' ace right-hander has been able to shed the protective footwear, there still was no word last night as to when Schilling might be back on the mound for the Red Sox.

His progress, said team physician Thomas Gill last night, will "truly be day-to-day," based on how Schilling is feeling as he moves through the rehabilitation stages of long toss, bullpen sessions and game-type action, such as simulated games.

The Yankees are looming on the schedule next weekend. Gill said he would "not rule (Schilling) out for anything." Common sense, though, would seem to make that possible highly remote, especially considering Schilling last threw in a game on April 23 and has been in the boot since April 27.

Then again, Schilling defied common sense last fall.

Schilling pitched his way into big-league lore and the Sox's fans' hearts by ignoring a torn tendon sheath in his right ankle and helping Boston capture its first World Championship in 86 years.

However, Schilling, who had extensive surgery after the 2004 season to repair the damage, has been on the disabled list since April 29, because of what has been termed a "bone bruise" and a "stress reaction.

The medical staff has been working with Schilling to make sure his arm, shoulder and aerobic conditioning remain fit during the "boot" phase of his recovery. Gill, who says he is "very encouraged," said Schilling has lost some weight, too.

An ugly twist

The Red Sox made some roster moves yesterday, placing catcher Doug Mirabelli on the 15-day disabled list with a left wrist sprain. The team purchased the contract of Shawn Wooten from Pawtucket to serve as its second catcher, and placed outfielder Adam Stern to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Wooten.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein made the announcement before Terry Francona's pregame meeting with the media. This is the first time in his career Mirabelli has been on the DL.

Mirabelli injured the wrist during Wednesday's loss at Oakland. Coming on as a defensive replacement for Jason Varitek, Mirabelli picked up David Ortiz's bat for his second trip to the plate.

Ortiz's bat is a couple of ounces heavier and weighted differently than his usual piece of wood, Mirabelli said, with more of the weight toward the end of the bat.

"The problem was when I swung and missed, and when I missed I continued to swing, and the bat was just too heavy for me to stop it," Mirabelli said.

The 34-year-old said he felt tightness in the wrist and thought he might have tweaked it, but contacted the Sox medical staff when the tightness didn't go away. The pain has started to subside, though there is still inflammation. The wrist is in a brace.

Mirabelli said he picked up Ortiz's bat because he liked the way it felt, though the first-time experiment obviously didn't work out the way he had hoped.

This being the first time he's had to sit with an injury, Mirabelli said he wasn't sure how he'd react to the forced rest.

"I don't know what to expect. A lot of times its bearable (to sit) because I know I'll start every fifth day (when Tim Wakefield pitches), so now it will be tough because I can't help the team in any way," he said

Arroyo rewards young fan

Bronson Arroyo has invited Zach Schwieger, the 10-year-old fifth grader from the Henri A. Yelle Middle School in Norton, Mass., who was ordered to remove his cornrows by the school's principal on Monday, to attend tonight's game along with his parents. Arroyo was Schwieger's inspiration for the offending hairstyle.

Arroyo declined to comment on the principal's decision.

"Hey, when I was in school I didn't understand why you couldn't wear a hat or chew gum," said Arroyo with a smile.

Help on the way

Francona announced last night which six pitchers from the Sox' minor-league system will be with the team Monday at the Hall of Fame game in Cooperstown, N.Y.

They are: East Providence native Barry Hertzler and Anibal Sanchez, both currently with Single-A Wilmington; Juan Sanchez, recently called up to Pawtucket; Double-A Portland's Manny Delcarmen; Harvey Garcia, with Single-A Greenville and Randy Newsom, now with Lowell, will be with the Red Sox in Cooperstown. All are right-handed pitchers.

Boston's top prospect, Portland shortstop Hanley Ramirez, is among the field players making the trip.

Francona said director of player development Ben Cherington had a tough job to find players to fill the roster, since none of the Red Sox' farm teams have an off-day on Monday. Boston's regular starters will each get one at-bat in the exhibition game against Detroit before the farmhands take over.

"We wanted to be respectful of the game. The (Boston) guys will show their faces, sign some autographs, let the people there have a good day," Francona said. "These kids (getting called in for the game) will have a ball, and we'll be able to get to know them, so it's good all around."

Franco an inspiration

Francona seemed more than impressed yesterday when the topic of Julio Franco came up. After all, the 46-year-old Franco and the 46-year-old Francona were teammates 17 years ago in Cleveland.

Franco was Atlanta's designated hitter last night.

"That was 16, 17 years ago," Francona said, a bit of awe in his voice. "But he really took care of himself, even back then. He was always reading about diets. It was impressive."

Around the bases

The homer for Varitek was the seventh May 20 round-tripper of his career. It was the fifth straight year he had homered on May 20. Overall, he is 8 for 27 with 13 RBI . . . The homer by Bill Mueller was the first for a Sox third baseman this year. It also was Mueller's first since last Sept. 26, against New York's Esteban Loaiza, a stretch of 122 homerless at-bats. When he touched home plate, it marked the 600th run scored of his career . . . David Wells turned 42 yesterday . . . Twice the Braves' Tim Hudson walked Johnny Damon, once intentionally and once at least semi-intentionally, loading the bases with two outs for Edgar Renteria each time. Renteria bounced out each time, stranding three. Renteria, who drove in a first-inning run with a groundout, left seven on base overall . . . Hudson's Fenway Park earned-run average is 7.92 . . . Atlanta second baseman Marcus Giles, called out on strikes by first base umpire Andy Fletcher on what he thought was a checked swing, barked at Fletcher and was ejected. Giles had to be physically restrained by first-base coach Glenn Hubbard from charging at Fletcher.