Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki spoke up on behalf of countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka on Tuesday night at the All-Star Game, predicting that Matsuzaka would get through his latest struggles and dismissing the implication that they were linked to Dice-K's participation in the World Baseball Classic.

Matsuzaka was the most valuable player of the WBC in the winter, but he's been totally ineffective for the Red Sox and is currently serving his second stint on the disabled list (though Matsuzaka has cast doubt on the notion that there is anything physically wrong with him).

"If you think that's the reason he's struggling right now, if people are blaming the WBC, that's not very smart," Suzuki told The Boston Herald. "People who are saying that are using it for a reason just to have a reason. They're not really thinking it through. I believe he thinks it's not due to the WBC, too. People who say that are just grasping for a reason."

Suzuki was also directly critical of Red Sox management, including Terry Francona, for implying that Matsuzaka's WBC play had hurt Boston's pitching staff.

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Speaking Wednesday during his weekly radio appearance on WEEI's Dale and Holley Show, Francona said third baseman Mike Lowell would return to the Red Sox lineup Friday and shortstop Jed Lowrie would be activated no later than Saturday.

"Not having Mike Lowell was tough for us," Francona said. "We moved [Kevin Youkilis] over to third, and I hope people understand how easy my job is because Youk can do that. [Mark] Kotsay has filled in great [at first base], [Aaron] Bates filled in, gave us a big day [Sunday]. But having Youk and Lowell as our corner guys, and having Kotsay fill in all over the place –– that gives us our best team."

As for Lowrie, Francona said he wouldn't be an everyday player for a while.

"If he comes back Saturday, or close to Saturday, he's not going to be at 100-percent efficiency," he said. "He's not going to be ready to play every day. So it's actually going to be a pretty good situation. We can use our shortstops — and again, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here — we can use who we have and also give Jed a day built in in between. That's probably going to be the best of both worlds."

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Roster moves will have to be made for Lowell and Lowrie to be activated. (Actually, Clay Buchholz will be activated Friday before Lowrie in order to pitch that night's game; after the game, Buchholz will be sent back to Pawtucket and Lowrie will take his roster spot.) Bates will be sent back to Pawtucket — perhaps as early as today, in order for him to play tonight's game at McCoy Stadium against Indianapolis — but the Sox have given few clues as to who else will go.

"We certainly have some decisions to make," Francona said. "And [general manager Theo Epstein] and I have talked a bunch about this, I don't think that's any secret . . . So we're looking at a couple of roster moves, and they're important ones."

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Speculation abounds in Toronto that Buchholz is being showcased Friday night for a possible trade involving Roy Halladay, but Francona said Buchholz' appearance is strictly to give the other Sox starters some rest.

"Coming out of the break, we really wanted to line up our pitching," he said. "And when you have the fourth day out of the break . . . it really gives you a lot of rest. It can also lead to a tough day coming back. That's why we're working out [Thursday] night [in Toronto]. We can get a little heavy just because of the time off. And it's a tough assignment to draw.

"So what we're thinking is that Buchholz is going to be very excited, turn him loose, and maybe he absolutely deals, which would be great, and we also line up the rest of our pitching."

He also acknowledged that rewarding Buchholz for his good first-half work in Pawtucket was a factor.

"[There's] something to be said for keeping Buchholz engaged in what we're doing," he said. "This kid has gone down and done everything we've asked. I don't think throwing him a bone is the right way to say it, but keeping him engaged in what we're doing and showing him we believe in what he's doing, I think there's something to be said for that."

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Francona had no problem with Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett staying on the sidelines in Tuesday's All-Star Game, even though he acknowledges it would have been nice for Wakefield — a first-time All-Star at age 42 — to participate.

"As a fan of Wakefield or the Red Sox, you're always going to want to see everything cater to our guys, and I'm probably in that boat, too," Francona said. "But I think as a representative of the American League, I thought they pulled it off really well."

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, who managed the American League All-Star team, told Wakefield he would save him in case the game went into extra innings. Francona — who managed the A.L. in its 15-inning victory last year at the old Yankee Stadium — understood.

"I don't doubt that Joe probably did a really good job of communicating with everybody," he said. "And again, I thought he did a good job."