Corey

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Bryan Corey slept on the floor of his vacant Boston suburb apartment Thursday night. Last night he was in the bullpen for the Red Sox.

The right-handed relief pitcher said he can’t describe what the last two weeks of his life have been like. The stress and uncertainty were very unsettling, he said. A successful September call-up in 2007, Corey made the club out of spring training this year and compiled a 14.54 ERA in six appearances. As a result, the Red Sox designated him for assignment on April 11. He elected free agency instead, cleaned out his apartment and headed home to Mesa, Ariz. to wait for a call.

In order to find some serenity and clear his head, Corey decided to play a round of golf by himself at home. When he was on the third hole, however, he received the call to inform him that he had cleared waivers.

“I was on the third fairway and it was perfect,” he recalled. “I was nice and relaxed, but I couldn’t finish after the call. I just turned around and went back to the clubhouse. There were just too many things going through my head. But I’m back. I have a fresh attitude and I’m ready.”

He resigned with the Red Sox on a minor-league deal and worked 2/3 of a scoreless inning for the PawSox on April 23 before Boston purchased his contract yesterday. To make room on the roster, the Red Sox optioned pitcher Justin Masterson, who made his major-league debut in a spot start on Thursday at Fenway, back to Double-A Portland.

Corey knew management, especially Terry Francona, thought highly of his ability. After Corey made the team out of spring training, he says he put too much pressure on himself to perform and that could be a reason for his sub-par performances and statistics.

“Sometimes you just need to get away from things to really get a good look from the outside looking in,” he said. “I went home and watched all the games on television, which is never a good feeling. At the same time I was able to put things into perspective. I had a lot of situations to mull over. These guys have been so good to me. My time in Boston has been great.”

He thought about all his options and felt Boston was the right place to be.

“This was a chance to get back to the big leagues, which is where I think I belong,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate this happening this quick. I’m going to roll with it and take it one day at a time.”

His work ethic is second-to-none. He’s always running and working out and that’s exactly what he did when he returned home during his two-week hiatus. He threw every day, including an 80-pitch bullpen session, so when he got the call he would be ready.

“You can look at it two ways,” he said. “You can go home and say ‘forget it’ or I can stay focused and get my work done. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I wanted to be ready. This game never ceases to amaze me, but I’ll fill whatever role they need.”

Colon’s out clause extended

Yesterday, Red Sox management spoke with pitcher Bartolo Colon (oblique) and he’s on track to throw a side session in a couple of days. Actually, the team has scheduled the right-hander to throw three side sessions prior to May 5 as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks. Colon has an May 1 out-clause in his contract, so knowing he wouldn’t be able to pitch before then Red Sox GM Theo Epstein spoke with Colon’s representatives, while Francona spoke with the pitcher to make sure he understands how the team feels about him.

“We wanted to make sure he understood that we want to keep him,” said Francona. The Red Sox and Colon’s representatives “have worked some things out where [the out date] has been moved back, and I don’t anticipate any problems. He wants to stay and we want him to stay.”

The best-case scenario for Colon is he would be able to pitch in a game on or around May 5.

Casey’s status ‘day-to-day’

Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey was removed from last night’s game in the bottom of the second inning with a right hip-flexor sprain. He is listed as day-to-day. He scored from second on a Jacoby Ellsbury base hit in the top of the inning. As Casey rounded third and was half way home, he pulled up a little bit. After he crossed the plate to give Boston a 3-1 lead, it was clear he was limping as he made his way into the dugout. As a result Kevin Youkilis shifted from third to first and rookie Jed Lowrie entered the game at third base.

Flu-bitten players recovering

Francona gave his flu report yesterday and everyone in the clubhouse appears to be on the mend. He said catcher Jason Varitek spent Thursday’s game at Fenway in the bullpen and “tolerated” it. At one point Francona called the bullpen to check on the availability of the club’s captain and whether or not he could play. Bullpen coach Gary Tuck said that probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

Varitek still looks beat up from the bug, but Francona said he was available to play last night if needed. With Tim Wakefield pitching, Kevin Cash was behind the plate. The manager also said Varitek should be back in the lineup today.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who remained in Boston due to the flu, felt good enough yesterday to work out at Fenway Park. The righty will throw a side session today.

jmcdonal@projo.com