"Daisuke Matsuzaka may wind up needing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, but any decision on that significant procedure, which would require a 12-month minimum layoff, is believed to be weeks away.

In the meantime, Matsuzaka flew home to Japan yesterday, in part to seek traditional Japanese treatment opinions and remedies for his ailing right elbow.

Even if the more extensive MRI reveals a full tear, there is still a chance Matsuzaka will be able to pitch with it and not risk further injury, as there are currently major league pitchers with partially or fully torn UCL's doing that, according to a baseball source familiar with the type of injury Matsuzaka has.

The Red Sox and Matsuzaka hope that after he's shut down for at least two weeks and the inflammation and discomfort subside, he will be able to embark on a rehab program that will lead to him returning to the rotation this year.

If rest and rehab do not resolve the problem and it is decided that Matsuzaka will need surgery, then, according to the source, Tommy John surgery is the sole remedy for such an injury.

Manager Terry Francona said Matsuzaka is "not going to have surgery, he's not going to have Tommy John."

Francona said he spoke with Matsuzaka "two or three times in depth" last week and that in one of those conversations Matsuzaka asked if he could return home to Japan. Francona said the right-hander is going back to Japan for a "personal" reason.

"Dice has been really good about this," Francona said.

Carl Crawford has struggled all season, but statistically speaking, grounding into a double play with the tying run on third base in the ninth inning of last night's 3-2 loss to the Indians was improbable.

In 189 previous plate appearances with the Red Sox, Crawford had been doubled up only once. Last season, he grounded into only two double plays in 657 plate appearances."