"If back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins agrees with the Red Sox' thinking that it's best to shut Clay Buchholz down for the remainder of the season after he examines him today in Los Angeles, then yesterday's acquisition, lefthander Erik Bedard, will have some big shoes to fill.

"We had a clear need for a starting pitcher,'' said general manager Theo Epstein. "And we would not have been satisfied if we had the deadline pass without getting a starter. And we were willing to dig deep into our farm system to make that happen. And we wanted to make sure the acquisition cost was appropriate for the acquisition itself. Time will tell, but we hope that's the case here.''

Buchholz was moved to the 60-day disabled list yesterday, and the Red Sox had an urgency to obtain a starting pitcher. They pursued the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda, who wouldn't waive his no-trade clause. They considered the Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez, whom Cleveland obtained for its top two pitching prospects and two other minor leaguers. And they nearly worked out a trade for the Athletics' Rich Harden, but backed off because of concerns about his medical history. So the Sox returned their focus to Bedard."