Lowrie undergoes surgical procedure containing many big words

Shortstop Jed Lowrie underwent successful surgery on his left wrist in Arizona today and could start swinging a bat again in about six weeks.

"I don't want to get too specific because I can't (because of medical privacy laws)," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said without a hint of irony in his voice. "But I'll give you my version."

Francona then read from a slip of paper in his hand -- and still needed a little help to get through the whole explanation:

* Doctors repaired the scapholunate ligament, the main ligament binding the scaphoid bone to the lunate bone in the lower wrist, the two bones in the wrist closer to the forearm than to the hand. (As if you didn't know that.)
* Doctors also excised the distal end of the ulna styloid in the wrist. No one in the room had any idea what that meant. Good thing he didn't get too specific.

"The big good news for us is that there's no damage to the TFCC (triangular fibrocartilage complex, which is to the wrist what the meniscus is to the knee), which is a potential problem," Francona said. "Everything that was done today puts him right on track to start swinging a bat at six weeks. ...

"Those are some big names that can be explained to you better with medical people. But I think it's exactly what they thought and what they hoped wouldn't be, so that's good news."

***

Outfielder Rocco Baldelli, who tweaked his hamstring going to third on an error on Monday, was placed on the disabled list this afternoon after a conversation with Francona and the team's medical staff.

Jeff Bailey was recalled from Pawtucket to replace Baldelli.

The move adds another righthanded bat but doesn't help much with depth in the outfield; Bailey, like Chris Carter, is a first baseman first and an outfielder second and has virtually no experience playing center field. J.D. Drew, it appears, is the backup center fielder and would move over if anything happened to Jacoby Ellsbury.