Boston starter Schilling throws, but isn't ready for program

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling tested his ailing shoulder by playing catch on flat ground Tuesday but isn't ready to begin throwing off a mound. "He did good. He looked good," manager Terry Francona said. "It's a good step for him. But he's not ready yet."

The 41-year-old right-hander threw 25 balls from 60 feet away. He'll repeat the exercise Thursday before the Red Sox complete a four-game series against the Tigers.

"Well that day is here, finally. Today I'll be 'allowed' to play catch for the first time since January," Schilling wrote on his Web site before the session. "A lot has happened and there is probably even more left to do, but it's a step."

Schilling preferred to have surgery on the shoulder but after being examined by three doctors, he agreed to rest and rehabilitation. Schilling has a tendon injury and possibly a damaged rotator cuff, depending on the diagnosis.

"I think we are all very happy with where I have come and how much improvement I've made, but at the end of the day we really are at the bottom of the mountain at this point," Schilling wrote. "Throwing, bullpens, long toss, rehab games, those will start the clock ticking on the health of my shoulder and where it is at. The last few weeks I've been pushed extremely hard, and in my mind if there were significant injury issues, the fallout would have been pain, enough pain to notice and hinder our work. That hasn't happened and that is obviously a great sign.

"Having said that it still comes down to how the arm bounces back once we start putting a heavier load on the shoulder. We won't be able to get there for a few weeks of throwing at least. If we can get through that part, long toss and into bullpens, and the feel remains the same, then I think I'll start getting excited about what might be."

Schilling said he wasn't hurt when he agreed to an $8 million, one-year contract with the Red Sox in November.

The club and the pitcher originally hoped he could be ready for games around the All-Star break. Francona said there currently was no timetable for Schilling to return.

Two other injured players are closer to returning to the Red Sox. Infielder Alex Cora (right elbow sprain) was to begin a rehabilitation assignment Wednesday at Triple-A Pawtucket, where infielder Sean Casey (right hip strain) is to join him Thursday.

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