The crutches are gone. "Already chucked them in the garbage,'' Dustin Pedroia said Friday. But the protective boot he is wearing on his fractured left foot will need to remain on for probably two more weeks, manager Terry Francona said, putting to rest Pedroia's wildly optimistic view that he would be able to play on the team's 10-game West Coast trip that begins Monday. Results of Pedroia's CT scan on Friday did show "a lot of healing,'' Francona said, "which was really good news.'' "I'm happy with the fact that it's healing," said Pedroia. "I didn't think it would take this long. I know they told me six weeks. I thought I could come back sooner than that, but I guess I have to be smart. If I come back too early and that bone break offs, I'm out for the rest of the year. Just gotta be smart and let it heal." Wearing a colorful decorated cover adorned with skulls over his boot -- "A lady sent it to me,'' Pedroia said -- the second baseman played catch before batting practice with third-base coach Tim Bogar and also took some swings in the cage with staff assistant Ino Guerrero pitching. http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=5386972
