BOSTON -- Powered by a steady, slow-burning supply of pitching talent, the 2007 Red Sox have steamed nearly to the finish line with the best record in baseball. At times like these, Matt Clement can sound like a distant name from a distant past.

Meanwhile, the 33-year-old former Red Sox starter is battling every day to recover from arthroscopic surgery on his right rotator cuff and labrum, a process that is designed to take, at minimum, 12 months. Since undergoing surgery last September, he has been in and out of the clubhouse at Fenway Park, in between visits to Fort Myers, Fla., and Birmingham, Ala., where he sees Dr. James Andrews, who performed the surgery, a very real member of the 2007 Red Sox making very real strides.

On Wednesday afternoon before the Red Sox took on the Blue Jays, Clement threw his first simulated game since the operation. He hurled 20 pitches off the mound to batters Kevin Cash and Brandon Moss, after warming up with approximately 35 pitches in the bullpen and eight pitches off the mound.

"[It was] probably the most [pitches] since I had the surgery," Clement said.

"I'm almost in shock, with how good I felt," he said.

Clement threw his four-seam fastball, his sinker and a couple of sliders, the pitch that has most recently returned to his repertoire.

"I got swings and misses on both of them," Clement said. "And [with the batters] knowing it was coming, that's a good sign."

Clement has not pitched in a Major League game since June 14, 2006. There is a slight possibility that the 2005 American League All-Star could appear in a game in Boston before the end of the season. He will throw another side session with rehabilitation coordinator Scott Waugh during the upcoming road trip, and another session next Tuesday in Boston. After that, the Red Sox will evaluate his status.

"It's going to be for them to determine," Clement said. "They're trying to win a World Series here right now and I am a guy that's going to have some rust on me. If it means I pitch in simulated games the whole way through, if I get into an instructional league game, if I pitch here, I don't know. It's going to be their determination, not mine.

"I would love to pitch," he added. "I would love to just be a part of the great things going on here. If I got one out that was meaningful in September, that would be great for me.

"Unfortunately, you've got to play the hand you're dealt. It's a 12-plus month recovery and I'm at 11 months and a week right now."

If Clement doesn't pitch for the Red Sox this season, he may never play for Boston again. His three-year contract, signed on Dec. 22, 2004, will expire after the season. And in a market that is generously rewarding starting pitching, Clement will almost certainly get a chance with another team -- just not the Red Sox, whose rotation is bursting with starting pitching candidates, even with the potential departure of Curt Schilling this winter.

But on Wednesday, there was little question to which team Clement belonged. A whole raft of teammates, mostly pitchers, lined the batting cage as Clement threw his first meaningful pitches in a year, offering congratulations and backslaps after he finished.

"That meant a whole bunch," said Clement.

Gagne, Ramirez updates: Meanwhile, the Red Sox are working with team doctors and trainers to establish a projected return for reliever Eric Gagne and slugger Manny Ramirez.

Ramirez, who left an Aug. 28 vs. the Yankees game with a strained left oblique muscle and hasn't played since, might still be back at some point next week. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said the doctors will let him know when Ramirez can resume "baseball activities."

"And how fast that comes, we'll try to use common sense," Francona said.

What kind of progress are the doctors looking for? That's not Francona's territory.

"I think that's why they went to school," Francona said "That's what their education is in. And we listen. That's why [Jonathan Papelbon] still looks healthy and [Hideki] Okajima's still throwing good. These guys have input in what we're doing, and we listen."

As for Gagne, the trade deadline-day acquisition who has been sidelined since Aug. 26 with right shoulder tenderness, the team is proceeding slowly, with eyes towards his playoff health. Gagne threw a short session on flat ground on Wednesday, mixing in some curveballs. He will throw a bullpen session on Thursday.

"I don't know how to go slow," Gagne said. "That's kind of hard. But we're winning ballgames, so that makes it a lot easier."

Said Francona, "As long as we do this right, we're fine. ... But we don't want to go backwards."

Pedroia gets breather: Second baseman Dustin Pedroia got a rare day off on Wednesday. Francona has said previously that keeping weight on Pedroia's 5-foot-9 frame will take some intermittent rest, given the second baseman's hard-charging playing style.

"I don't want him to blow away," Francona said. "Part of the job is trying to keep your entire team playing well."

Alex Cora got the start at second base and batted ninth. Pedroia could pinch-hit late in the game if the Blue Jays bring in a lefty.

Open door for closer: Having saved games on three straight nights, Papelbon will understandably take a seat on Wednesday night, save situation or not. Francona was coy about who would fill in while Papelbon rests.

"That doesn't make a lot of sense to tell [Toronto manager John Gibbons]," Francona said. "We'll have a good one. Hopefully we'll be in that situation, and we'll have a good one."

Possible candidates could be Mike Timlin and Okajima, who both haven't pitched since Monday's series opener.

On deck: Tim Wakefield, whose late scratch (sore back) last week made possible Clay Buchholz's no-hit game, will return to the rotation on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. ET as the Red Sox open a brief four-game series in Baltimore. Orioles lefty Garrett Olson gets the start against the Red Sox.