BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox right-hander Bret Saberhagen's bid for a comeback this season from his third shoulder surgery is over.

	Saberhagen

"It's all over with," Saberhagen said after Boston's 4-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. "I didn't want to (stop). It wasn't me. It was a combination of my shoulder and the management. It comes to a point in the season when you need to."

Saberhagen, 36, who had offseason shoulder surgery Dec. 5, made a few rehabilitation starts before having to stop throwing last Wednesday when the pain became too much.

"It still bothers me with the pain in my shoulder," he said in the quiet of the Red Sox clubhouse, well after many of his teammates had departed. "It's kind of a point of no return. I'm starting my offseason program now."

Saberhagen also said that the combination of the minor league seasons winding down and his recent setback made it that much harder to find mound time in game conditions.

"The minor leagues are about to end," he said. "I had heard something about it (Friday). (General manager) Dan Duquette wanted to talk to Dr. Pappas."

He said he won't start throwing again until December, but feels he'll be back next spring. He did, however, express disappointment.

"I am because when I first came back I felt good," he said. "My shoulder was the best it felt in years. I was like a kid in a candy store. I felt if I was healthy and pitching, I'd be able to help the ballclub."

Saberhagen felt his eagerness to rejoin the club might have been his ultimate downfall this year.

"Dr. Altchek said July at first," he said. "I rushed it from the get-go. I thought I'd be back in April, the latest May.

"When I picked up the ball for the first time I felt fine," he continued. "Who's to say what went wrong."

He plans on joining pitching coach Joe Kerrigan in early January, and is looking forward to next spring. In the meantime, though, he'll be "supporting my teammates and doing other conditioning work."

"We're going to take the right steps," he said. "I'm starting Sept. 1, which was (Friday). I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm not doubting that I'll be able to pitch. It's being able to pitch pain-free. I can pitch now, but if I can't pitch pain-free, it's time to clean out the room and make room for somebody else."