MINNEAPOLIS -- Pedro Martinez won't pitch in the All-Star Game next week, and the exact reason is unclear. But Martinez said Thursday he'll still be at the game.

	Martinez

"I'll be in uniform by the time they introduce me," Martinez said, adding that he would avoid pre-game festivities, media day and the Home Run Derby.

On Tuesday, the AL Cy Young Award winner said he would be able to play. He is on the disabled list with a strained muscle on his left side and is due to be activated next week.

But Martinez wasn't on the American League's 31-man roster announced Wednesday. The commissioner's office said he was a unanimous pick among AL managers and would be treated as if he were an All-Star, and Boston officials refused to say if they were prohibiting Martinez from pitching Tuesday in Atlanta.

Red Sox manager Jimy Williams said Martinez wouldn't pitch but declined to give a reason and refused to say whether the team was stopping him. Williams said he consulted with Joe Torre of the New York Yankees, the AL manager, and the two came to a mutual decision.

"The way this has shaken out is this is the right way to do things," Williams said.

Martinez said his recovery is progressing and he will throw live batting practice Saturday before the Red Sox play the Braves.

Williams implied that if Martinez relieved in the All-Star Game, Boston's starting rotation could be thrown out of whack when the second half resumes with a three-game series against the New York Mets.

"If Pedro relieved, he wouldn't have his usual preparation," Williams said. "It's better to have Pedro pitch the first or second game of the second half."

Martinez, the MVP of last year's All-Star Game at Fenway Park after striking out five in two innings, is 9-3 with a 1.44 ERA in 14 starts this season with two shutouts and 140 strikeouts in 106 innings.

Martinez said he'd be happy to see Torre pick Toronto's David Wells, 14-2 with a 3.41 ERA, to open for the AL.

"David Wells deserves to start anyway," Martinez said.