I'm just going to take this time to note how ecstatic I am that Dustin Pedroia, by all accounts, will not need surgery on his troublesome right knee. According to boston.com's Extra Bases blog, Pedey has suffered nothing more serious than a bruised kneecap, and will be reunited with the Red Sox tomorrow.
Terry Francona noted that while Pedroia does have some cartilage damage, most baseball players do - including the skipper himself. What is far more worrisome to me is that it was bothering Pedroia enough not only for him to mention it, but enough for him to ask for time off to get it checked out.
It's obviously been affecting his performance, as his line this year is less than stellar. With damage that required surgery, we could have seen a repaired and rejuvenated Dustin in about a month. As things stand now, we don't know how things stand. It's obvious that Pedey is the sparkplug and heart and soul of the Red Sox. It's also clear (to me, at least) that they could survive a month without him to get him back full steam for the remainder of the season.
If there's no simple surgical solution for what ails the feisty second baseman, what can we expect as the season continues? That's the big mystery, and since Pedroia himself has admitted his poor performance is due to the pain in his knee and his surgically repaired foot than to any sort of regular slump.
Hopefully he doesn't go the Nomar route: I simply cannot watch another promising, talented, homegrown player go through a string of injuries and DL-stints. Luckily, I absolutely cannot imagine Pedroia sulking, refusing to play, or demanding a trade. Keep your fingers crossed he heals up soon... I've been missing the Laser Show.
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