On the plane yesterday, I finally got into Francona: The Red Sox Years (despite a gentleman behind me playing solitaire on his tablet at full volume for the duration of the flight). I haven't reached the end, but I certainly teared up during certain sections describing the 2004 playoff run, and then couldn't stop grinning like an idiot when Dustin Pedroia finally entered the stage.
I fully anticipated feeling emotional over an insiders view of the Pedey/Tito relationship - everyone knows that Pedey is my favorite player, and it's abundantly clear that Tito felt similarly (though I doubt Francona wanted to propose).
But who could blame us? Pedroia isn't just a dedicated and talented player, but plays with the exuberance and abandon of a child: he's excited to come to the field every day, and pouts if he's given a day off. He's totally pumped for the new things about the team, and is hoping that it will lead them back to winning.
A losing season isn't something he's used to - he told Pete Abraham of the Globe that it hasn't happened to him ever, not even Little League. Here's hoping that last season was just a passing blip on his lifetime win-loss record.
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