Eleven games into 2011, the Boston Red Sox are 2-9.
They’ve dug themselves a nice little hole to work out of, huh?
Amid the many things that are going wrong for the Red Sox, there are some things that are going right.
David Ortiz is having his best spring in years. Adrian Gonzalez has settled in nicely. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are both coming off superb eight-inning efforts.
The brightest spot for this Boston bunch, however, has to be Dustin Pedroia, who is having an excellent start to 2011 after missing more than half the season last year with a broken foot.
Last Thursday the Sox sat at 0-6 after a gut-wrenching 1-0 loss to the Indians. Reporters asked players to speculate about the reception they would get at Fenway the next day in the team’s home opener.
Dusty didn’t mince his thoughts, challenging the team’s fans to stand their ground, while appealing to both their pride and his own:
“We need ’em. We need someone on our side. Carl and Youk and J.D., they were getting yelled at the whole time. It’ll be good to have someone cheering for us for a change. You’re either two feet in now or you’re two feet out. Let us know now, because we’re coming.”
Pedroia walked his talk the next day, giving the Fenway crowd something to cheer about by sparking the Sox to their first win of the season. In what’s becoming a home-opener tradition, Petey swatted a homer over the Monster.
Absolutely nothing had been going Boston’s way prior to last Friday, and Pedroia took the team on his back off the field and then carried them to victory on the field.
The Laser Show mashed all weekend against the Bronx Bombers, going 9-13 with the aforementioned home run, as well as five RBI and four runs.
Pedroia’s good April is timely. If Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury ever figure out how to hit a baseball again, Terry Francona might bat Pedroia three, behind Ellsbury at leadoff and Crawford at two. Through Monday, Pedey’s three doubles and .333 RISP are good indicators that he would excel at the third spot.
It’s also been especially comforting to see Pedroia hit his stride after playing all of two games in 2010 after June 25. His return to form stands in stark contrast to the early season struggles of fellow DL mates Kevin Youkilis and Ellsbury.
The Red Sox certainly missed Pedroia’s bat last season. Of course, his wasn’t Boston’s only major injury; however, he missed more time in 2010 than any other position player besides Ellsbury.
Dustin Pedroia’s hit the ground running in 2011: maybe some of his teammates can start to follow suit.
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