FORT MYERS, Fla. – Yet another ping-pong game is underway in the middle of the Red Sox clubhouse and Dustin Pedroia is watching the action from in front of his locker.
“Eddie,’’ says Pedroia, shaking his head in mock disappointment at Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, trailing badly to yet another opponent. “Eddie, what am I supposed to tell my kids? I tell them all the time that if they want to be good at something, they have to practice.’’
Pedroia is working toward the punch-line, and the rest of the room seems to understand what’s coming.
“But, Eddie, you play all the time,’’ continues Pedroia, “and you still suck. Now, what do I tell my kids, Eddie?’’
Rodriguez tries to ignore the chatter, but then, it’s not easy to tune out Pedroia’s barbed color commentary from the sidelines. He smiles sheepishly as he tries to remain focused on the next point.
It’s never, in fact, easy to ignore Pedroia, whose presence is often announced with his verbal taunts and running monologue. You can count on hearing Pedroia.
But this spring, it’s tougher to see him, at least in his usual habitat. This spring, the games on the field are going on without Dustin Pedroia.
____________________
