Red Sox fans received some more bad injury related news last night, as the team announced second baseman Dustin Pedroia is heading back to Boston to have his right knee examined. Worst case scenario the knee would require surgery, which would sideline Pedroia a month.
The 2008 MVP has been dealing with the injury since a May 16th contest against the Baltimore Orioles. Pedroia fielded a ball awkwardly on the first play of that game and in his words, “I banged it hard and it has been bothering me ever since”.
What the examination will entail is a scoping of his knee to check the severity of the injury.
The three time All-Star has had a down year at the plate, something he believes can be attributed to the injury.
“It’s hard to hit with something wrong with your legs,’’ he said. “I’ve been trying.’’
Pedroia’s average has taken a hit, down to .247 on the year, but his OBP has remained close to his career mark thanks to an impressive 41 base on balls. His slugging (.338) hasn’t been anywhere close to his career % of .449 as the second baseman has only managed 13 extra base hits on the year.
Still the strange thing is his numbers have been improving not dropping since the injury. Pedroia’s hit safe in 12 of his last 15 games, maintaining a line of .304/.448/.391 in June. He’s also managed to swipe 6 bases since the initial injury took place.
The Boston Globe suggests that if Pedroia was forced to miss time, the Sox could shift Jed Lowrie to second and have Marco Scutaro take over at short.