Pedroia Has Papi's Back

Dustin Pedroia is many things to Red Sox Nation. In his first three full seasons the diminutive slugger has won a World Series, an MVP, Rookie of the Year, and played in the postseason every year. Now he is standing up for another Red Sox hero, the struggling David Ortiz. During Tuesday night's game, Ortiz came to the plate in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and no outs in a tied game and proceeded to hit into a double play. The Red Sox were bailed out later in the inning by Jeremy Hermida but even the excitement from the victory could not completely absolve Ortiz from blame. Last night was not an aberration for Big Papi. The catalyst behind the World Series championship teams in 2004 and 2007 has regressed very quickly since the middle of 2008 and is no longer the feared slugger he was a few years ago. The media has been pushing for Mike Lowell to replace Ortiz in the lineup and nights like Tuesday have made even the biggest Ortiz fan start to make the same request. Well, Dustin Pedroia will not hear any of that kind of talk. He has Ortiz' back and let loose this quote today: "A couple years ago I had 60 at-bats, I was hitting .170, everyone was ready to kill me too. What happened? Laser show. Relax." Laser show. Relax. This guy is a pissah. Pedroia is the kind of guy who I want to be on my side of the fight and even if Papi never gets another hit again - after going 2-for-3 with a homerun in tonight's win - every player in that clubhouse knows that their second baseman will support them during the worst of times. For a team that has dug a pretty big hole for themselves in the AL East early in the spring, they will need that spirit to make it to October.