Dustin Pedroia reported to camp today, well ahead of schedule. The Red Sox are hoping he will fit in to the lineup well enough so that we all forget how great Mark Loretta was. How many Big Papi walk-offs wouldn’t have been possible without Loretta getting on base in front of him? Not to mention the great Patriots Day walk-off by Loretta himself. But either way, he is gone, signed with the Astros.

So this brings us back to 2007 and Dustin Pedroia. The Red Sox are looking to save money on the right side of the infield this year to make up for over-spending on Julio Lugo, so lets hope Dustin is up to the task. He is fully aware of the fact that the starting second base job is his to lose, and he’s been training in the off season, changing his diet, and even getting married. He’s a player similar to Kevin Youkilis, in that the Red Sox love him for his better than average OBP and excellent plate discpline. We had a glimpse of him at the end of last year, not that anyone was actually watching, where he hit a lowly .192. He’ll be slated in at the bottom of the lineup and given a chance to prove himself.

He was an International League All-Star last year, and should be able to play solid defense at second base, turn the double play well and hit for at least a respectable rookie average. I’d predict around .260, 12 HRs and 48 RBI, but expect a higher OBP around .340. Let’s see if my predictions come true!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 18th, 2007 at 3:05 pm and is filed under Big News!, General Postings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.