Phillies, Red Sox missing their heartbeats
Dustin Pedroia(notes) knelt on the infield dirt at Fenway Park and hoovered up ground balls for five minutes Wednesday, a seemingly insignificant drill. Then he stood up. Actually, it was more like Pedroia hobbled up, then toward Boston Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell to grab a pair of crutches before cruising off the field with a boot mummifying his left foot.
It was reckless. It was selfish. And it was very Pedroia. He is as sincere as he is single-minded, and Pedroia’s choice to field ground balls four days after he fouled a ball off his foot and broke it wasn’t designed to bolster his reputation as the hardest working of hard workers. Pedroia was antsy, and he wanted to let his teammates know that if he’s taking grounders at second base with a busted foot set to sideline him for six weeks, they damn well better work hard with able bodies.
Leadership comes in a Baskin-Robbins array of colors and flavors, and while Pedroia owns a mouth that runs inversely proportionate to his small stature, his greatest stewarding comes from his play. He hits, he fields, he runs, he hustles. Pedroia earns his numbers and, with them, the respect of teammates and opponents.
So to have those at-bats taken away from him almost the same time another lead-by-example disciple, Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley(notes), underwent surgery on a busted thumb that will keep him out for eight weeks was an eerie coincidence for a pair of teams that already deserve handicapped parking stickers galore.
How Boston and Philadelphia have survived this onslaught and stayed in contention goes far beyond their payrolls that top $300 million combined. How they weather the injuries to Pedroia and Utley will determine whether they stay relevant.
Pedroia and Utley represent more than how their physical attributes and accomplishments define them. Teammates contend that each gives off an aura, one that guides players to do something because Pedey does it or Chase does it, one that gives each, rightfully, the label as the heart of the team.
“You just look at [Utley] and want to work harder,” Phillies reliever Chad Durbin(notes) said last year.
“I’m not sure somebody could set a better example than [Pedroia],” Red Sox rookie Daniel Nava(notes) said.
Pedroia and Utley are the same, and they are anything but. Pedroia is squat. Utley stands tall and lithe. Pedroia is bald. Utley greases back his hair with cheap product. Pedroia swings with every fiber of his being. Utley’s stroke is quicker than a Vegas wedding. Pedroia flaps his yap. Utley flicks the mute button.
Both are tremendous ballplayers, though, and their loss stings far more than any other this season. Which says a lot. How bad has it gotten for Boston? Jason Varitek(notes) hit the DL for the Red Sox on Thursday. It was an off-day.
He had fouled a ball off his foot, too, and will miss four to six weeks. Victor Martinez(notes) is out, as are outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) and Jeremy Hermida(notes), third baseman Mike Lowell(notes), starter Josh Beckett(notes) and reliever Manny Delcarmen(notes). Daisuke Matsuzaka(notes) already spent two stints on the DL this year, and Mike Cameron(notes) went once. That the Red Sox sit at 47-32, only 1 ½ games behind the Yankees for the best record in baseball, is a testament to Boston’s organizational depth.
While the Phillies haven’t fared as well – they’re 41-36, good for third place in the NL East, four games behind Atlanta – their injuries may be more significant. Rookie of the Year runner-up J.A. Happ(notes) remains on a rehab assignment after hitting the DL following his first 10 innings. Joe Blanton(notes) was on it, as was nearly the entire bullpen: Brad Lidge(notes) (twice), Ryan Madson(notes) (still), Durbin, Antonio Bastardo(notes) and J.C. Romero(notes). The rest of the infield isn’t immune, either: Jimmy Rollins(notes) spent two stints on the DL, and catcher Carlos Ruiz(notes) and third baseman Placido Polanco(notes) are on now.
Note to Ryan Howard(notes): Run. Hide. Or trade in that Phillies uniform for a hazmat suit.
Because they need him. With Utley out until early September – doctors reattached a ligament Thursday that separated from the bone in his right thumb, the most important digit in a left-handed swing – the Phillies can use what Howard provides in bulk: pop and personality.
That innate characteristic, though, the one that draws players? Howard doesn’t have that. He’s a victim of Utley’s. Last postseason, Howard said he watched the swings Utley took, the intensity with which he fielded ground balls, and gave himself a simple goal: “I want to be like that.”
Sure, Utley will be around the clubhouse, rehabbing his thumb, eager to get back out there like Pedroia. When he was taking those ground balls, he wore a Red Sox hat, trying to get as close to a uniform as he could. Not yet. Pedroia’s Red Sox jersey was replaced by a black T-shirt, Clark Kent to his usual Superman.
Teammates gathered around him anyway. Everyone wanted to inhale one final breath of aura. Pedroia’s got it. Utley’s got it. And as they are going away for a long time, their teams only hope they stay relevant long enough to see it again.
