Frustrated Pedroia isn't ready to concede season
Want to take the pulse of the Boston Red Sox? Just spend a few minutes with Dustin Pedroia.
After Friday night's 10-3 demolition by the New York Yankees in the opener of a three-game series that may well determine whether the Red Sox make a deal before Tuesday's trade deadline, Pedroia's exasperation with the club's 49-51 record and rapid retreat in both the AL East and wild-card standings was more evident than ever.
"The first hundred games have been (expletive)," Pedroia said. "We're two games under .500. We're the Boston Red Sox. If anyone's thrilled about where we're at, they need to re-evaluate because I don't like losing. I know everyone else doesn't like losing. We've got to play better, man."
In particular, Pedroia was irritated by the Red Sox's approach at the plate in the later innings Friday. Facing the top of the lineup in the eighth, Yankees setup man David Robertson got through the inning in only nine pitches, retiring Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford before giving up a one-out single to Pedroia and getting Adrian Gonzalez to ground out.
"Late in the game, they extended themselves from us. That's what great teams do," Pedroia said. "We didn't do anything. Our at-bats later in the game were not good. Swinging early in the count, you know. Heck, if their eighth-inning guy is going to come in the game, let's at least get 25 to 30 pitches so maybe he can't pitch tomorrow. Do something productive, and we're not doing that. That's the sign of not a winning team. Those are the little things that we need to do better. It's frustrating."
Pedroia said he agrees with manager Bobby Valentine's assessment, both before and after Friday night's game, that the Red Sox are capable of making a run over the season's final two months. But there's mounting evidence against that theory, including the fact that the Sox haven't won more than two games in a row since June 16-19.
"Hell yeah, I think we can (make a run)," Pedroia said. "We've got to play good, man. That's the bottom line. I still believe in us. You have to. The makeup of these guys, I feel like it's only a matter of time. Hope we just don't run out of it. We've got to go. We've got to play well. You know, I can't speak for everyone. I feel that urgency. I've talked to a lot of guys. We all do. We need to win. That's all we feel. Maybe that's putting added pressure on guys to come out of their comfort zone and do things that they're not capable of doing. Then, we need to take a step back and relax, but we've got to win, man."
