Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Dustin Pedroia tests out healed foot during dash through airport

If the Boston Red Sox are to lay claim to the best infield in baseball in 2011, they'll need Dustin Pedroia back at full strength. The second baseman broke his left foot with a foul tip last June and appeared in only 75 games of Boston's injury-marred campaign. 

Pedroia had surgery on the foot last September and he now says he's "99.9 percent healed" and ready for spring training come February.

He knows this, he told Boston's WEEI on Wednesday, because 1) his doctor told him so and 2) he was able to test it out during an intense moment on a recent vacation.

According to Pedroia, he and friend Andre Ethier were on the way back from a shared vacation with their families when a Home Alone-style sprint became necessary to ensure they made their flight.

Recounted Pedroia on WEEI's The Big Show:

"They wanted me, [the guy] who just got cleared to jog, to sprint to the gate — which is on the other side of the airport — to hold the plane up.

"So I'm sprinting, testing out my foot with my shoelaces untied, holding my 30-pound son — by the way, my foot felt phenomenal — sprinting through the airport, and I get to the gate, and I'm like, 'Ma'am, did the flight leave?' She said, 'I'm going to give you three minutes.' ... Two seconds later, the pilot comes off the plane and goes, 'We've got a situation.' I thought, 'Jeez, now we're definitely staying here.'"

So what was the deal? A New York Yankees-fan pilot looking to give his favorite team a bit of a head start in next year's AL East title race? Eh, not quite.

"[They pull] off this couple. Some woman was beating the [expletive] out of her husband on the plane ... This guy has a bloody face. He must have smarted off or something. The flight was delayed 30 minutes, and we got to get on the flight. I almost high-fived everybody. It was awesome."

So all was well that ended well. And leave it to Pedroia to take a routine "I'm coming back strong next season" update and turn it into an entertaining story for all of us to enjoy.

"The guy has a bloody face, he must have smarted off or something" should also be immediately placed alongside last year's "laser show" quip in his collection of best quotes.

One thing, though: Why wasn't Ethier — the guy who played 139 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season — the one elected to do the sprinting? Was Ethier, the Arnold Palmer to Pedroia's O.J. Simpson, doing a bit of advance work for a Yankees team that might covet his services in the future?

Hmmmmm.

Big BLS H/N: Over the Monster

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