Injury Bug Bites Pedroia

After a relatively healthy Spring for the Red Sox starting 9, a potentially troublesome injury happened yesterday. During the 1st inning of the 5th Mayor’s Cup battle with the Minnesota Twins, Pedroia made a great diving stab on a bullet hit by Denard Span. Pedroia got up and threw wildly to first, committing his first error this Spring. During that play, Pedroia sprained his wrist and was removed from the game after just 1 inning.

The good news for Sox fans is that the wrist is just sprained and with rest, should heal relatively quickly. After the game, Terry Francona made it clear that he was not concerned by saying, “I don’t think there’s a problem. He might be a little sore tomorrow. Hopefully that’s all it is.” For the Red Sox’s sake, I hope Tito is right, because losing Pedroia for an extended period of time would be devastating for the Sox chances in 2010.

My biggest concern is the chance of this injury lingering. Any injuries that occur in a major muscle or joint immediately raise a bunch of red flags because they have a tendency of reoccurring. I’m certainly hopeful that Pedroia’s injury will not be one that we are still talking about in May, but I think it is important for the Red Sox to be extra cautious in the case of their former MVP and if history is any indication, they will be overly cautious.

The Red Sox middle-infield has been greatly impacted by injuries this Spring with Jed Lowrie’s diagnosis of mononucleosis and Gil Velazquez’s broken thumb last week. Both Lowrie and Velaquez will be unavailable for several weeks, so the Red Sox can not afford a major injury to another 2B/SS. Bill Hall is the current back-up at the major league level for SS, but Sox management is unsure of his ability to fill in for an extended period of time in case of injury.

Pedroia’s injury also raises concerns about playing time for major league starters in Spring Training. There is a fine balance between giving players enough time on the field and limiting them in order to not over-work them. In the case of Dustin Pedroia, he is going to play hard 100% of the time, whether it is an exhibition game against a college team or game 7 of the World Series, so these injuries are bound to happen.

Let’s hope this is not a sign to come for the upcoming season. For every team, every year, health is the biggest uncontrollable factor. A team can be a pre-season favorite and not make the playoffs because of injuries. Let’s all cross our fingers…