Pedroia has a torn ligament in his thumb
Joel Trunfio
Contributing Writer
According to the Boston Herald, Dustin Pedroia has a complete tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. Don't panic yet though, as Pedroia has been playing with this injury all season long. Remember when Dustin slid hard into 1st base on Opening Day against the Yankees? That's when the injury occurred. The average ball player takes up to eight weeks to recover from a torn ulnar collateral ligament, but we learned a long time ago that Dustin Pedroia is far from an average ball player.
Pedroia and the Sox were aware of the injury after an MRI on Opening Day, but you try telling Pedroia he's going to sit a game out; he's the only Sox player to play in all 53 games this season. According to the Herald, team doctor's told Pedroia that he could not worsen the injury (which makes sense, considering the ligament was completely torn). Pain and production are the two main issues that arise with an injury like this. The pain may be high, but Pedroia's production has been even higher.
Remarkably, Pedey's on a pace to set career highs in singles (156), walks (98), average (.332), OBP (.422), wOBA (.382), and OPS+ (132). His power is down (he's on pace for only 9 home runs, with a .112 ISO), but he's on pace for 43 doubles. Pedroia leads all Red Sox hitters in WAR with 2.3 (next highest is Victorino with 1.4), and is arguably our least expendable player. Had he taken the recommended eight weeks off, he'd be returning right about now. Imagine eight weeks of Pedro Ciriaco at 2B -- woof.
The news of this injury brings Pedroia to super hero status, but it is still bad news. The pain could eventually become too much to bear and Pedroia would need to take occasional days off, or head to the DL to get some relief. I would imagine that an additional injury to one of his hands would lead to a significant drop in production. As the season progresses, almost all players are dealing with some sort of injury. Unfortunately, Pedroia's nagging injury took place on game one, and will be there until game 162, and hopefully beyond.
Leave your thoughts below or find me on twitter @therealjtrunfio. Read more of what I have to say here.
Contributing Writer
Pedroia and the Sox were aware of the injury after an MRI on Opening Day, but you try telling Pedroia he's going to sit a game out; he's the only Sox player to play in all 53 games this season. According to the Herald, team doctor's told Pedroia that he could not worsen the injury (which makes sense, considering the ligament was completely torn). Pain and production are the two main issues that arise with an injury like this. The pain may be high, but Pedroia's production has been even higher.
Remarkably, Pedey's on a pace to set career highs in singles (156), walks (98), average (.332), OBP (.422), wOBA (.382), and OPS+ (132). His power is down (he's on pace for only 9 home runs, with a .112 ISO), but he's on pace for 43 doubles. Pedroia leads all Red Sox hitters in WAR with 2.3 (next highest is Victorino with 1.4), and is arguably our least expendable player. Had he taken the recommended eight weeks off, he'd be returning right about now. Imagine eight weeks of Pedro Ciriaco at 2B -- woof.
The news of this injury brings Pedroia to super hero status, but it is still bad news. The pain could eventually become too much to bear and Pedroia would need to take occasional days off, or head to the DL to get some relief. I would imagine that an additional injury to one of his hands would lead to a significant drop in production. As the season progresses, almost all players are dealing with some sort of injury. Unfortunately, Pedroia's nagging injury took place on game one, and will be there until game 162, and hopefully beyond.
Leave your thoughts below or find me on twitter @therealjtrunfio. Read more of what I have to say here.
