Pedroia Wants to Play Despite Injury

I'll give Dustin Pedroia two thumbs up (get it?) for wanting to play through injury and return to the Red Sox lineup as soon as humanly (or inhumanly) possible. He tore part of the adductor muscle in his thumb. The initial injury occurred weeks ago, according to Pedroia, but it was aggravated Monday afternoon against the Tigers.

Right now, the Sox are in a holding pattern on this injury, waiting to see how much the swelling goes down, and if Pedroia feels any pain. If it hasn't healed and he's not back in the lineup in the next 2 to 4 days, he'll likely be placed on the DL.

Pedroia is eager to play. He's declared a willingness to play even if it still hurts, even if he still feels pain. And the Sox' PR Machine hasn't been reluctant to mention this old-school grittiness.

At first, part of me thought that the Sox should sit Pedroia for 2 weeks, just to be safe. Then I remembered that I'm not a doctor. If this muscle has healed, it's healed. And it might even be medically unwise to avoid using it. From what we've been told, the tear isn't that bad. It's a slight tear in a thumb muscle, not a ripped hamstring or detached quad.

My opinion is this: I don't want Pedroia playing through this injury. If it's still injured, if it requires a splint or any sort of special treatment, I want Pedroia on the DL so this thumb can heal properly and he's available down the stretch. At the same time, I also don't want the Sox to be overly cautious. If the injury has healed, then let him play. Don't make him sit out with his thumb up his ass.

The next 24 hours will determine a lot. Is the thumb healed, or does it need further healing. I only wish the doctors announced the news in this manner:

Photo Credit (of Pedroia):
AP Photo