When Dustin Pedroia went deep in his first at bat of the year, I remember thinking….wow, forget about him feeling the pressures of being the reigning American League MVP.  

Going into this season, I wasn’t exactly sure what to think of Dustin.  Was 2008 the best we are going to see from him?  What’s his ceiling?  I believed then and I still believe that he is a batting champion waiting to happen.   But, is he going to be the type of hitter that hits close to 20 home runs a year?  I wouldn’t put anything past this kid.  I know that he went 190 at bats between home runs this year, but that’s only because pitchers have been attacking Pedey differently and he’s been taking what they give him. 

When most people watch Dustin hit, they think that his swing is long and pitchers think that they can get a fastball in on him.  The truth of the matter is is that his swing isn’t long.  We get so caught up on his long stride and violent follow through, but what we fail to see is that his path to the ball is short and pitchers and pitching coaches are starting to realize that too.  During the first two months of the season Pedey has seen a ton of fastballs away.  Rather than trying to pull that pitch, Dustin has been slapping singles and doubles to right.  I always felt that a true "home run hitter" was someone that can go deep the other way.  I don’t think that Dustin has ever gone deep to rightfield.  So as long as pitchers keep the ball away from him, get used to seeing singles and doubles laced in the gap to right.  That’s what good hitters do, that’s what batting champions do.  I’m not saying that he’s going to hit 4 HR’s this year.  Pitchers don’t always hit their spots and their will be times when pitchers challenge Pedey in… when that happens he knows what to do with it that’s for sure… just ask Ricky Romero.

Sure, Dustin Pedroia must be thrilled to take home the American League’s MVP award. Think of all the superstars he overcame to do this. He has once again proved so many wrong. Just as he did during Spring Training as he gets some payback to Gary Tanguay for comments he made in 2007.

Thoughts from a week where we all officially fell in love with Jerod Mayo…

Winner of the Week: Jason Bay

Over the last 20 years or so, we’ve seen many a player (mostly hitters) get traded to Boston midseason and absolutely explode onto the scene. Off the top of my head, guys like Butch Huskey and Gabe Kapler come to mind as guys who came in, got all hopped up off the Fenway drug and played out of their minds during their Red Sox honeymoons. After one week, we can officially add Jason Bay to that list, with his 11 hits, 10 runs, six RBI and .423 over his first week in town.

It’s usually impossible for a guy to keep up that pace. To use the players I just mentioned as an example, Butch Huskey (they just don’t make name like that anymore) finished his half season in Boston hitting .260 with a Varitek-esque .305 OBP. Kapler’s power turned into krapler, as he only hit two homers in his final 66 games of 2003, after belting two in the same game during his second night at Fenway.

So how optimistic should we be about Bay keeping  up (or even hovering around) his current pace?