Dustin Pedroia Could Miss Series Against Yankees

The bad news keeps on coming for Boston, as Dustin Pedroia's re-injured thumb may well keep him from playing in this weekend's series against the Yankees according to Nick Cafardo.

While the fact that it's a different part of Pedroia's thumb--Cafardo reiterates that particular tidbit--would normally be comforting, if it's a serious enough concern that it could keep the second baseman out for five games (and possibly more were it not for the All-Star break) that's not necessarily a positive. Re-aggravating an existing injury is one thing, adding a second injury to one that already exists just makes it more likely that things will crop up and eventually leave him off the field for a truly significant stretch of time.

Pedroia had been struggling since his return from the disabled list, hitting a terrible .210/.282/.305 in 118 trips to the plate. Still, he had been turning it on in recent weeks, with a .900 OPS in the ten games leading up to his injury. Unfortunately, it looks like he'll have to seize all that momentum anew whenever he makes his return.

The situation is all-the-more dire for the Red Sox if Will Middlebrooks isn't healthy. With Nick Punto being pulled to second base last night, we were treated to the comedic stylings of Mauro Gomez at third. It's not his fault, really, since he's not played third since 2009, but that doesn't make it any less difficult to watch.