Pedroia has taken to scene

His 1st act: Blending in with the in-crowd

NEW YORK - Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia offered a half-smile when someone asked him about the difference between the right side of the American League All-Star infield - Sox teammates Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis - and the left side - Yankees teammates Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, the latter engulfed in a media crush at a hotel interview session yesterday afternoon.

"Um, pretty different, huh?" Pedroia said. "Me and Youk, we're just guys who want to win. They want to win, but they're superstars. Me and Youks, we're guys who grind it out. We're trying to do everything we can and give everything we can. We're talented, but we're definitely not as talented as the other two guys in the infield. So we have to do other things to make up for that."

Pedroia and Youkilis each are making their first All-Star appearance. A-Rod is a 12-time All-Star and drew more than 3.9 million votes to lead all players. Jeter is a nine-time All-Star and finished second in the voting among AL stars. Sox manager Terry Francona referenced the difference when noting that Jeter would be hitting second tonight, while Pedroia, who normally hits second for the Sox, will bat ninth. A-Rod will be batting cleanup, Youkilis seventh.

"For me, a Derek Jeter deserves to hit at the top of the order - in a place like this especially," Francona said. "This is Dustin's - in my opinion -not his last All-Star Game . . . same thing with Youks. So hitting a little bit lower, that's not so bad."

Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon said Pedroia will not be his swaggering self in the company of All-Stars.

"No chance he will be," Papelbon said. "He'll be a little church mice [sic].

"I understand. My first All-Star Game, I was a church mice. You're in there with a bunch of superstars.

"If they have two lockers for all their stuff and you've got one, you just deal with it. If that happened in our clubhouse, he'd be kicking stuff all over the place. He understands the way you gain respect in this game, and the way not to."

Pedroia was elected starter ahead of the American League's leading hitter at the break - Ian Kinsler of the Rangers, who is batting .337 with a league-leading 34 doubles, plus 23 stolen bases. Kinsler took a 25-game hitting streak into the break, longest in the majors this season.

Pedroia and Kinsler were teammates for one season at Arizona State, until Kinsler transferred to Missouri after Pedroia replaced him at short for the Sun Devils.

"He didn't beat me out, I lost the job," Kinsler said. "I was playing short, he was playing second, but I hit around .240, made a couple of errors, and wasn't playing so well, so Murph [ASU coach Pat Murphy] moved Dustin to short."

Pedroia, who was a second-round draft pick for the Sox in 2004, said he keeps tabs on Kinsler, who was taken on the 17th round by the Rangers in 2003, just as he does with other ex-ASU teammates. Asked to compare their games, he said:

"It's a little different. I try to set the table. He pretty much is the table. He drives in runs, steals bases, he does a lot of things. He's got speed and power. I think I'm scrappy, play great defense [Kinsler has 16 errors, Pedroia 5], do the little things that help us win."

Kinsler acknowledges a rivalry between the two.

"He's having a great season," Kinsler said. "I think there's a little competitive spirit going on. He obviously wants to do better than me. I want to do better than him.

"Obviously, the [Red Sox] are on the map more than we are. They're on ESPN more than we are. Right now, we're making some waves in the news world. I want to be part of it."

Kinsler was asked if Pedroia is a true 5 feet 9 inches. "With heels on, or flat-footed?" he said. "I don't know how tall he is. He throws his chin pretty high."

Ortiz: Strong showing

David Ortiz took three rounds of batting practice yesterday with the AL Stars and hit a number of balls out, including some into the upper deck. It was an exciting prelude to the rehab assignment Ortiz will begin in Pawtucket this weekend.

It also could have an impact on trade talks the Sox have had with the Braves regarding first baseman and free agent-to-be Mark Teixeira, first reported by ESPN's Peter Gammons Sunday night. Major league sources confirmed that the Braves asked for Youkilis and setup man Craig Hansen. The Sox said they'd be willing to keep channels open until the July 31 trading deadline. The Braves are skeptical the Sox would be willing to part with Youkilis, and according to sources, may not even trade Teixeira if they're within striking distance of the lead in the NL East.

Other trade talk: The Phillies are making a run at Toronto starter A.J. Burnett, and a number of teams, including the Yankees, Phillies, and Rays, have significant interest in Rockies lefthanded reliever Brian Fuentes.

Manny Ramírez was a no-show for the media session - he will not be fined for his absence, an MLB spokesman said - but took BP in a group with Ortiz and A-Rod. He also did an on-field interview with John Sterling, the radio voice of the Yankees, that was broadcast on the stadium PA.

Noting that he grew up 10 minutes from here, in Washington Heights, Ramírez called it a "dream come true" to be here. With a straight face, he also repeated to Sterling his ambition to win a Gold Glove.

He's on Drew's radar

J.D. Drew, making his first All-Star appearance, was asked if there was an All-Star he wanted to meet. "I'm looking forward to saying hello to Josh Hamilton," Drew said of the Rangers outfielder who cites his faith as key to overcoming his drug addiction. "I think everyone's heard his story. I find it very fascinating; I've read a lot of the articles, and it's really a neat turnaround. It's given him a great platform to talk about his faith. He's been through the lowest of the lows. It's a cool story. He seems to have embraced his mistakes, people have forgiven him, and it's fun to watch what he's doing." . . . Youkilis is one of three Jewish players in this year's All-Star Game, joining Kinsler and Ryan Braun of the Brewers. "I haven't been able to meet Braun yet," Kinsler said, "but Youkilis always says something to me on the bases. 'Happy Passover,' he'll throw something at me." . . . Tampa Bay pitcher Scott Kazmir, making his second All-Star appearance, believes the Rays will right themselves after losing seven in a row just before the break, which left them a half-game behind the Sox after they'd led by five games just a week earlier. "We still have our guys feeling like they kind of have that chip on their shoulder," Kazmir said . . . Jason Varitek, who rushed out of the Sox clubhouse Sunday afternoon to see a doctor, said the irritation in his right eye had cleared considerably. His eye was nearly swollen shut Sunday but looked normal yesterday.

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com. Amalie Benjamin of the Globe staff contributed to this report.