Pedroia to play in WBC

Thank goodness Beckett isn't pitching in this thing.

good to hear about beckett. the wideload needs full time adult supervision next spring at the training table.

of course Pedroia will play he is the best american 2nd baseman not to mention of of the toughest outs in the major leagues

My ideal hope for this is that Pedroia gets his "I'm going to hit .180 for the first month of the season" thing out of the way by tanking it in the WBC and subsequently posting a .370 average on the season.

Pedroia has the best eye-hand co-ordination I've seen since Ted Williams. It's incredible to me that he can swing the bat so hard and hit the ball squarely with such consistency. Most guys who swing like that are feast-or-famine power hitters. Only a few (skinny) guys like Williams or Pedroia have been able to swing that hard yet yield power AND average.

Beckett needs to stay away from the dinner table this winter and come in to spring training in top shape. He had his excuses last year.

I'd actually like to see more of the Red Sox position players in this thing if possible. They will get a chance to face live, meaningful pitches earlier in the season and move into their true form earlier than otherwise. Keeping the pitchers out of it is the best way to go and I hope that if Lester is offered a spot he turns it down. Getoutofmyballpark.com has much more on the WBC and the reasons for/against Red Sox players going.

I agree with Jonathan, Pedroia is my favorite and I somewhat get the slump he starts out with (as all hitters seem to go through them during the season, aren't we glad he goes through his in April and then the worst he is is very good) and know that people will be jumping down his throat if he doesn't start out strong. So..use the WBC, we just use it for international scouting, right?