Drellich: News is good for Pedroia, but . . .

BOSTON — Dustin Pedroia’s knee flare-up emphasizes how much is unknown in his return from cartilage restoration surgery. Not whether he can return at all, but what he will look like when he does, and how grueling the path back to second base will be.

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Pedroia pointed out Wednesday he is among the first position players to go through this operation. From the nature of the surgery to questions of playing time, Pedroia and the Sox simply don't have a clear roadmap to follow. That's not breaking news, but it is a concept more readily understood as Pedroia goes through his ups and downs publicly, rather than on, say, a backfield.

"Not too many baseball players have gone through this, so we don’t have too much information as far as how to go about this," manager Alex Cora said Wednesday.

How often should Pedroia play, then, when he gets back? How much pain is he facing, and should he be going full speed as he always has? 

These questions all existed around Pedroia post-surgery in a more speculative sense. Now, they’re being verbalized by those involved. 

“We talked already about that,” Cora said on the speed matter. “I think we love the way he plays the game. We love when he hustles with a routine ground ball to the shortstop, but when he hits a ground ball to the shortstop, it's going to be 6-3 and then one [out] in the scorebook. So he doesn't have to go all out. He has to be smart at running the bases.

“He knows where we're at with him and he understands what I want from him. The guy that we want is the healthy one that can contribute offensively and defensively. Now it's on us as far as a workload. But he understands that he has to slow it down a little bit."

Cora mentioned the possibility Pedroia's workload may have to be lessened. Perhaps it won't. Again, what stands out is uncertainty. 

“I think we were using him the right way: two days, an off-day, and all that stuff,” Cora said. “But if the workload has to be less, like I said before, I do feel we’re capable of playing other guys at second. Eduardo [Nunez] is swinging the bat a lot better at second. He’s been a lot better lately, making plays. We’ve got Brock [Holt]. So we should be fine.”

In a positive light, expectation has been a theme since Pedroia felt pain in the knee in Houston. The second baseman took a trip to New York to visit his surgeon, and that visit produced good news: what he has been experiencing is considered normal given his operation.

“That’s the most important thing, that the surgery worked,” Pedroia said Wednesday night. “But we’re still at a point where time is the best thing. The more time I’m out from surgery, the better I’m going to get. And like the doc said the whole time, you’re going to have times where you’re not feeling good. You’re going to have setbacks, things like at this stage. But in the end, you’re going to be fine. You just got to fight through some of the tough times at this part. 

“I’m pretty sure everyone expected that. It just stinks that I did all the work in extended spring and testing it all, and I play a couple games, then I kind of have a little flare-up. That’s the only part that stinks, but I’ll be back to normal soon.”

Pedroia and Cora have both emphasized that point: everyone expected something like this. Yet, publicly, the notion this setback was at some point inevitable was not really broadcast until Pedroia started hurting in Houston. That’s probably because the timing of the pain was, in fact, surprising.

“We expected it to be [this soon]?” Cora said. “No. But it’s major surgery. … We always talk about resting him and all that.”

Rest evokes a different, more mild image than what Pedroia is going through now. The public messaging up until the Houston series was understandable: why would Pedroia or the team be alarmist ahead of time, and highlight potential pitfalls?

The point is that now, the elements Pedroia has to contend with are clearer.

“It’s not going to get better in two or three days,” Pedroia said. “It takes some time. Like I said, it’s a part of it. The knee’s got to get used to [the demands.]"

After managing bitter pain all of last year, here Pedroia is again, managing pain. Of course, we knew he would be sore at times, but it didn't sound like significant pain would be necessary once he got back to the Sox. Yet, it is, and he said he knew that.

"That’s just the type of surgery I had and how long it takes for your body to be used to what happened,” Pedroia said. “The good part for me is like Steven Wright had a similar surgery. I can kind of ask him questions and things like that. 

"Our timeframes have been a little bit different. He had some setbacks but it was at like the 10-month mark, to where he kind of felt like what I feel right now. So you’re going to have ‘em, but like he feels right now, he feels great. Everyone’s different on timeframes and things like that. "

Even rehab assignments are hard to predict. After Pedroia played just three big-league games, it may be intuitive to think that he should have a longer rehab stint when he does get ready to return, just to play it safe. 

Yet, if pain is inevitable, would the Sox be wasting bullets by having Pedroia play more than the minimal number of games needed? Cora indicated that he's thinking the same way.

“I mentioned it before, in basketball it’s a lot easier: he’s playing 15 minutes, that’s it,” Cora said. “But, here, in his first game he has to score from second. He has to slide to his left. And he has to cover [the bag]. It’s a lot different. We’ll talk about that, but I think if this is what is going to happen, well, we will take care of him here at the big league level. We’ll make sure we use him the right way."

They just don't know what that way is yet, and there's no way they could. They’re confident Pedroia will be back. There’s a lot to figure out along the way.