NEW YORK -- It's a straightforward question: Why play the last two meaningless games of a lost season -- in the rain, no less -- with a broken finger?
For Dustin Pedroia, it's a complex answer.
"I want to play, I want to be out there for the guys," Pedroia said Tuesday in the Red Sox clubhouse at Yankee Stadium after it was announced he would be back in the lineup. "Yesterday was tough; we got our butts kicked (a 10-2 loss)."
"We're playing to win. Nobody's packing it in. We've got two more games."
But there's more to it than that. Part of it is part of being a team leader:
"We have a lot of young guys on our team. Sometimes you get nicked up; it's part of the job. Younger teammates know I'm going to be out there and they should be out there, too, if it happens to them."
And part of it is personal:
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"I like playing, man, it's fun. I get to compete for two more games then sit around for six more months before I can do it again."