Pedroia will have thumb surgery soon

BOSTON -- Now that the season is over, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia can at last get his left thumb repaired.

Pedroia, who sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb while making a head-first dive at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day, expects to have surgery later this month.

"Yeah, probably in a couple of weeks," said Pedroia. "I've got to fly back home to Arizona and get an MRI and see how they're going to do it."

Hand specialist Dr. Donald Sheridan is likely to perform the procedure.

Perhaps the injury impacted Pedroia in the postseason, when he hit .238 with no homers, seven RBIs and a .587 OPS.

But considering the way the season ended, with the Red Sox winning it all, Pedroia wasn't about to complain about playing through injury.

"It's part of the job," Pedroia said. "Everyday players, you go through stuff like this. You've got to try to find a way to manage it. Our training staff was awesome. I just had to limit my swings and do some other things. I found a way to get through it."

During the regular season, Pedroia hit .301 with nine homers and 84 RBIs and played spectacular defense, earning him his third Rawlings Gold Glove Award.