The next generation?

In the wake of Trot Nixon's premature retirement from the game of baseball, the Red Sox entered the season without an heir to the prototypical Dirt Dogs throne. Theo has trimmed the "blue collar" contingent on the active roster from its peak in 2004 (Millar, Bellhorn, Damon, Nixon, Varitek, Youkilis, Mirabelli, Timlin, Embree), and even the holdovers from that season, with the exception of Youkilis, have seen their skills diminish considerably since that glorious night in St. Louis. For 2007, the club has been rebuilt in the "Professional" style of Bill Mueller (led by J.D. Drew, but also a converted Varitek, Lowell, Cora, Wakefield, and borderline calls on Lugo and Crisp). But where have all the dirtdogs gone?

The fate of the blue-collar Boston ballplayer now lies squarely in the hands of young Dustin Luis Pedroia.

When watching Dusty's breakout performance this weekend against the Yankees, did you notice anything different about his appearance?

That's right, folks: the socks are up.

As I said on April 5, "If Pedroia wants to be embraced as the New Dirt Dog, he's gonna have to rock the high socks. Having pants all the way down to the cleats just does not add up here." Socks go up, and the boy starts ripping doubles and making game-saving dives up the middle. The first steps have been taken.

On the other hand, Dustin is hitting .191 so far in 2007 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, and a .309 OBP. This are numbers that could use some improving, especially for someone who runs like he has a piano strapped to his back and may need to wear lifts in his shoes to get on the good rides at Canobie Lake.

There are two hidden numbers in Pedroia's stat line, however, that do offer some signs of hope. In 55 plate appearances (which is an infinitely small sample size to draw any conclusions, especially for a rookie who has just been handed his first starting job), Dusty has walked 8 times and struck out 5 - not a great rate, but definitely could be worse.

The other more promising stat, which will draw down the wrath of Tom from Boston the same way it did when I used it to defend another Boston second baseman, is the number of pitches he is seeing in each plate appearance. As Kevin Youkilis has shown, plate discipline can be the difference between a middle-of-the-road batsman and an OBP machine. Additionally, as the Yankees seem to prove every time they visit Fenway, the key to breaking down good pitching is to run up that pitch count early and often and get those starting pitchers off the mound and into the showers. When a number nine hitter can work the count without really being much of an offensive threat, the pitcher is forced to exert himself more than he would for a typical weak hitter and therefore is slightly less prepared to deal with the top of the order. As of this writing, Pedroia and his .191 average are looking at 4.04 P/PA, which puts him just behind Julio Lugo (4.06 P/PA) for the team lead and rates as the 37th best mark in the majors, placing him between Jim Thome and Richie Sexson.

Power can be developed. Bat speed can be improved. But a good batting eye, and the discipline to make the pitcher throw strikes, is an innate ability that not all major leaguers posess.

And he's cheap. And he's a homegrown rookie. And he's improved dramatically after settling in at each progressive level of competition he's reached.

So here's to you, Mr. Pedroia. A newly white-collar Nation turns its longing eyes to you. So get that uniform dirty and smear pine tar all over your helmet. Wear eye black when the sun is nowhere to be seen. Run over the catcher when the play isn't even really that close. Make a great play and flip out. Start a fight at second base with someone much bigger than you and let Youk hold you back.

And also, if you could get a hit every once in a while, that'd be great too.