No More Laser Show? Pedroia Now 'The Muddy Chicken'
BOSTON (CBS) - Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia came through in the 16th inning Sunday night against the Rays with a game-winning RBI single; and may have earned a new nickname for it.
Enter "The Muddy Chicken."
"Unbelievable. Pedey, or the Muddy Chicken as we know him. We actually don't even know his name anymore. He's now the Muddy Chicken. I don't know where it came from, but now he's the Muddy Chicken," starter Josh Beckett said after the 1-0 win. "The Muddy Chicken is definitely the player of the game. He got it done when we absolutely needed it."
Pedroia has been commonly known as "The Laser Show" as of late, for comments he made during the 2010 season. While Beckett was all about the new nickname Sunday night, the Muddy Chicken himself was not aware of it.
"I don't even know what you're talking about man," said Pedroia after the game.
Beckett, Pedroia On "The Muddy Chicken"
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Either name fits for Pedroia. He has been putting on a laser show, riding a 15-game hitting streak after a 3-for-7 performance. He has multiple hits in six of his last seven games, raising his season batting average to .293.
There was little doubt in the Sox dugout that Pedroia would be the one to come through, even after 15-innings of baseball.
"By that time, it's not just physical but mentally draining. That's the one guy you know is going to figure out a way," Manager Terry Francona said of his second baseman.
Then there was his defense. Pedroia made an unbelievable play to end the fourth inning, ranging to his right, diving and firing to first to get Casey Kotchman to end the frame. He had a similar play in the sixth, this time robbing Reid Brignac.
The new nickname was chanted throughout the Sox clubhouse after the marathon win, and while Pedroia may not know where the moniker came from, it works for him.
"It sounds awesome though doesn't it?" he joked.
