There were predictable doses of remorse mixed with guarded optimism doled out in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse on Saturday, when it was learned their second baseman, Dustin Pedroia, has a broken left foot that will sideline him for weeks and, perhaps, months.  When Pedroia fouled a ball off his left instep Friday night, it forced the Red Sox to once again maintain a stiff upper lip and soldier on, this in a season in which Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron and Josh Beckett have missed significant stretches.  But to gauge Pedroia's true value to the Red Sox, let's move beyond the standard themes of resilience and turning the page that the Sox were forced to adopt on Saturday. Instead, consider this quote from manager Terry Francona just two nights earlier, the wake of Pedroia's 5-for-5, three-homer performance to rescue his club at Denver's Coors Field:  "That's unbelievable. That's one of the best performances I've ever seen. That's [Ryne] Sandberg-esque. That's awesome.''  In one unguarded moment of giddiness, Francona equated his MVP second baseman with a Hall of Famer, putting into perspective just what Pedroia means to his club.  The tangibles: a .292 average, 24 doubles, 12 homers and an .871 OPS one usually doesn't associate with a second baseman.  The intangibles: Nights like Thursday, when the Red Sox draw strength from their most dimunitive force.  Now, mired in a three-team dogfight in baseball's most unforgiving division, the Red Sox must ponder this question: Can they survive without Dustin Pedroia?  Before we shed too many tears, keep in mind that these are still the Red Sox, a club that found $82 million this winter to sign John Lackey, that locked up Beckett before the season started and enjoys a depth at the major league level that enables them to spend four months figuring out just how to dump Mike Lowell.  In theory, they will be just fine.  But in the AL East, where they already trail the Yankees by two games and are tied with the Rays, Pedroia's downfall might have erased their margin for error. On the field, he'll be replaced by a combination of the recently recalled Angel Sanchez, veteran utilityman Bill Hall and Eric Patterson, acquired Saturday from Oakland.  In the lineup, however, there could be a ripple effect. there could be a ripple effect, however. With Ellsbury still not ready for baseball activities, it remains to be seen if the re-purposed Sox lineup will have enough disruption at the top to set the table for big boppers like Kevin Youkilis and the recently resurgent David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre. Everyone will get pitched to a bit differently.  But again, the question for the Sox may not be the lack of firepower. It could be the missing fire.  "He means a lot,'' Hall told the Boston Globe. "To me, he's our second captain. Obviously, [Jason Varitek's] No. 1. Pedey with his emotion and how hard he plays and the big hits he gets, he means a lot to this team emotionally. We're going to miss him a lot.''
Can the Red Sox survive without Dustin Pedroia? - Daily Pitch: MLB News, Standings, Schedules & More - USATODAY.com