Abraham On Pedroia's Foot: 'It's Going To Be An Issue All Year'

BOSTON (CBS) – Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is playing on a surgically repaired left foot, which might have something to do with his slow start to the 2011 season.

"That foot is clearly bothering him and he's not able to plant his foot and drive the ball like he normally does," Boston Globe baseball reporter Peter Abraham told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich Friday morning. "It's something he's got to get used to and I think that process is still going on."

Listen: Peter Abraham On T&R: Pedroia's Foot Clearly An Issue

Pedroia missed the end of the 2010 season after fouling a ball off his left foot in June, fracturing his navicular bone. The former AL MVP underwent season ending surgery in September where he had a screw inserted into the foot.

"Maybe he's going to get comfortable over the course of the season," said Abraham. "I don't think he's going to have the offensive numbers he usually does but he does so many other things that help them it might not matter. With guys like Gonzalez and Crawford around the offense is probably going to even out from a team standpoint."

"But he's clearly got issues. This is a guy after the game that has a trouble putting on his shoes and that's got to be a hard way to play baseball."

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Pedroia is hitting .247 with three home runs and 15 RBI. He has six hits in his last four games, and has a hit in seven of his last 10 games.

"It's going to be an issue all year, until he gets that screw taken out after the season," said Abraham. "But he's such a good player overall that he is going to do enough things to be valuable to them."