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Pedroia, Scutaro quickly form tight bond

Sox's new double-play combo shares similar style of play

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By Ian Browne / MLB.com

03/09/10 5:07 PM ET

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- They are the diminutive duo for sure, but the listed heights of Dustin Pedroia (5-foot-9) and Marco Scutaro (5-10) hardly do justice to how big the new double-play combo will be for the 2010 Red Sox.

While the Red Sox were in Jupiter, Fla., taking on the Marlins on Tuesday, Pedroia and Scutaro were back at the home base of City of Palms Park flipping double plays as if they had been doing it together for a few years.

The design of the exercise was to increase the comfort level between the double-play mates, so they can learn all of each other's tendencies. In truth, they won't need many extra hours to gain comfort.

"It's pretty neat when you're around two guys that have the work ethic that they have," said Red Sox third-base coach/infield instructor Tim Bogar. "They both like to work."

Though Pedroia hails from California and Scutaro is the pride of Venezuela, they appear to be kindred spirits on the field. So much of what they've gotten on the baseball field has come through grit and tireless work ethic. You won't see No. 15 (Pedroia) or No. 16 (Scutaro) wearing a clean uniform for many innings this season.

They will be getting down and dirty and willing themselves into the middle of the action on both sides of the ball.

"He kind of plays the way I do," Scutaro said of Pedroia. "We communicate a lot during the game. He has good instincts for the game. I knew it wouldn't be any problem."

Workers tend to like other workers.

"Everyone I've talked to who I've asked about Marco, they say the same thing -- what a great teammate he is and great guy he is," Pedroia said. "I can see why everyone loves him. He works hard."

For Pedroia, his path to opportunity and success in the Majors came quickly, in large part because the Red Sox's scouting department fell in love with him as a college player at Arizona State. Of course, Pedroia was also ready for the opportunity that was presented to him and pounced on it.

Scutaro, who at 34 is eight years older than Pedroia, had been grinding for years -- and for multiple teams -- before finally emerging into an everyday player in Toronto the past two seasons.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Pedroia and Scutaro were fans of each other before they became teammates this spring.

"Definitely," said Scutaro of Pedroia. "Since Day 1 when he got to the big leagues. He's unbelievable. He's the best. I always used to talk to him when we played against each other. He's an exciting player."

The praise goes back and forth with ease, much like the double plays they will turn this season.

"He's a baseball player," Pedroia said of Scutaro. "He makes all the plays. He's going to make my job real easy."

How long did it take Pedroia to feel comfortable around the bag with Scutaro?

"Three ground balls," said Pedroia, "and we were used to each other."

That's what happens when two like-minded players form a tandem.

"I think they're both students of the game," Bogar said. "They both understand how it's supposed to be played. Even though they can make great plays, they're very fundamentally sound. So when you have two fundamentally sound guys coming together, it usually connects pretty quickly."

So what was the biggest benefit of Tuesday's extended session?

"I just wanted to get them out there and take as many double-play balls as possible," Bogar said. "Every ball possible that they can see as a double play, slow-hit balls, left to right, so they're so used to each other that it just becomes second nature. The more repetition they get, the better they're going to be."

The other trait Pedroia and Scutaro share is in the personality department. They are both vocal on the field and around the cage, talking good-natured trash to each other and expressing enthusiasm for their line of work.

It is obvious that Pedroia and Scutaro already have a significant comfort factor with each other.

"A lot," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "I'm just getting to know Marco, but he seems like a tremendous teammate. But how do you not -- if you look at Pedey -- how are you not going to hit it off with him? All he wants to do is work hard and win. It's not like you have to coax him out there to take ground balls. We're pretty fortunate."

While their defensive compatibility is a focus of Spring Training, their bats will make plenty of noise once the games start for real.

Pedroia will probably stay in his familiar No. 2 hole for Francona while Scutaro, who led off last year in Toronto, is likely to serve as a spark near the bottom of the order.

Following an American League Most Valuable Player season in 2008, Pedroia didn't have much of a dropoff last year, hitting .296 with 115 runs, 185 hits, 48 doubles and a .371 on-base percentage. Scutaro scored 100 runs and had a .379 on-base percentage. The 35 doubles Scutaro hit in his final season in Toronto should increase thanks to the dimensions of Fenway.

Rest assured that Pedroia and Scutaro will be in the middle of plenty of Red Sox rallies this season. And on defense, they will probably stop quite a few of them from happening.

"Putting the two of them together, it's going to make our pitching staff better and it's going to make our whole infield better," Bogar said. "It's been pretty neat to watch them work together."

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.