In case you haven’t heard, Dustin Pedroia has left the World Baseball Classic due to a lower adominal strain. This morning he spoke to the media from the Red Sox clubhouse in Fort Myers. (Transcript courtesy Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal):

Pedroia: I’ll be fine. Nothing to be worried about. Just take a couple days to get it calmed down and we’ll go from there.

“I grabbed at it, and the hitting coach said go see the trainer.”

“I was going to try to play, and then Youk calmed me down, said shut it down, get it looked at. We’ve still got three more weeks, you’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think it’s going to linger. I’ll take care of it and get it ready and get ready for the season. It won’t be an issue.”

“It’s not as bad as people have said or anything, I’ll be fine.”

“Today I’m just getting treatment, try to get it calmed down.”

“When you have a physique like this and you’re shredded and everything, something might happen.”

(On his newly shaved head): “It’s sick. I just shaved it up. Cleaned it up a little bit.”

“Obviously with these things you don’t want to rush it.”

(Was this because of the WBC?) “It’s tough playing nine innings right away. Usually you play five or six innings and get three at bats.

“This could have happened to me here in Ft. Myers. I don’t think me getting hurt was because of the WBC, I don’t think it was because of that.”

“I’m not worried about it. I’ll be fine. We’ve still got three more weeks.”

(Does he feel it when he swings) “I felt it one time, and they kind of went in straight panic mode and got me out of there. That’s the thing, they didn’t want to send me back with a torn oblique or a torn ab or whatever I had.”

(All of New England freaking out) “Tell them to calm down. We’ll handle this. Tell them that.”

“Dr. (Thomas) Gill and Paul Lassard were at my place last night in Ft. Myers when I got home and they examined me there.

It’s actually not my oblique at all, it’s my lower part of the ab, just a little strain, nothing to be that concerned about. We’ll get some treatment and we’ll be fine.”

“I’ll take of it.”

(Would have played through during the regular season?)

“Probably. Unless they put me in a straitjacket and held me down, I’d play through anything.”