Dustin Pedroia

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia made an appearance on the The Big Show Wednesday afternoon to talk about the state of the Red Sox prior to Spring Training.

Pedroia addressed questions regarding how the players will handle figuring out and dealing with whomever leaked clubhouse secrets (such as eating fried chicken and beer) prior to the season. Pedroia downplayed the importance of addressing the stories about the team that emerged after last season prior to beginning the season. Pedroia also said he does not believe the person who leaked the information was a player.

“I honestly, I can’t see any of our guys ratting out other teammates,” Pedroia said. “That’s over the line. I don’t know who it was or what was going on or who had their source or what. As far as I’m concerned, I’m showing up ready to play baseball. I don’t care about any other of the [stuff] that goes on. The media or none of that stuff. That’s not going to affect how I go about my job. If they ask me a question about last year, I’m just going to say, ‘Listen, bro. It’s 2012. We’re getting ready for that. Go to the archives pal.’”

Pedroia, when pressed, acknowledged that he will confront team staffers such as security guards or clubhouse attendants who may have leaked the information once he arrives in Ft. Myers.

“And that’s where some of the things that I’ve read have come out is oh, a security guy in station whatever was saying that he saw some of the guys go up there and drink a beer or something,” Pedroia said. “That part pisses me off, and I’ll definitely deal with that. Because that’s the part that whoever wrote about it said, oh yeah, there was a security. So I might tell the security guard, ‘Go get a hot dog or something. I’ll handle this. This is our office.’”

Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the interview, go to The Big Show audio on demand page. On the possibility of taking a more official leadership role on the team: “To be honest with you, I don’t really think about it. My job is to go out there and play the game the right way and lead by example and do the things that I’m supposed to do. It’s an honor that people mention me as being a leader, being one of the guys that guys can look to for support or for questions. If they have a question, they come to me. That’s all great, but we need 25 leaders to win a championship. We need everybody to know what their role is and know how to do it. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

On what he would do if he finds out it was a player who leaked information: “I would definitely be frustrated and talk to them about it. I don’t see that, man, it’s hard for me to believe that one of our guys would do something like that. It was bad at the end. Don’t get me wrong. We didn’t play very well and it all came to a [screeching] halt but I can’t see any of our guys going to the media and saying things about other teammates. That part, that’s not baseball. That’s like professional wrestling or something. That’s not the Boston Red Sox way.”

On any wrinkles Bobby Valentine may add to drills because of his experience in Japan: “I’m going to show up and get ready to work. I’m the type of player that I do what I’m told. If they want me to do something, I try to go out there and put my mind to it and try to execute it. I’m ready for anything that they throw at me, and I’m sure all the other guys are too. So I think whatever he picked up in Japan, it’s not going to be that different because it’s the same game. You still have to throw to the plate, you still have to square it up and you still have to make the plays. So whatever he’s got for us, I’m sure that as a team, we’re going to try to accomplish it. ”

On how he feels about not having as much downtime in Spring Training: “Perfect. I don’t remember there being a lot of downtime last year, but yeah, whatever man. Whatever he’s got for us, let’s do it.”