Krause: Everything coming up Roses for Pedroia

If the Red Sox go anywhere this season, it’s obvious that Dustin Pedroia is going to lead them there.Is there any doubt that Pedroia is The Man in 2008? That the cocky little second baseman has proven – beyond any dispute – that he has the chops that justify his supreme confidence?It’s such an unlikely story. What kind of a sports name is Dustin Pedroia? He sounds like he should be a stockbroker prairie-dogging in his cubicle on the 25th floor of some office building in the bowels of Manhattan.Need to invest in Money Markets? See Dustin Pedroia. He’ll help you.It’s not the most common of names, either. Offhand, I can think of two people I’ve ever encountered named Dustin ? both actors. One, of course, is the incomparable Dustin Hoffman. And the other is Dustin Diamond, who – in case you’re scratching your head wondering who in the heck HE is – played Screech on “Saved by the Bell,” one of TV’s most ridiculous nerds ever. Screech made Urkel look urbane and sophisticated.Diamond later went on TV and claimed he was broke (he wasn’t) and got mixed up in some sex tape thing as well.So these days, the name Dustin doesn’t have much going for it. Maybe Pedroia will change that.But I come not to make fun of Dustin Pedroia’s name. I come to compare him to the man I consider a bigger Antichrist than Barry Bonds when it comes to the Grand Old Game: Pete Rose.I’ve always heard it said (though not by ME, of course) that if Pete Rose played for the Red Sox, he’d be the most popular athlete in the history of the city. I always thought that was ridiculous ? that Charlie Hustle was all about Charlie Hustle ? and that any concern he might have ever had about the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies or Montreal Expos began and ended with what they could do for him ? Pete Rose. You know, sort of the Al Franken of baseball.But darn it all if I don’t watch Pedroia up there and think, “He’s just like Pete Rose.”For one thing, he’s a pest. He has no power and no speed, and he certainly doesn’t look very graceful out there on the diamond. Just like Petey.During spring training, Red Sox players were in some kind of charity dance-off, and there was Pedroia up on the stage, shirtless, shaking his body like he had the flu. It was not pretty. Even his manager called him an idiot. Wise man, that Terry Francona.All kidding aside, and as much as I despised Rose when he played, Pedroia has that same quality ? the ability to rise to the occasion and do something special when the situation demands it most.Last weekend, because everybody else was either sick or injured, Francona had to put the scrawny, power-challenged Pedroia in the cleanup spot. Now, the Sox started the year with Manny Ramirez, the best cleanup hitter they ever had ? and in a big series against the White Sox, Tito’s left with the 98-pound weakling.Well, all the 98-pound weakling did was have two straight four-hit games and wear out White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen so thoroughly that he was almost going to ask Pedroia to autograph the baseball when the Pale Hose finally got him out!Afterward, Guillen went on and on about how much he loved Pedroia as a player and that he wished everyone in the game played like Pedroia.Well, that’s nice. Guillen was a smart, pesky little player himself during his career (he hit the ball on which Tom Brunansky made that acrobatic catch for the last out of the 1990 division-clinching win). But he’s also a bit of an oddball himself; of COURSE he likes Pedroia.It’s funny. We’re so eager to anoint this player, or that player, the leader ? and most of the time, leaders simply emerge from the pack without announcing themselves. They just step up and lead. That’s basically what Pedroia has done. Sure, he’s cocky. And sure, he has just a hint of a Pete Rose swagger about him. And I’m also pretty sure that if he played for the Yankees, I’d be throwing darts at his picture.But when the Red Sox needed someone to show them the way, when all their high-priced talent was either