it is pretty amazing to me that we got off to this hot start with Pedroia playing so far below par. IMO, he has been the guy that makes this team go for several years already. When he is hot, we win a lot. He has been really cold, and we are winning a lot. He will turn it around, and in the words of Ortiz, someone is going to pay.
As for this weekend, Texas is a really strong team and we have played competitively against them with the bottom of our rotation (probably the weakest aspect of our team). They have not blow our doors off. Last year, they would have pummeled us.