DUSTIN PEDROIA

THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE

June 7, 2004 ...  No game scheduled ... The most encouraging news of the day for Sox fans may have been the team's decision to officially begin a minor league rehab assignment for Trot Nixon. The only trouble was, Nixon was scheduled to DH for Single A Sarasota against Minnesota's affiliate in Fort Myers, Fla., and the game was rained out.

The Sox, who forfeited their first two picks in the annual amateur draft to the A's for signing free agent Keith Foulke, chose Arizona State shortstop Dustin Pedroia in the second round with the 65th pick overall. One of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award given to the best collegiate player of the year, Pedroia, 20, was likened by Sox amateur scouting director David Chadd to Anaheim shortstop David Eckstein. "He's a special player," Epstein said. Pedroia, who is 5 feet 9 inches and weighs 180 pounds, was named the best defensive college player in the nation last year. In three years at Arizona State, he hit .388 with a .466 on-base percentage. Epstein and Chadd said they expected Pedroia to go considerably higher in the draft and were thrilled to land him. Pedroia, a Sacramento native, also seemed pleased. "I'm really excited to be drafted by the Red Sox," he said in a conference call. "The Red Sox are getting a player who's going to play hard every day, loves to win, and whose main goal is to win a championship." The Sox selected 16 other players through the 18th round on the first day of the draft.