That's what Dustin Pedroia received when a quick scope of a troublesome right knee last month showed no significant damage.
Knowing he could be the all-out player that has defined him without risking any serious injury, Pedroia has returned to form. His surge continued Saturday night in Houston, where he had three hits to contribute to a 10-4 rout of the lowly Astros.
It was Pedroia's fourth three-hit game since the knee exam on June 9, and his seventh multi-hit effort in that same span. His average, which was at .247 when he left the team on a train from New York to Boston to pay a visit to the hospital, is now up to .277, courtesy of a .367 (29-for-79) mark since getting a clean bill of health.
Pedroia's manager, Terry Francona, said earlier in the week that he felt his second baseman would be batting .300 by the All-Star break. It seemed a tad far-fetched at the time, as Pedroia was hitting .273 with just 12 games to go before the intermission.
However, you might recall that it was Francona who constantly reminded reporters during Pedroia's darker days of May that the former MVP will get just as hot as he was cold (Pedroia hit .227 in May).
That prediction has come to fruition, so who can say that the other one will not? Especially with the way the statistic in question just keeps on rising.
That rise started early Saturday night with a base hit and a run scored during a three-run rally in the top of the first. Pedroia also singled to lead off the third, and provided what was, at the time, a big RBI by doubling home Jacoby Ellsbury in the fifth to make it 4-1.
Pedroia made outs in his final two at-bats, but he was the catalyst when the Red Sox built the lead, while more of an observer when they piled on late.
Twenty years or so from now, on Dustin Pedroia Night at Fenway Park, the big screen will show him hitting a game-tying, two-run single Friday night and then turning to bark at home plate umpire Laz Diaz as he ran up the line. It was a vintage moment that speaks to Pedroia's incredible competitiveness.
However, it might not be the only highlight plucked from June and July of 2011. Pedroia is on fire, and it all began when he knew he could just be himself once again.
