Dustin Pedroia: Rainout Negotiator

(If this blog had sound effects, you'd hear the William Shatner/Priceline theme music playing in the background. You'll just have to imagine it.)

Postponements become problematic during interleague play.

The Florida Marlins, naturally, make only one trip to Fenway Park this season. That left both teams scrambling a little bit when rain threatened Thursday's game, the final game of the three-game series. The Marlins play in New York on Friday, and the Red Sox are scheduled to host the Atlanta Braves. There's no easy way to reschedule the game without forcing the Marlins to make a one-day trip back to Boston -- and no one wants that.

Player representatives play a critical role in rescheduling postponed games. The collective bargaining agreement guarantees players certain rights when it comes to makeup games -- especially in cases when one or both teams would have to make a one-day trip in the middle of a season: "With respect to the rescheduling of any such game ... the Club(s) shall consult with the Association concerning the actual date and time of such rescheduled game."

Jon Lester normally is the Red Sox player rep. With Lester pitching, though, union responsibilities fell to assistant player rep Dustin Pedroia. It's just coincidence that Pedroia also happens to possess the loudest voice in the clubhouse.

Pedroia, therefore, spent most of his time between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. in and out of the office of Red Sox manager Terry Francona and on the phone with, presumably, Marlins player representative Andrew Miller.

(That must have made for an interesting dynamic given that North Carolina and Arizona State -- the alma maters of Miller and Pedroia, respectively, were set to square off in the College World Series on Thursday night.)

"Pedroia gets that duty because he's second in charge, so it'll be a fiasco," Francona said with a smirk. "You can bet, by the end of the night, he's going to threaten to kick somebody's ass.

"If nothing else, it'll be amusing, the decision-making process."

Fortunately for all concerned, the game began on time.