Seven weeks after the second baseman was placed on the disabled list after fouling a ball off his left foot and breaking it in a game against the Giants, the Red Sox get him back for tonight’s game against the Angels. They get back a former Rookie of the Year, an ex-Most Valuable Player, a past Gold Glove winner, and a key hitter. But more than that, they get back a leader — the face, the voice, and the conscience of the Sox.Without Pedroia the Sox went 23-21 (.523), with him they are 44-31 (.587). There are other factors, of course. The Sox are still without Kevin Youkilis, they just lost Jacoby Ellsbury again, and they might be without both for the rest of the season.He’s definitely one of the anchors on this team,’’ pitcher Clay Buchholz said. “He’s able to go out there and make things happen that normal players can’t do. He’s definitely a big sparkplug for the offense and defense. He’s just a key component to this team. Once he gets back and gets his feel back and everything, he’s definitely going to be fun to watch.’’
But while members of the team talk about Youkilis’s middle-of-the-order bat and Ellsbury’s game-changing speed, they save the truly rhapsodic tones for Pedroia.
