Geist: "I'd have no problem putting an offspeed pitch in Pedroia's back"

I got this in my inbox yesterday from the folks over at The Villiage Voice. It's an interview with MSNBC's Williams Geist. Why is this relevant? Because he's a big time Yankees fan.

You're a Yankees fan. If you ever got a pitching start for the Yanks and could bean one opposing player, who would it be?

Does throwing at A-Rod during batting practice count? If not, I'd go with Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox. I've never been big on the baseball tradition of throwing a hard ball 90-miles-an-hour at another person from a short distance, but I'd have no problem putting an offspeed pitch in Pedroia's back.

He symbolizes the Red Sox' completely phony "scrappy underdog" narrative. Last year's Tampa Bay Rays were underdogs. A team with the second-highest payroll in the American League is not. The only odds the Red Sox franchise has ever defied is those that say that a team composed of professional ballplayers would almost have to win at least a single World Series title in a span of 86 years.

But back to Pedroia. You made it to the majors, dude. You're the American League MVP. You just signed a $40 million contract. You can stop sprinting on and off the field like you're trying to impress your high school coach. We get it: You hustle. Real major league stars loaf around the field with a sense of entitlement. Let this 77-mile-an-hour change-up in your back be a reminder to you.

He also says that he'd much rather be Derek Jeter than Alex Rodriguez, and his wife talked him down from getting a Ford Edge. Why did he want an Edge? Because Derek Jeter is the spokesperson of course.

For the rest of the interview, go here.