It's about 30 minutes after Dustin Pedroia has pulled his jeep up to the small gym on the back side of a Chandler, Ariz., strip mall. The sweat has already started flowing freely, along with the obligatory trash talk.

Following the guidance of former Arizona State and NFL wide receiver Keith Poole, Pedroia, along with his former college teammates Andre Ethier and Kevin Frandsen and new Red Sox teammate Bobby Jenks, has discovered the momentum of the morning.

Two days before, the subject of the verbal torture was a newcomer to the workout facility who had the audacity not to pick up the baseballs Pedroia had supplied.

"Can you believe this?" the second baseman declared, for all to hear. "This kid from the Gulf Coast League Donkeys didn't even pick these up. Wait until I buy his team. The GCL Donkeys … unbelievable!" The rant continued, along with the chuckling. Three days a week throughout the baseball offseason, it's the kind of thing that makes the world go 'round at Keith Poole's Training Zone.

Now the fun centered around a photo, one which showed Pedroia from almost exactly a year earlier flexing his muscles while adorning a cut-off "GI Joe" T-shirt.

Ethier, Frandsen and Jenks gathered around the photo while Pedroia struck the same pose, insisting, other than a bit more hair, the frame was still the same. The consensus? Close enough.

But while the body of a year before might have been nearly identical, the mindset was anything but.

"He's a little more quiet this year," noted Poole. "He's still not confident yet in that foot. He says he feels good, and he's looking good. But in the back of his mind he's a little nervous about it healing right, which probably everyone is. But I think he's in the right hands and everything will be fine."

The trainer's observation is right on. In moments of candor, Pedroia will tell you as much.

It's been seven months since he broke the navicular bone in his left foot on a foul ball in San Francisco. It's been almost four months since he underwent surgery on the same foot, which now has a screw in it supporting the healing process.

But time hasn't completely turned back the pain, or the worry. And now Pedroia finds himself getting ready to head into spring training having to make the kind of adjustments that weren't on his radar at season's end.

"I'd say there has been some surprises," Pedroia said. "I thought when I had surgery on my foot, in three months I would feel 100 percent, and that wasn't the case. It's been a lot tougher than I thought it was, and what everyone thought it would be. 

"The people that have had this injury, there's not a lot in baseball, but in other sports Yao Ming and, shoot, he still hasn't recovered, and Grant Hill had it and he's kind of back normal. It's a weird bone to break without a non-stress fracture. Mine is from impact and you never see those injuries from impact. They say that stress fractures with this injury is different, where your body is taking over. Mine is from a ball hitting off it, so it's a little different in terms of the recovery.

"The tough part is finding a way to figure out what the best thing is for me and how I can ready myself to play every day. I'm two weeks away from spring training and I'm just now kind of getting the program to where I feel good and to where I can play a game."

Pedroia has figured out a lot over the past few weeks.

Part of the process has been aided by an introduction to Foothills Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center in Gilbert, Ariz., about a 20-minute ride from Poole's place. It is there Pedroia has been meeting up consistently with Allen Gruver, a physical therapist for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Denver Broncos and various other athletic organizations.

Gruver bookends another Pedroia workout with various treatments on the infielder's injured foot. At times the subject will feel some discomfort in the midst of the sessions, only to be followed quickly by Gruver's explanation why any pain is perfectly normal.

"Manage it."

They are the two words uttered most by Gruver when trying to explain what might be in store for Pedroia in the coming season. The conditioning drill the Red Sox players typically undergo at the outset of spring training? No need to participate. Special footwear? The folks from New Balance would be flying into Arizona for a fitting the next day.

Pedroia has never had to manage much, seemingly hitting each and every baseball diamond in full sprint. But, again, like it or not, the Red Sox second baseman is entering a whole new era.

"My thing is that I have to save bullets in different ways," he explained. "Like stretching. I can't go out and stretch for 45 minutes in spring training. I can't take the wear and tear. I have to go out there and use all the energy and pounding in the right areas. I can't go out there and stretch for 45 minutes and be tired for the game. That's stupid. The trainers and [Red Sox strength and conditioning coach Dave Page] and everybody, we'll put a program together where I can go out there and help us win. That's just going to be this year. I'm doing all my maintenance stuff to get my foot through the year, because [after] the year I'm probably going to take the screw out and be normal again.

"I think I'm getting used to knowing my foot a little bit better, and if I'm sore in this area how I can make it better. Shoot, I went through a three-week period where everyday I woke up and there was different soreness in different areas, which is normal, but you have to find ways to get through that soreness and make it better for that day."

Pedroia has talked to Red Sox manager Terry Francona, and all are on the same page when it comes to the player's approach. Beating Boston College in Fort Myers isn't the priority, but getting the better of the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, is.

The Red Sox went 44-43 without Pedroia in the lineup last season, with each of those losses tearing the player apart. Fighting off the feeling of helplessness is the motivation this time around.

"My biggest mindset is I'm going to spring training and I'm trying to help us win, and the best way to do that is me being healthy and taking care of it the right way," he said. "I'm not here to do anything special, I'm here to find a way to help us win every day. I'm going to own it and try and go out there and do it."

Now, the true test is right around the corner. It's not so much how many hits Pedroia can muster, or even measuring his speed, strength or dexterity. Executing the lessons of the last few months is now the priority. 

An offseason of ups and downs is now ready to be punctuated with the real thing -- Pedroia's return to baseball.

"The worst moment has been dealing with every day, mentally … shoot, your mind wanders. Some days you think you're not OK, then you're OK," he said. "That stuff is in the back of your mind all the time. It's hard to get away from. You have to keep telling yourself that you're going to wake up one day and everything is going to be normal. That's it. I always stay positive. I know I'm going to be fine, I know I'm going to have a great year, I know we're going to have a great year. Your mind can overpower a lot of things, and I'm banking on that.

"The best part is going home and forgetting about it because I've got my son [Dylan] there. Shoot, if I didn't have him there cheering me up all the time I don't know what the hell would go on. That's been the biggest thing, just grinding through every day with my foot and coming home and being a dad. That's it."