CHANDLER, Ariz. -- The boxes are found in a room usually reserved for the activities of a 2 1/2-year-old -- and the video game-playing of his 27-year-old father. 

"Sick!" says Dustin Pedroia as he opens each package.

The contents include baseball cleats, specially made for the Red Sox second baseman by New Balance. Red camouflage for home games. Gray for road. 

A few moments later, while Pedroia is pouring over the blueprints of a house he and his young family figure to move into almost 15 months later, Kelli Pedroia informs her husband more packages have been delivered to the front door.

The boxes are ripped open, revealing multiple pairs of American flag weight-lifting pants, along with one blue pair. There is also a "World's Gym" tank-top thrown in for good measure.

"Yes!" Pedroia exclaims upon seeing his order has finally come in.

The attire -- which the infielder would later describe as "Napoleon Dynamite pants" because of their resemblance to the pants worn by Diedrich Bader's character in the 2004 movie -- have purpose. Each of Pedroia's workout partners will receive a pair, with Yankees catcher Russell Martin getting the blue ones because "he is Canadian."

Camouflage cleats. Glorified pajamas. And talk of how good 2012 can be.

Yes, Dustin Pedroia has turned the page. 

"I don't want to stay here all year and lift weights. I want to go out and play ball," he said. "I want to get down there."

"There" is Fort Myers, Fla., and it has suddenly gotten a lot closer to becoming a reality once again. For the last four months, the flight to Florida hasn't been on Pedroia's radar. He has spent his days either working out at "the compound" built by good friend Andre Ethier, going through rehab at the Foothills Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center in nearby Gilbert or carting son Dylan to swim lessons.

These are the things that helped Pedroia move on from '11 and dive into '12.

"When I got back to Arizona, I started with my rehab so I haven't had a minute to think about anything. I've been at it and focused since I got back," he explained. 

"We played 162 games and we were an inning away from going to the postseason with a chance to play for the championship and we didn't get that. I think every single player who was on that team last year probably thought, 'If I would have done this differently, we would have had a chance.' Maybe a guy on the St. Louis Cardinals did something differently and that's why their team got in and that's why they won. I'm sure everybody sat back and thought like that. I did. I think it takes time, and time will heal all. When I look back and I'm done, I'll always see 2011 getting away from us by one inning."

'IT'S A COMPOUND, THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT'

Drive up to the gate surrounding the Ethier household at 9 a.m. and you'll be greeted by a bevy of cars. Investigate a little further and one will find a sizable barn in the back, with workers scurrying around, putting what appears to be the finishing touches on the newly constructed structure.

But the real surprise comes once inside.

Inside the semi-massive "shed" is a layout that includes a batting cage, artificial turf, a kitchen (complete with chef and daily menu), workout room complete with a multitude of weights and exercise items, a lounge area with big-screen television and even a penned in play area for kids the size of Dylan Pedroia.

And then there are the inhabitants. 

There is Ethier, the All-Star outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Martin, former Red Sox and current Ranger Conor Jackson, Pedroia, Zack MacPhee -- a second baseman, who was drafted in the 13th round by Cleveland last year -- and John Ruettiger, a pitcher in the Orioles' organization. They are joined by two coaches from nearby Athletes Performance whom the group has hired to come every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, along with a pair of alternating chefs (also products of AP).

A little later, after the morning workout, Baltimore shortstop J.J. Hardy and Howie Kendrick of the Angels will show up to take some swings with the group.

"It's a compound, that's the best way to describe it," explained Jackson. "It's not a shed. It's a compound. It's crazy."

It has also been a sanctuary for Pedroia. For the first few years of the second baseman's professional life, he and Ethier worked out at Athletes Performance with such major leaguers as Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez and Carl Crawford. But after the organization's Arizona facility moved to the other side of Phoenix -- about a 45-minute drive from Pedroia's home -- the duo moved to Keith Poole's Training Zone in Chandler. But this time around, they have decided to do their own thing.

"We're having a good time," Pedroia said. "It's a great group of guys."

Camaraderie aside, the structure has meant a lot to Pedroia's ability to springboard away from '11 and into '12. 

"I think of it as work. That's how you have to do it," he said. "If you want to be a good player you have to put in the time to prepare yourself to do that. Preparation makes you good. If you surround yourself around guys who work their butt off, you're going to be one of those guys right there with them. We have a good group of guys. It's fun getting up and going and just putting in the time. We're doing the stuff we need to do to further our careers and be great that year, that's how we look at it."

The process has also paved the way for a resurfaced sense of normalcy for Pedroia, whose offseason leading into '11 was filled with doubts, uneasiness and a bit too much pain for his liking. That's what living life with a screw in your foot for the first time will do.

"After I got the screw out (just after the completion of the '11 regular season), the biggest thing for me is it helped me to use my legs and learn how to run again," he said. "I haven't had the best form running, and I haven't had the best technique, and in baseball and any other sport if you have bad technique you're able to pull muscles and you're not able to prevent injuries. I started working on getting my legs stronger and my core as strong as possible, and I'm trying to learn to run again the right way so that I can prevent injury and play that much longer. That's pretty exciting.

"I know last year it seemed like a grind for me. I never really paid attention to numbers or anything like that. I know during the year I stole a lot of bases early on, which I think I was surprised about because of the way my foot felt. As the year went on I was tired. I couldn't train like I normally do. My performance was good at the end, but I was worn out. Shoot, I started running the second week of January. I remember before I got to spring training I was terrified they were going to make me do the 300-yard shuttle. I thought I would embarrass myself. But I got through it and I'm proud of that. There were obviously days I didn't feel the best, but you have to go out on days like that and do whatever you can to help your team win. I learned a lot about myself last season."

LIVING LIFE WITHOUT THE HARDWARE

Through all the doubts, Pedroia landed with perhaps his best individual season, setting career highs in games played (159), plate appearances (tops in the American League with 731), home runs (21) and walks (86) while posting an OPS (.861) second only to his output in '08 (.869).

And he did all of this while being offered a daily reminder that there was an inch-long screw in his left foot (along with a midseason knee injury that offered even more doubts).

"There was the point I bruised the knee cap in my right knee and I'm dealing with the foot and my knee and it was wearing on me. I was more frustrated because I couldn't do what I wanted to do," he said. "I had the screw in there, which was a pain in the butt, and then I bruise my knee throwing the ball to first base. It was kind of one of those things where I was more aggravated I couldn't do what I normally do, and that bothered me. I learned from that and now I'm just trying to get myself in the best physical shape I can for a long season. I don't weigh that much so I have to make sure I'm strong as possible going into every season.

"Every day was different. Some days I would wake up and feel great, when other days I would wake up, turn to Kelli and say, 'It hurts!' It wasn't fun. But it was weird. I got it out and three days later I could walk. I could tell immediately that I felt normal. I just think my body didn't want anything metal in there. It was a blessing getting that thing out and getting back to training and getting back to what makes me good."

It isn't difficult to be reminded about Pedroia's change in mindset -- and fitness -- from a year ago.

For example, this is what he told WEEI.com leading into the '11 spring training: 

"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. 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."

That sense of uncertainty has clearly left the building.

He appears perhaps fitter that at any time in his professional career, while bouncing to and fro while fielding ground balls at nearby Chandler-Gilbert Community College with a spryness not found at any point leading into the '11 campaign. The usual round of trash talk is still thick at whatever venue Pedroia inhabits, as is talk of how good '12 can be.

"I don't have to hesitate. That's my biggest thing," Pedroia said. "Last year mentally, I would always say I'm going to have a great year and help us win. I said it and felt it, but there was always a part of me that kind of thought, 'Can I get through it all?' Now I don't have a doubt in my mind. I'm healthy and I can't wait to get back out there because the way it ended last year … Some of the guys had such great years and to have it come to a halt, it hurts."

For Pedroia, the pain is subsiding. A new world -- for both the player and his team -- can't be discovered fast enough.