I almost don't even want to mention it. Like it's a mirage that will fade away once it's spoken about. That the hushed (and not-so-hushed) conversations all around New England will somehow jinx it.

Of course, I'm talking about the magic of Dustin "Pleats In Cleats" Pedroia.

Tito Francona loves him.

"Wherever he hits, he does a good job," said Francona. "That was a quick move tonight with Youkilis. We were literally just ahead of the anthem and he's down in the cage when his back tightened up, so we get (Jeff) Bailey in there and put Pedey in the four-hole. He just continues to get hits."

"I told him that I'm going to paint an 'S' on his chest," Sox outfielder Mark Kotsay said. And based on what he has seen, Kotsay would give Pedroia the MVP. "It's funny," Kotsay said. "You've got Ortiz, big burly lefthander. Then you see Pedroia stepping in ... he's got no fear."

"This guy in my opinion is the MVP of the league," Paul Byrd said. "He's unbelievable. I didn't know he was that good when I came over here. The guy plays hard, he dives, he plays great defense. I feel like I've got two guys playing second base. "He gets the big hit when it counts. (He is a) clutch player. I just can't say enough about him. As he goes, we go."

"I think it's well deserved, I think he can win it," Baltimore first baseman Kevin Millar said of the MVP possibility. "I think he's a hell of a ballplayer. He plays bigger than he is. He plays Gold Glove defense. He does everything you can ask anyone to do on the baseball field."

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen went on and on about the Red Sox second baseman, saying: "I'm a big fan. I love the way he plays. If 90 percent of the players played the way he does, I would pay for a ticket to watch baseball. The way he plays, this kid, that's the way people should be playing every day."

"I think he is the heart and soul of the Boston Red Sox...Pedroia is the guy that makes this team go. I don't think there's any question about that," said Dave Trembley, the Orioles manager. "If you stop Pedroia, you've got a chance to beat them. To me, all the other guys are supporting cast. That's no disrespect to any of them. They've got great players--Ortiz, Youkilis. But Pedroia's the main guy."

Trembley noted a couple of elements that are easily overlooked in singing Pedroia's praises. The Baltimore skipper raved about both the player's on-field pre-game routine and his weight-room commitment in explaining why the 25-year-old is such a beloved figure of opposing managers.

"The guy's out here at 2 o'clock in the darn afternoon every time we play them, working with (first-base and infield coach Luis) Alicea on his pivot. The guy's not there by chance. He's worked at it," said Trembley. "Look at the way he looks. You see him the first year he was here? You see him now? The guy's in incredible shape. He worked his butt off in the winter."

All hail the mighty Pleats!
M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!