"Dustin Pedroia is comfortable enough to play the remainder of the season. But the Red Sox second baseman said yesterday that he plans to have the stainless steel screw in his left foot removed once the team has played its final game.

"I'm good to go right now,'' he said. "I'll find a way to get through this year and right after the last game it's coming out. It's kind of annoying.''

Pedroia had surgery in August to repair a broken navicular bone. The screw expedited the healing and assured he would be ready to play this season. But there is still discomfort.

"Sometimes I can feel it just walking around,'' Pedroia said. "It's on the side of my foot and I can feel it when I wear dress shoes or when it's cold. It's one of those things where I can't wait to get it out.''

Pedroia said the same surgeon who put in the screw, George Theodore, will take it out.

"I'll walk out of there after I get it done,'' Pedroia said. "I won't be able to run for four weeks, which is normal anyway after the season. I'll just wait for that hole to heal up and I'll be fine.

"It's pretty simple, a small incision and they'll take it out. Then I'll throw that thing away.''"