FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Another season, another double-play combination for the Boston Red Sox.

This one, though, may stay together for quite a while with shortstop Julio Lugo signed for four years and rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia getting a chance to show he can handle his position in the majors.

“It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m excited about it,” Pedroia said. “It’s going to be fun.”

Lugo, an energetic player signed as a free agent from the Los Angeles Dodgers, also is eager to contribute as a leadoff hitter and in the field.

“I love what I do. I think I have the best job in the world,” he said. “I’m happy every day I come in.”

The more he and Pedroia work together, the better they should get at turning the double play. Manager Terry Francona thinks the difficulty of that is overrated anyway.

“I’ve never been a real worrier about that,” he said. “There will be some (exhibition) games where we go on the road, we’ll leave both of them back together (in Fort Myers) so they can work together. It doesn’t take very long. It really doesn’t.”

Past middle infielders for the Red Sox haven’t played together very long.

In the past 10 seasons, they’ve had eight starting second basemen – Jeff Frye, Mike Benjamin, Jose Offerman, Rey Sanchez, Todd Walker, Mark Bellhorn, Tony Graffanino and Mark Loretta. In that same span, they’ve had six starting shortstops – Nomar Garciaparra from 1997 through July 2004, Mike Lansing, Pokey Reese, Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria and Alex Gonzalez.

That’s far from the stability provided by Boston shortstop Johnny Pesky and second baseman Bobby Doerr from 1946 through 1951 or even the combination of shortstop Rick Burleson and second baseman Jerry Remy from 1978 through 1980.

Alex Cora, the current backup at both positions, figures he’s had 15 middle infield partners throughout the minors, majors and winter ball. He said there’s one key to working well together on the double play.

“I think the most important thing is that they’re in rhythm speedwise,” he said. “You can’t have a quick guy at short and a slow guy at second. I’d rather have two slow guys that are very deliberate with their feet.”

Lugo is a fast runner and Pedroia is average, but both feel the more they work together the better their timing will be. It may be tough, though, to improve on last year’s combination of Gonzalez, perhaps the best fielding shortstop in baseball, and Loretta.

“It’ll take some time, just some rhythms and stuff like that,” Pedroia said, “but usually that stuff, it comes quick.”

Lugo has very good range but has made at least 20 errors in four of his seven seasons.

“The guy that was there last year played maybe the best shortstop you’ve ever seen,” Francona said. “This guy (Lugo) brings some different things. “

The 5-foot-9 Pedroia, 23, struggled at the plate last year after making his major league debut on Aug. 22 and getting a single on his second at bat. But he had a pudgy physique and hit just .191 in 89 at bats with only five runs and seven RBIs.

He changed his diet in the offseason, slimmed down and views last year’s struggle as a learning experience.

“It helped immensely. I needed to know what it was like up there and know what I needed to do to be successful,” Pedroia said.

“That was huge for me going into the offseason because now I know what I need to do and I got a lot quicker, a lot faster and a lot stronger.”

He also swings with an uppercut but has no plans to change.

“I’ve been successful my whole life hitting like that,” he said. “I was just overanxious last year.”

Lugo, 31, already has proven he’s a solid hitter, much better than Gonzalez. His career average is .277 and he batted .308 in 73 games with Tampa Bay last year. With Boston, he should score a lot with David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew batting third, fourth and fifth.

But Lugo dipped to .219 in 49 games with the Dodgers, who used him primarily at second base and third base, a position he had never played in the majors.

“It was uncomfortable for me,” he said. “I thought I was going to get traded to a team that was going to (let me) play every day and help.”

Barring injury, he should play plenty with the Red Sox. Pedroia has a chance to do that, too, batting ninth on a team with a powerful lineup that doesn’t need him to be an outstanding hitter.

“Obviously, I was a little disappointed in (last season’s) results, but it’s a new year,” Pedroia said.

The Red Sox do need him to form a smooth double-play combination with Lugo.

“It’s going to take a little while to communicate,” Lugo said. “But I think it’s going to be fine.”