Michael Bowden Makes His Statement

Michael Bowden is one of the Sox’s top prospects. He made his debut in August of last year and limited the White Sox to 2 runs over 5 innings. He’s had a fair season in Pawtucket, but it’s been an up and down season so far for him. He has a 4-5 W-L record, 3.23 ERA, 108+ IP, 89 H’s, 78 K’s, and 41 BB’s. Perhaps after getting bypassed first by Bard, and now by Cabrera, he’s decided to stake his claim by tossing 5+ innings of 3 H, shutout ball on Tuesday.

Buchholz, Cabrera, Bard, and Tazawa have all made it to Boston since graduating from Pawtucket this year so far. Bowden could be next, but there are also a couple of other pitchers that are putting up some noticeable numbers, including Marcus McBeth, Rocky Cherry, Billy Traber, and Jose Vaquedano. Javier Lopez has been a bit streaky at times, stringing several scoreless performances together, interupted by a couple of stinkers. He seems to be on an upswing right now, hurling 7 scoreless innings over his last 7 appearances.

Who will be the next man from Pawtucket to get the call?

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Pitching Implodes, Red Sox Lose

Josh Beckett showed signs of brilliance mowing down Phillies batters until the wheels came off in the 5th. The fightin' Phillies put 4 runs up in the inning and drove Beckett's pitch count up. He was gone after the 6th, giving way to the usually reliable bullpen. Tito chose to go with Daniel Bard out of the pen and it did not turn out well. Bard threw 31 picther (11 for strikes) and gave up 3 walks, 2 hits and 4 earned runs without even getting through an inning. That could have been Bard's last outing for the Red Sox for the near future if they send him down to make room for Smoltz on Tuesday. Saito and Masterson mopped up for the Red Sox but the damage was done.

The Red Sox offense looked good early in the game and every starter other than Youk had a hit. Baldelli, Green, and Beckett each had home runs. It was Beckett's third career homer and second at Citizen's Bank Ballpark.

For the silver lining the Red Sox did win the series on the road and players like Tek and Drew were given time off to rest. The Red Sox bullpen that had been overworked in the last three games will have tomorrow off before the team takes on the Marlins on Tuesday.

Red Sox Lose 11-6 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Red Sox	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	6	11	2
Phillies	1	0	0	0	4	0	6	0	0	11	14	2

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2009 Red Sox Draft Picks: A Family Affair

This week seems like it is all about the Red Sox and the Yankees...and in many ways, it is. However, in other news....the 2009 MLB Draft was also this week.

Here is an article that gives a basic play by play of those who were drafted. Here are a few highlights though of names that perked my interest:

The first round draft pick for the Sox was Reymond Fuentes. He plays out in Center Field. He is also cousin of the Mets' Carlos Beltran. He also looks like a speedy little devil.

Let's jump to the 16th Round of the Draft. The Sox selected Luke Bard. He is of course the little brother of our own Daniel Bard. In the family tradition, Luke is a fastball pitcher. He doesn't have the velocity that his big bro does, but he can hit the mid 90s. He is only 18 and has signed a letter of intent to play college baseball with Georgia Tech, but the Sox are trying to keep it within the family.

So...let's jump again to the 36th round. The Sox drafted outfielder Michael Yastrzemski. You heard me right, Yastrzemski. Michael is the grandson of our very own Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz says that he his grandson definitely has the skills and the stuff to make the major leagues. Michael has said that he plans on going to college, but will being drafted by the Sox change his mind? The idea of having another Yastrzemski in the outfield at Fenway Park...I think it makes us all just a little excited.

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Bard Called Up

The ProJo is reporting that Daniel Bard will be called up for tonight's game:

The Red Sox will not only have to take someone off the 25-man roster in Boston to make room for Bard, but they'll also have to make a move to put Bard on the 40-man roster. The Red Sox have not made an official announcement, but Bard is expected to be at Fenway Park Sunday night for the series finale against the Rays.

We can only pray that Lopez is the guy that gets taken off of the roster.

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