Put a Cork in It

There would be no Irish jig by Paps at the Fens tonight, but you probobly figured that out the moment Beckett was scratched with back spasms.  Michael Bowden continued to struggle with major league hitters and by the time the Red Sox got out of the top of the first they were looking at a 4 run deficit.  Bowden only lasted 3 innings and he gave up 7 earned runs.  Hunter Jones came in to pitch the fourth and he continued right where Bowden left off; throwing puss.  Jones gave up 4 earned runs in an inning and 2/3. 

There was some positive news in the game; Youk broke out of his slump with two homers in the game and Pedey also had a hit to end a long slump and Manny Delcarmen pitched a scoreless inning for a change.  The rain came in the bottom of the 7th with 2 runners aboard for the Sox and after a long delay the game was called. 

Red Sox Lose 11-5 BOX SCORE

a	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Blue Jays	4	0	3	2	2	0	0	-	-	11	14	0
Red Sox	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	-	-	5	7	0

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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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Fernando Cabrera Gets Called Up to Boston

Fernando Cabrera, closer for the Pawtucket Red Sox ever since Daniel Bard got called, has joined his former teammate in Boston. Cabrera has a 1.69 ERA in 38 games for Pawtucket, has earned 20 saves, and made the AAA All Star Team this season, earning a save in that game, as well.

Some may have questioned why he got the call rather than Michael Bowden. Unfortunately for Bowden, he had a poor start on August 5, (3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), which may be the most likely reason he was bypassed this time.

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PawSox Interviews: Michael Bowden

Growing up in the Chicago area, Michael Bowden rooted for the Cubs, so one can only imagine the excitement he must have felt when he made his Major League debut last year for the Red Sox pitching against that other team from Chicago, the White Sox. In that game, he went 5 innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 runs, earning him a victory in his first Major League start, as well as his first Major League appearance. In 2009 he made another appearance for the Red Sox, pitching 2 scoreless innings, striking out 2, and allowing no walks.

Bowden was drafted in the first round of the 2005 draft by the Red Sox, and has been rising ever since. He started the 2008 season at AA Portland, made the AA All Star Team, moved up to AAA Pawtucket after that, and made it all the way up to the big leagues, pitching in that one game. He started the 2009 season in Pawtucket and has already made one appearance in Boston already this year, pitching 2 innings of scoreless relief, striking out 2, and allowing no walks.

His won-loss record at Pawtucket this year is a deceiving 3-4, but in 103.1 IP, he has only allowed 86 hits, 39 ER's for 3.40 ERA, walking 38, striking out 74, and limiting opposing batters to a paltry .226 average.

I expect we will see Michael Bowden in Boston again this year. I had an opportunity to speak with him at the Pawtucket-Columbus game on July 27th. In my few moments I had to speak with him, he was very polite and cooperative to speak with. I certainly hope we get to see him when the Red Sox come to Oakland next year!

Q~ You’ve been progressing quite nicely, starting at Portland AA last year, making it to the AA ASG last year, then up to AAA Pawtucket, and finally making an appearance in Boston, allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings against Chicago. That must feel pretty good.

A~ 2 runs in 5 innings. It was an awesome experience. I’m from the Chicago area and I grew up rooting for the Cubs, so going up there making my debut against the White Sox and actually getting the win was an unbelievable experience.

Q~ You have to look past your won-loss record to get the real picture of your season. You had a nice gem the other night, but lost 3-1. How do you feel about your season overall so far this year?

A~ I’ve had a little bit of a rollercoaster ride season. I’ve had about a month in there where things weren’t going my way and I was coming out of my mechanics, walking a lot of guys, just not pitching my game, but I took a little break around the All Star break, I skipped a start, got to watch some video tape. I just worked on some mechanics and tried to go to where I was earlier this season and I think I got there and I was excited to start the second half and start applying the adjustments.

Q~ There seems to be a logjam ahead of you in the Boston rotation and because of this; your name comes up often as a potential trading chip. Any thoughts that you would like to share on that situation?

A~ You know what, it’s something that me as a player I don’t control, it’s up to the front office. I understand that it’s a business so I know that it could happen but me personally I don’t worry about it since it’s out of my control, so until something happens I really don’t care. You know I just throw it over my shoulder and take care of what I need to.

Q~ Do you feel that there is more pressure in the Red Sox system than there is elsewhere?

A~ Sure, I mean, they’ve got a much bigger fan base, the media there is pretty overwhelming at times, but you know what, I thrive off of that stuff like that and it just motivates me to work harder and do the best that I can.

Q~ How do you like Pawtucket and RI and the east coast?

A~I liked them until this year, but it’s been raining 75% of the time. Our weather here has been tough to play in. It hasn’t been a normal summer; very rainy, humid. We’ve had a few nice days. It’s nice that our All Star break, our three days were perfect, so that was very nice. Overall I love playing in Pawtucket, the fans here are awesome, they sell out in the summer, good atmosphere here, good ball park, good team, the front office here is awesome, they treat us nicely, so it’s fun coming to the ball park every day.

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Interviews with the Pawtucket Red Sox

Thanks to Bill Wanless of the PawSox, I had the good fortune to be able to obtain a press pass for the July 27th AAA game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Columbus Clippers (Indians affiliate) at McCoy Stadium. I had opportunities to interview pitchers Fernando Cabrera, who represented the PawSox at this year's AAA All Star game, and Michael Bowden, as well as manager Ron Johnson and batting coach Russ Morman. Starting tomorrow, I will be posting 1 interview per day, and then will follow with my personal review of the whole day's experience.

Everyone involved with the PawSox that I came into contact with was very polite and informative, and made this rookie in the press box and clubhouse feel welcomed. Thanks to all.

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Red Sox Offer Impressive Package for Halladay

The Red Sox have offered Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Ryan Westmoreland for Roy Halladay according to Gordon Edes of Yahoo Sports. With an offer like that it seems like the Sox have a legit shot at landing Halladay. Say all you want about the Sox needing a bat, with Beckett, Lester, and Halladay in the rotation the team could cruise into the postseason and then they would be in the driver's seat in any ALDS match-up.

UPDATE: Dan Roche of WBZ posted the following on his twitter account:

Source tells me sox have not offered buchholz, bowden and westmoreland for halladay

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Bowden Inserts Himself Into the Equation

Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Dice-K, Clay Buchholz, or a deal for Halladay? Who will be in the Red Sox rotation by the end of the month? After yesterday's game in Pawtuckett, Michael Bowden showed he should be a consideration as well. After 12 days off Bowden pitched 5 innings of no-hit ball against the Indianapolis Indians.

The Red Sox have a lot of chips as we approach the trade deadline but they also have a first place team and a system that has them ready for the future. A big trade may not be in order but the team can go either way; not a bad situation to be in.

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Red Sox Need a Long Outing From Masterson

After the bullpen carnage from last night the Sox need Masterson to eat up some innings. Paps, Delcarmen, and RR are not available and Oki has not been reliable. Michael Bowden has been called up in case Masterson gets roughed up early.

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What to Expect From Bowden

Michael Bowden will make his major league debut for the Red Sox tonight. He pitched well in Portland earlier in the season going 9-3 with a 2.33 ERA. When he was moved up to Pawtucket he continued to pitch well but his ERA went up to 3.38 in 7 games. He is a fly ball pitcher that can get in trouble with the long ball. Sox Prospects says he has good command, he only has given up 5 walks in his last 40 innings. He is a tough kid with a Pedroia like outlook and should not get rattled by the situation. Look for him to keep the Sox in the game, but he is going to need the offense to put up more than three runs to get the win.

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Casey to DL, Bowden to Boston

Sean Casey has gone on the 15-Day DL with a stiff neck...really, to the DL with a stiff neck?...next thing you know a player will get turf toe. The Red Sox called up Michael Bowden to the big club, he will make his MLB debut tomorrow against the White Sox.

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