A Look At The Youngsters

With the Sox having the day off, I thought it might be nice to see how some of the big names in the system are doing so far. These are guys whom you may have heard mentioned in trade rumors, talked about as future stars and the like.

Solving The Development Gap?

Tony Mazz brought up this possibility for the Sox a couple of days ago: a gap in the development of their minor-league talent. Specifically, between now and 2012. And it's a view shared by others, including the Sox's owner.

...maybe we’re all reading into things too much, most recently when Henry told the Herald’s Michael Silverman last weekend that this offseason presented the Sox with a challenge because their next wave of prospects is two years away. Henry is being completely honest with that assessment, which is a credit to him and to his organization. He’s not just feeding you what you want to hear. But a statement like that also ignores the fact that the Red Sox got themselves into this predicament and that there are multiple ways to build a team.

Now, I don't think that Henry was saying the Sox wouldn't be a title-caliber team until 2012. But Mazz is also right when he says there are other ways to build a team. However, I think this frank assessment of the team's system by Henry makes something I said in my last post more likely.

I hypothesized that 2010 would be Jonathan Papelbon's last year in a Boston uniform. In part that's because he has already stated he wants to hit the open market after 2011. But another piece of that is the fact that he is a rare commodity; an elite closer. And elite closers get a big return on the market.

Now, with an acknowledged gap in the farm system, the Sox would want to fill that so that 2011 didn't consist of Boston overpaying for free agents or rushing young prospects into the majors*. And what better way to do that than trading Papelbon?

This is all contingent on one thing: Daniel Bard making the next step and not regressing in his sophmore season. If he does that, then the Sox would have the opportunity to bring in some young, cheap talent to bridge the gap and build the team for the future. If not...then the Sox would have to spend to cover the gap, and that is the kind of thing that can hamstring a franchise for years. Who knows, maybe they'd roll the dice on Bard no matter what happens. But Papelbon represents the fastest, easiest way for the Sox to get young talent to cover 2011.

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* Like they did with Craig Hansen. Hansen had all the talent in the world but the Sox crippled him by rushing him right into the majors in a blind panic in 2006.

Minor League Fun

I decided to take my son Jack to catch some minor league baseball in New Britain, Conn., on Sunday.

Turns out that it was one of the smartest decisions I have ever made in my life, ranking somewhere after marrying my amazing wife and having a child, becoming a Yankees fan, and attending UConn (go Huskies!).

Why in the world would people voluntarily subject themselves to the disaster that was Sergio Mitre in the Yankees' embarrassing 14-8 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto? The Yankees' lead in the AL East over the Red Sox was shaved 7-1/2 games and their magic number remained at 19.

The numbers on Mitre were ugly: 11 runs -- nine earned -- on 11 hits and two walks in 4-1/3 innings. Some of the Double-A pitchers I saw Sunday wouldn't have pitched anywhere near as poorly in Mitre's place. All I can say is thank goodness Josh Towers was recalled to eat 3-1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Derek Jeter went 3-for-3 to push his career hits total to 2,718, four from passing Lou Gehrig as the team's all-time hits leader. With a double header today, it's very likely that Jeter will at least tie.

But that's enough from the major league game. Who really wants to relive that disaster anyway?

Last year I took Jack to a game at Yankee Stadium -- a 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Rays. Sidney Ponson started the July 9, 2008, game and Bobby Abreu drove in Jeter from first with the winner on a double. We sat in the lower deck, left field stands in fair territory.

Normally I wouldn't have taken Jack to a game when he was just 2 years old, but because it was the final year of the old Stadium, I wanted to make sure he could say that he saw a game at the field were the greats such as Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle played ... and have photographic evidence to back him up.

One of the photographs we took serves as the wallpaper on the laptop I use for work and whenever Jack sees the picture, he says, "Daddy, I want to go there again. I want to go to the ballfield."

Right now I have no plans on taking Jack to the new stadium this year or probably for the next couple of years because I want Jack to be old enough to have his own strong, sharp memories of his first experience in the new place. I want him to be able to recount the grandeur and glory of the new place in his own words.

But Sunday was an absolutely perfect baseball weather day, and with the Trenton Thunder in the area to face the New Britain Rock Cats in what was essentially a playoff game, I decided to take Jack. The Thunder needed to win Sunday and Monday to clinch an Eastern League playoff berth, while the Rock Cats needed just one win in their last two for that playoff spot.

I also figured it would be a good chance to scout some Yankee farmhands playing on the Thunder.

Of course, I quickly found out that with a 3-year-old, the last part of my plan was just a tad unfeasible. Jack fell asleep during the 50-minute car ride and woke up cranky as we pulled into the parking lot of New Britain Stadium.

We quickly purchased our tickets and settled into our seats behind home plate on the third base side just in time for first pitch.

But Jack was more interested in playing that watching, saying, "I need something to pitch with."

We managed go get through the first inning with the Thunder somehow batting around and scoring four runs and the Rock Cats answering with one in their half.

I decided to try to settle Jack down with some food. He wanted a cherry ice and I got some popcorn. Jack ended up eating most of the popcorn and I ended up eating most of the ice.

That got us through the second inning, but Jack still wanted "something to pitch with," so we headed to the gift shop. I was hoping to find a little matchbox car with a Rock Cats logo, but had no luck, so I got Jack a black baseball. That's something to pitch with, right?

Well, not quite. What Jack actually wanted was his glove. Oy.

So I decided to head down with him to the interactive fan area, where kids could play. That kept Jack thoroughly entertained for about two innings before we returned to our seats in the sixth.

But as we were walk back into the stands, Jack pointed out to the field and said, " Daddy, I want to play out there!"

Aha! My big opportunity. On Sundays the Rock Cats allow kids to run the field after the game, so I told Jack that first we had to let the players finish playing their game and if he behaved and watched the rest of the game, he could go on the field.

Problem solved, giving me a chance to snap off a few action shots with my very modest digital camera.

Getting a decent shot of a pitcher was no problem, though the camera isn't good enough to get a clean, sharp shot from that distance.

But trying to snap a shot with the ball hitting the bat at the point of contact proved much, much tougher.

Either I was too early ...

... or too late ...

... but I did manage to get one.

Jack meanwhile started to get into the game, clapping when everyone else did and enjoying the music, though he wasn't too sure of Rookie, the Rock Cats' mascot, when he paid us a visit in the seventh.

The eighth proved a little tough for Jack as he was starting to get a tad bored.

But the crowd came to life in the ninth as the Rock Cats had rallied to take a 6-4 lead before closing it out for their first playoff berth in six years (Hey, now I can actually say I say a playoff clinching game in person as a fan!)


And that's when the fun began.

I dropped Jack off on the field along the first base line, and Jack took off like a shot, running toward second and throwing his new ball. He continued toward third, but left his ball behind. A terrific staffer, however, grabbed the ball and chased after Jack to give it back to him.

Meanwhile I scrambled toward the third base side of the field to pick up Jack, who quickly headed toward home and decided to stay there. Thankfully a staff member let me on the field so I could convince Jack it was time to leave.

As we walked off the field, Jack said "Thank you, Daddy. That was fun."

Indeed it was, and I'm hoping it was the start of a love affair with the sport that will last Jack a life time.

Runners In Scoring Position
Sunday
3-for-9 (.333)
Season
351-for-1,290 (.272)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
134-for-471 (.285)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
286-for-1,017 (.281)
Vs. Red Sox
36-for-163 (.221)

Up Next
Monday, double header vs. Rays
Game 1, 1:05 p.m., YES
Matt Garza (7-9, 4.01 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (16-7, 3.48)
Game 2, 7:05 p.m., YES
Andy Sonnanstine (6-8, 6.62) vs. A.J. Burnett (10-8, 4.29)

The Yankees' bullpen has logged a lot of innings over the past four games and could use a break (though Mariano Rivera should be available to return from his slight groin strain). CC and AJ both need to go deep into their starts. A complete game from one would be nice.

Checking Out The Minors

No, not like Wooderson in front of the pool hall in Dazed and Confused. With the Sox taking a day off yesterday, I figured we'd look at a few of the hopefuls in the Boston farm system.

Clay Buchholz: Unless you've been on a desert island the past three months, then you know Buchholz is carving up Triple-A opponents in The Bucket right now. He's 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 4.33/1. In nine outings this year he has had only one that could be considered bad. And opposing batters are hitting just .141 off him right now.

It's going to be all but impossible to keep him in Triple-A this year. He is pitching too well and deserves the chance to prove he has gotten his head straight. That said, I can only see him coming up before September if someone gets hurt or just can't get the job done (looking your way, Daisuke).

Michael Bowden: Clay's partner in crime in The Bucket. He has a more modest 2-2 record with a 1.68 ERA and 33 strikeouts. But there are a lot of organizations that would like to see their AAA pitchers compiling a record like that.

We've already seen a glimpse of Bowden in Boston this year and he acquited himself very well against the Yankees (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R). But he only has one option left, so I would be shocked to see him again before September, if at all.

Junichi Tazawa: Ah, the pitching phenom that Theo pissed off a whole country to grab. So far, Tazawa has been justifying the move. He is 5-3 in Portland with a 2.82 ERA and 54 strikeouts. Batters are hitting just .222 off of Tazawa so far.

Tazawa has had a couple of rough outings (a six-run, six-hit disaster in April against Connecticut being the worst). But he has shown a marked ability to bounce back and pitch well in his next start. After that game, against the same team and on the road, Tazawa went five innings and gave up just one run on two hits. He has given up more than three runs in a game just once in 2009.

I've been lucky enough to see him here in Portland. I think this kid is the real deal and so far he is pitching like it.

Lars Anderson: Every Boston fan knows this name, the kid touted as the successor to Kevin Youkilis' position and David Ortiz's bat. But he has regressed slightly so far in 2009. He has an OPS of just .722, a far cry from the mid.900s where Anderson usually finds himself. It's due to his ongoing problems with left-handed pitching (OPS of .458 against lefties so far in 2009).However, he is by all accounts a hard-working, intelligent player. I have no doubt he'll straighten out soon enough. The big question surrounding Lars is where the hell will he get his playing time from when he comes to Boston? With Youk at first and Mike Lowell looking as young as ever, I don't see where Anderson slots in at this time. So I think you'll see him in September.

Josh Reddick: Reddick is the top outfield prospect in the Boston system and he was playing like it in April (.358 BA, 1.002 OPS, 6 HR) here in Portland. Then he injured his oblique muscle. He's due to start playing in some XST games this week and will hopefully be back in Portland soon. I don't think we'll see Josh in Boston until September of next year. But he could be the next star outfielder for the Sox.

Anthony Rizzo: You may recognize this name for a different reason: Rizzo was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in May of 2008. But he was cancer-free by November of that year and has been playing great down Greenville for the Single-A team. Only 19, he is batting .270 with a .791 OPS, 6 HR and 24 RBI. He's a big guy (6' 3", 220) and has a solid glove at first base. If Lars Anderson doesn't pan out or becomes part of a trade, you could see Rizzo in Boston a few years from now.

Mark Wagner: The current starting catcher in Portland and the guy I think deserved a shot in the majors this year. He calls a great game and has a solid arm. His defense is major-league already and his bat is finally catching up. He is solid at the plate so far in 2009 (.314 BA, .971 OPS, 29 H, 14 RBI) and has more walks than strikeouts (18 to 15). If he doesn't at least get moved up to The Bucket in 2010 it will be a crime.

Jorge Jimenez: "Who?" you may ask. And rightfully so. The 15th round pick in 2006 wasn't a coveted player, but Jimenez is generating some solid numbers under the radar. He skipped low-A ball and went right from Lowell to (then the Sox affiliate) Lancaster in 2008. Now he is stroking the ball, with a .304 BA, .798 OPS and 30 RBI to go with 22 runs and a near 1:1 K/BB ratio. He does lack homer power, something that usually holds back a third-base prospect. But with Boston's focusing on small-ball run production and plate discipline, Jimenez's batting style fits rght in with the team. He's got a decent glove as well. I'd be shocked if he wasn't at The Bucket to start 2010, and he may well get a look-see from Boston in September of that year.