SOX ON DECK: Chris Carter bashing in Pawtucket

July 20, 2008 at 1:03 PM

13 Comments

By Mike Scandura

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Chris Carter is the answer to a trivia question:

Who's the player Boston obtained from the Washington Nationals for strikeout-prone Wily Mo Pena?

But there's nothing trivial about what Carter's doing for the Pawtucket Red Sox this season.

Through games of July 19, the 25-year-old outfielder was hitting .297 with 21 doubles, 20 home runs, 68 RBI and a .523 slugging percentage.

Carter, who initially was a 17th-round pick by Arizona in the 2004 draft, ranks second in the International League in RBI, fifth in home runs and 10th in slugging percentage --- which isn't too shabby.

Then again, Carter's always been productive.

Last season, for example, he was hitting .324 with 18 homers and 84 RBI in 126 games with Tucson before he was traded to Boston.

"He's swung the ball well all season," said manager Ron Johnson. "He's lived up to what we heard about him when he came over here last year.

"He gives you a professional at-bat each time up and has good knowledge of the strike zone. He trusts his hands and his ability enough to the point where he's not afraid to hit with two strikes."

In a sense, Carter evokes memories of former Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in that he's "perpetual motion" when he steps to the plate.

First, he emulates Garciaparra in that he loves to step away from the plate and "adjust" his batting gloves between pitches (which can drive pitchers crazy).

Then, he's always waving his bat and never stops until he's ready to attack a pitch.

And Carter even wears Garciaparra's No. 5.

Carter also draws comparisons with former Boston third baseman Wade Boggs in that he invariably talks about hitting and studies it like Boggs.

"I work on it all the time," said Carter, who was named to the International League Team for the Triple-A All-Star Game. "I have a lot of drills that I do�Ķ a lot of one-hand drills. I work on everything including staying back, especially with two strikes.

"I focus on staying on top of the plate, and not diving back, especially on a curve ball. Sometimes that curveball looks like it's going to be more inside. I try to keep that front shoulder in."

Given his results so far, Carter's drills are paying off --- big time.

Categories: Chris Carter

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Discussion

13 Comments on "SOX ON DECK: Chris Carter bashing in Pawtucket"

Posted by Bob, July 20, 2008 4:18 PM

Too bad he doesn't really have a place with the big-league club. I think he could be a valuable trade chip though, and ould be a productive hitter in the big-leagues, maybe Brian Daubach or Kevin Millar-esque.

Posted by Steven Roth, July 20, 2008 6:24 PM

The All-Star break is over guys, let's get a Game Thread up and rolling! Maybe we could actually beat the Angels for once!

News: Masterson up, Aardsma to the DL

Posted by Daniel Rathman, July 20, 2008 6:34 PM

Jeez, Wake...could you have hung that 3-1 knuckler any more? That was a homer waiting to happen.

Posted by Daniel Rathman, July 20, 2008 6:35 PM

Back to back. Wonderful.

Posted by Sean O, July 20, 2008 7:03 PM

Yawn. wake me when Carter's slugging .600+ in AAA.

Posted by Daniel Rathman, July 20, 2008 7:18 PM

Ummm, could we add CF to our list of potential deadline needs? Ellsbury is absolutely frigid right now.

Posted by Daniel Rathman, July 20, 2008 8:42 PM

Oh yeah, good time to implode, Wake and MDC.

Bring out the brooms. Better luck in Seattle, folks.

Posted by Colin, July 20, 2008 8:59 PM

Christ...once again my faith in the Sox on the road takes a hit. I don't even think we're going to do well against Seattle either.

The goat of this game was the LOB situation, no question about it. Wake I think was doing very well and MDC got himself in a jam (but I expect that from MDC), but leaving all those men on base was once again our Achilles Heel.

Posted by Gerry, July 20, 2008 9:26 PM

Grateful that this 6th? sweep of the year is over. Awful.

And Sean, what would you say if Chris Carter did slug .600 at Pawtucket, or if he continues to hit .340BA with 30+ HR, 100RBI by the end of the year? And he probably will.

Bob, why would we consider using a Manny type hitter as a trade chip? Why not use him at Fenway? I know. Naive. He does not project to that level. Nope. Just think great ballplayers exist outside prospectus projections, which are so often all wet. Take a look at Dave Murphy, Bradley, Hamilton, Pedroia, Youk, and a dozen guaranteed stars who just aren't. Chris Carter, this series, might have given us something we needed this weekend . . . runs. Why not give him a real shot instead of dismissing him out of hand?

#10

Posted by Colin, July 20, 2008 9:47 PM

It's funny. Once again in this game one of the few sole contributors to anything offensive was Pedroia. I still find it very hard to find wrong in that pint-sized man outside of his lack of HR hitting.

#11

Posted by Bob, July 20, 2008 10:15 PM

Pretty soon we may be looking up from 3rd place. Wonderful.

Gerry, I always love your optimism, but Carter is not a Manny Ramirez-type hitter. Manny is a once in a generation hitter, Carter is above average, but not a hall of famer. He's 25 and has been in AAA for a couple of seasons, as much as we'd all like to see him succeed here, he's blocked by youk and moss, and in a year Lars Anderson will take his job followed by some of the lower minors outfielders, all who project better for major league roles. He's not going to be a big-time contributor here for a couple of seasons if ever at which point he'll be 27 and no longer a desirable prospect. Why not see what we can get for him now. I think another team would look at him now and see what they can get, he's been around long enough that it's safe to say he's not going to become Justin Morneau. I think he'll be dealt before next season.

#12

Posted by Bob, July 20, 2008 10:16 PM

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with Pedroia, he's the best player on the team day-in and day-out.

#13

Posted by Bob, July 20, 2008 10:21 PM

Just for comparison with the guys you listed, Youk certainly fits Carter's mold, but he's always been a good defensive player which adds to his value. Carter has no glove to speak of. Pedroia, Hamilton, Bradley all came up to the major leagues while there was still a lot of projection for them (younger or hadn't played a lot). I'm not bashing Carter, I see him as a Kevin-Millar type player, certainly valuable. But there is no spot for him in Boston.

Totally off base, but I just got back from the new Batman movie. It was excellent.

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