Hello, my name is Mike Scandura, and I’m the newest member of the Fire Brand circle. For more information on me, just click “Authors” and find out. I’ll primarily be giving looks at the minor leagues, but I’ll opine on the big league club from time to time. You can catch me every Sunday and and at various points during the week…
Chris Smith should not be pitching for the Pawtucket Red Sox by any stretch of the imagination.
And without question he should not be pitching as well as he is — so well, in fact, that when Boston needed an “emergency” arm in the bullpen he received his first promotion to the major leagues on May 18.
Granted, Smith didn’t see any action but the thought of him even wearing a Boston uniform as recently as last season was completely unfathomable.
As a means of explanation:
In January of 2003, after he was picked in the fourth round of the 2002 draft, Smith and some friends were riding ATVs in a California desert.
Smith’s vehicle plunged into what he called a “witcheye” (in layman’s terms, a very big hole).
Smith suffered a compound fracture of his right (pitching) arm. And because nobody in the group had a cell phone, and because his ATV fortunately landed on all four tires (albeit the front ones were flat), he drove it back to camp.
The end result? He had a titanium plate plus six screws inserted in both the radius and ulna bones.
Not surprisingly, Smith missed the first 3
