Lowrie, Bowden Face Crossroads in 2010

Important Seasons Upcoming for Bowden and Lowrie For all the talk about 2010 being a “bridge” year, it looks more like the team is building a new Boston skyline than a bridge over troubled water. With three big free agent signings already in the books and more expected to come, the team might as well be jumping cannonballs off the ledge with the huge splashes we’ve seen so far. Still, the “bridge” that we’re seeing is really quite interesting in what it says about the team’s upper-level prospects and players ready to contribute on the major-league level. In particular, this upcoming season will be crucial in the careers of Michael Bowden and Jed Lowrie. Though Bowden may have dug his own grave with his ineptitude on the mound last season (much of which was bad luck, i.e. a .377 BABIP) and Lowrie’s season was cut short by unfortunate injuries, the team’s “bridge” may not be to the next group of prospects – per se – but, rather, it is a bridge over the current failing batch, Bowden and Lowrie...

Reviving Michael Bowden’s prospect status

Bowden has lost a bit of his "prospect" status, but he was ranked very high on lists just last year. He continues this year at Minor League Ball being ranked fifth on the Red Sox with a B Grade. He has a comparison of Jeff Suppan, but that is still very valuable. I think his ceiling is higher and PECOTA has his top comp as Kevin Slowey.

Bowden and Reddick’s Place in the Master Plan

Two of the Red Sox' biggest prospects, Michael Bowden and Josh Reddick, had less than stellar seasons in 2009. While the pair still remain tremendous talents, it has now become more difficult to see either one in the Sox' future plans, due in part to their failures this year as well as the team's changing circumstances. Still, should either or both pan out as originally expected, they would be quite the addition to a team in need of an infusion of cheap, young talent. Michael Bowden It’s hard to say that Bowden is at a crossroads in his career. He just turned 23, he possesses excellent stuff, and has been great in his minor league showings. However, his 2009 was nothing short of a disaster, as he was belted in every way imaginable in every appearance he made.

The Science of Selling Felix, A-Gon Short

In our versions of an offseason blueprint the Red Sox could follow (1, 2, 3) one topic that came up fairly often was how realistic or unrealistic our proposed trade packages were for certain players. Let's recap: Mike Lowell, Casey Kotchman, Clay Buchholz and key minor league pieces (defined as anyone sans Kelly, numbering two) for Felix Hernandez. Money comment: Getting King Felix would be nice, but you are crazy thinking Seattle would have any interest in picking up Lowell or Kotchman. Why would they pick up $16+ in salaries? Lowell is going nowhere unless we pay his salary, which is crazy. - MEe Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, Manny Delcarmen, Michael Bowden, two "second-tier" prospects to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez. Money comment: Delcarmen is a stiff. Bowden is a stiff. Anderson has done NOTHING in the minor leagues. Clay Buccholz has major league stuff but has yet to prove himself for an entire season. For this you'll get one of the best young power hitters in the game? I think not!! - Nick If our proposed deals are not up to snuff, that's not good. Let's try to figure out what a proposed deal could, should be.

TOR 11, BOS 5: Too Much To Ask

Michael Bowden was stretched too thin, giving up five hits and five earned runs in just over two innings of work. The bullpen did not help matters, as Hunter Jones handed the Blue Jays another four on the way to an 11-5 loss.

Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz would not go silently into the good night, but the pitching, or lack thereof, proved to be a bit too much to overcome, especially in a rain-shortened game.

9/28: Bowden subs in for Beckett

GAME NOTES: Josh Beckett has been scratched with mild back spasms with Michael Bowden taking his place. We looked so good going into October: a great bullpen, a good 1-4 rotation and a clicking offense. Now? Our top two pitchers are hobbled and our offense looks feast or famine. Good times.

Jays turned down Sox’s 6-for-1 offer on Halladay

I'm on the Rotoworld.com beat, and this just came across my desk:

Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun reports that the Red Sox offered the Blue Jays six pitchers for Roy Halladay at the trading deadline. The names: Daniel Bard, Michael Bowden, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson. That's quite an impressive array of names, and it's shocking Toronto didn't snap it up. The scout that revealed this deal said the Jays had difficulty projecting Masterson's future, and -- probably most important --- "the Jays were worried about Halladay beating them next year." Obviously, Masterson and Hagadone are no longer with the Sox club so it's unlikely a deal could be reached in the offseason. If it's going to take more than that package to land Halladay, GM J.P. Ricciardi won't find any takers.

What do you think? Are we lucky the Jays turned the deal down?

MLB Potpourri – FireBrand Style

With a very active weekend and Monday, Firebrand presents a comprehensive roundup of the latest Red Sox actions and news. Draft signings, playoff outlooks, and veterans returning to health, FireBrand Potpourri has it all...

A lot happened in Red Sox Nation this past weekend. Instead of wondering, let's get into the gritty details.

-The Sox Drop Two of Three in Texas

The Sox lost two to the Rangers. Yeah, it's too bad. The Sox stand one game back of Texas in the Wild Card, but that's history and it's time to look to the future. Junichi Tazawa struggled in his latest taste of big league hitting, allowing 2 HR and 3 BB against 0 strikeouts. Brad Penny had his moments and held his ground against a good Texas offense. However, he is still no more than a back-of-the-rotation starter, which showed this weekend.

The clock continues to tick on Michael Bowden, representing the last of the Red Sox reserve rotation arms. While he sports a glowing scouting report and a pristine 3.20 ERA in triple-A Pawtucket, it is getting more and more difficult to see him being a success at the major league level this year. With just a 6.40 K/9 and 3.36 BB/9 this season, he is far from a sure thing...

Thanks, Brad Penny. But it may be time to move on.

Luck hasn't been on his side, I will give him that. Penny has had to deal with a .326 BABIP, while surrendering line drives on only 18 percent of batted balls against. And his LOB percentage is at 66, which is far too low. Eventually, he should strand a few more base-runners.

But it is his love with the fastball, and the home run that is killing him. Do you know how often Penny throws the fastball? 73 percent of the time! This is the American League East, Brad. There has to be somewhat of a reliance on the breaking stuff too. Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable throwing it. And he doesn't always seem to have command of it. But his curveball has a "Pitch Type Value" of -15.4. That is horrendous.

Point is, he has no viable pitch outside of the fastball, and at times he even struggles with that. That is why he is so reliant on it. he simply cannot do anything positive with the breaking ball.

Time to Count Your Chips

With the Sox back in Boston after a long road trip, it's time to take stock of what the team has left.

Is a playoff appearance still in the cards?


It's a slump. That's it. That has to be it.

Mayday! Mayday! We're going down... aren't we?

Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between a slump and a freefall. When given the choice, you always root for the slump, because, what other options do you have...