Jesus Christ, I hate Manny Delcarmen. This is exactly what I was talking about in my last post when I said that the Sox bullpen needs immediate help. I'm not taking anything away from Evan Longoria; he's a fantastic young player who will be an All-Star for years to come, and the swing that he put into his game-sealing home run last night was one of the purest that I have ever seen. On the flip side, however, anyone who leaves a pitch as far over the plate as Delcarmen did last night--while facing one of the league's premier hitters, no less--simply does not deserve to be on a team with playoff aspirations. My buddy JHall put it best when he told me that "the only reason [he] can tolerate Delcarmen is because he went to [his] high school." I don't have that connection with the guy, so I can honestly say that I don't give a flying fuck if Delcarmen is from Boston or not; he needs to go away.
But enough of my bitching. I mentioned last time that this post would be dedicated to young pitchers who should crack the Sox roster in the next few weeks. Delcarmen's meltdown--and the lack of depth in the 'pen brought on by Billy Wagner and Jonathan Papelbon's lengthy appearances on Sept. 1--only proves that this move is necessary. Therefore, without further ado, I bring you:
3. Michael Bowden
Bowden's Major League career has been somewhat of an enigma. In three games with the Sox, including two relief appearances against the Yankees this year, he has posted an unremarkable 9.00 ERA. The Yanks scored 7 runs against him in his four innings of relief this year, tagging the 22-year-old for a .400 batting average and 2.75 WHIP. These are obviously not great numbers for anyone (not even Delcarmen).
One has to remember, however, that Bowden's numbers this year were inflated by an ugly outing on August 21. This was a game that the Yankees took 20-11; there wasn't much anyone in the world could do to stop them that night.
Instead, focus on Bowden's previous outing (April 26) and his Minor League career. Bowden handcuffed the Yankees in his first call-up this year, striking out two and holding the rest hitless over two innings.
Bowden's path through the Sox farm system has been even more noteworthy. He has posted a 2:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 3.13 ERA in 24 starts with Pawtucket (AAA) this year, and tore up Portland (AA) in 2008 with 101 strikeouts over 104 innings. Not too shabby, kid.
The point is that Bowden has big-league stuff and would be a perfect fit in the Sox bullpen for the stretch run. It will be a couple years before he breaks into the Majors as a regular starter, but he can help in the meantime by using his stamina, burning heater and filthy curveball in long relief (hopefully replacing Delcarmen).
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A quick side note: it was interesting to see two of Sept. 1's call-ups make an immediate impact in last night's game. Joey Gathright stole a crucial base (a sprint that was eerily reminiscent of Dave Roberts' theft in the 2004 ALCS) and George Kottaras sold a beautiful play at the plate to prevent Greg Zaun from adding another run in the 8th. Good job, guys. Now let's focus on the pitching, please.
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