Brian Heyman - Dominican graduate Gilardo changes loyalties

These days, the 22-year-old Cornwall High alum is in his second season with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla.

"They've been toying with the idea that I might also pitch," Gilardo said. "I haven't pitched yet, but I've been catching and I'm kind of in the back end of the bullpen if they need me. I'm kind of up for anything."

There have been questions about whether the 6-foot, 207-pound righty batter will hit enough in the pros. He batted .316 with four homers and 20 RBI in 35 games as a senior at his Division II school, then .255 with a homer and three RBI in 20 games with his GCL team last summer, although he was at .393 over his final nine games.

Gilardo was at .300 - 3 for 10 - over his five games through Thursday for the short-season rookie-ball team. He says the issue of pitching or catching could be resolved after the season.

"It depends right now if my swing keeps coming around - it's gotten a lot better - and I continue to hit," Gilardo said. "They like how I am defensively behind the plate."

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Nick Cafardo - Red Sox Notebook: Masterson sent down to build up relief work

The Sox announced that Justin Masterson will return to Pawtucket to make relief appearances as a prelude to returning in that role. Clay Buchholz will come up Friday to start against the Orioles. First baseman/outfielder Jeff Bailey was called up yesterday and likely will go back down Friday to make room for Buchholz.

Masterson's rubber arm seems suited for multiple roles, and with Buchholz coming back on the scene and Bartolo Colon progressing in his throwing program, the Sox appear to have plenty of starters but their bullpen has been inconsistent, at best. The team has been particularly concerned about Hideki Okajima finding his splitter again, although he escaped a bases-loaded jam last night in the eighth and got the win.

The Sox have scouts searching for an arm they could add to the bullpen, but they'd rather do it from within. Masterson's sinker has been devastating against righthanders, against whom he's allowed a .170 average.

Lefthanders have only hit .236 against him but have drawn 21 walks and tagged him for six homers.

Manager Terry Francona said, "We think he has a chance to be really effective against righthanded hitters."

"I'm excited," said Masterson, who will make his first relief appearance for Pawtucket tomorrow, and is scheduled to pitch again Friday and Sunday. "This is nice. When I got here I kind of knew with the great starting staff we had that when they get healthy they're going to do their job. They want me to go down and get some relief work down there and that's what I'm gonna do."

The Providence Journal

Monday, July 7, 2008

Patrick Janssen - PawSox 8, Braves 5 - Sixth-inning rally makes a winner of Pauley

After Richmond sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The PawSox responded with five runs in the top of the sixth. The PawSox put just two balls on the outfield grass in the inning but received the aid of four walks, including three with the bases loaded.

...

With the exception of the fifth inning, PawSox starter David Pauley silenced the Richmond bats. Before allowing four runs (two earned) in the Braves' big inning, Pauley had faced just two batters more than minimum. The 2001 eighth-round pick improved to 11-2 on the season.

...

After smoking a double to lead off the fifth inning, Lowrie advanced to third base on a fly ball to put himself 90 feet away from home with one out. What made the play remarkable was that the fly ball was to left field.

While Masterson's long-term future is still as a starting pitcher, he will pitch relief the rest of the season. He'll join the PawSox on the road and pitch tomorrow in Richmond and Friday and Sunday in Norfolk.

"There's not a firm timetable, but the idea is to get him acclimated where he can come help us. In the meantime Jeff Bailey will be here until we activate Clay."

The Red Sox need bullpen help, and the thought all along was Masterson, a 23-year-old right-hander, could be the perfect guy. The sinkerball pitcher is extremely tough on right-handers, plus he's obviously stretched out.

Because he already has major-league experience, and the fact he's mature, helps his cause.

"We think he has a chance to be real effective against right-handed hitters," said Francona. "You come up in a stretch in the middle of the order, he's got a chance to be very effective. I think sometimes guys' stuff out of the bullpen can play up, also. We view him as somebody like that."

Masterson's velocity has increased since his debut, which has made him more effective.

...

The idea was to have Buchholz change his arm slot a bit where his arm was about 6 inches away from his head. That tweak will allow move action on his fastball.

"This is a kid who doesn't need to be fighting for his life out there," said Francona. "He has a chance to be a dominant major-league pitcher, and sometimes the way to do that is slow it down and let him develop a little bit in Triple-A where if a ball gets hit it's not on SportsCenter."

He's 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA in nine starts for Pawtucket. He has registered 43 strikeouts and only 17 walks.

...

Bailey is on an offensive tear for the PawSox. He's hitting .301 with 23 homers and 61 RBI in 79 games. His stats earned him a selection to the International League's All-Star game next week in Louisville.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Kevin Thomas - No repeat performance; Kris Johnson's scoreless innings streak is snapped and the Sea Dogs lose to Reading, 11-5.

The Sea Dogs had 11 hits but squandered some chances, leaving 11 on base, including eight in scoring position.

Portland scored only two runs through eight innings, on a two-run single in the fourth by Mickey Hall (2 for 3).

The Sea Dogs got three more in the ninth on Tony Granadillo's two-run homer, his second in two days, and Mark Wagner's RBI single.

...

Sea Dogs pitchers ran up 11 full counts and walked 10. Johnson (7-4) entered the game with a Sea Dogs record of 23 1⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings.

...

Johnson left after walking two batters in the fifth. He gave up nine hits and three walks while striking out four, and his ERA climbed from 3.09 to 3.42

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Kevin Thomas - In Portland, a Dogs-way afternoon; Mickey Hall hits a homer, Beau Vaughan stifles a late Reading rally, and the Dogs get a daytime win.

Two high picks from the 2003 major league draft continue to progress in the Red Sox organization while helping the Portland Sea Dogs remain a contender.

Outfielder Mickey Hall belted the winning home run, his fifth, and pitcher Beau Vaughan got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning, as Portland nudged the Reading Phillies 5-4 Monday afternoon at Hadlock Field.

...

Hall homered into the pavilion in right field in the bottom of the inning.

It was needed insurance as Vaughan gave up a Jason Donald home run in the ninth -- the first earned run off Vaughan in 14 outings.

Kyle Jackson started the game and, except for a two-run blip in the second, put in one of his finest starts (six innings, six hits, one walk, seven strikeouts).

Portland rallied to tie it 2-2. Bubba Bell singled in a run in the fifth, and John Otness did the same in the sixth.

Daniel Bard pitched a perfect seventh, and Portland took the lead for good with two runs in the inning on Tony Granadillo's RBI double and an RBI single by Zach Daeges.

Kevin Thomas - Lester, Masterson, Buchholz

Masterson has a rubber arm (actually, Masterson has a rubber body. Maybe it's the Yoga he does, but the Sea Dogs trainers said he was the most flexible of any of the players) and can bounce back quickly after an appearance. Masterson has performed the role before in college and the Cape Cod League, and Masterson is especially good againt right-handers.

Left-handed hitters batted .236 against Masterson, but with 21 walks and six home runs ... Right-handers batted .170 (7 walks, 2 home runs).

Here's a question: When Masterson returns to Boston, which reliever goes?

Righties have hit just .170 against Masterson; lefties .236.

Hitters were having a bit more success than that against Buchholz, which is why the club sent him to Pawtucket in May.

He was 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA in eight starts with the Sox early in the season.

"His offspeed - curveball, changeup - can be devastating, but when that fastball wandered back over the plate, it was getting hit pretty hard," Francona said. "This is a kid who doesn't need to be fighting for his life out there. He's a kid who has a chance to be a dominant major league pitcher. Sometimes, the way to do that is to slow things down and let him develop a little bit in Triple-A where that ball that gets hit isn't on 'SportsCenter.' "

Buchholz was 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA in nine starts with the PawSox. He had a 0.39 ERA over a stretch of four starts before giving up five runs in five innings on Saturday.

Bailey, selected to play in next week's Triple-A all-star game, was hitting .301 with 23 homers and 61 RBIs for Pawtucket. This is his second tour in Boston this season, having gone 0 for 3 in three games from May 30 to June 3.

The Lowell Sun

Monday, July 7, 2008

Chaz Scoggins - Spinners humbled

It was a rare poor performance by Lowell pitchers, whose 2.78 staff ERA ranked third in the New York-Penn League going into yesterday. Starter Drake Britton and Hunter Strickland were both banged around hard for all 11 runs, and all six hits Strickland allowed were for extra bases.

...

Only Mitch Dening, the fifth-leading hitter in the NY-PL, has been consistent. Dening had two of the four Lowell hits yesterday to raise his average to .373 and has a six-game hitting streak. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games at a .439 clip (18-for-41) with seven multiple-hit games.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Kyle Carrier - NSU grad gets his licks in with Portland Sea Dogs

Portland, Maine, has been the 25-year-old's home since 2007, when he was called up from the Lancaster JetHawks, the Boston Red Sox Single-A affiliate. Bell, a starting outfielder for the Portland Sea Dogs, has found himself making headway with the Double-A organization since he was drafted out of Nicholls State by the Red Sox in the 39th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft.

He is currently batting .300 through 66 games this season. He has 80 hits with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs.

Slowly, Bell is becoming a top prospect and fan favorite for the Red Sox. He participated in the club's promotional "Future of Fenway" game, which allows minor league prospects to play at Boston's historic Fenway Park.

"That was exciting," Bell said. "It's a thing they do to kind of prepare guys and calm their nerves because we played in front of 25,000 people. It's a chance to calm down and learn, so it's a good thing."

During his two seasons in the minors, Bell has noticed an improvement in his game. In fact, he's improved every year since college, especially in his batting technique.

Moss has had three stints with Boston this year - he most recently was recalled June 7 - as the Sox have exploited his versatility. Moss has started eight games in left field, seven in right, and one at first base. He is also the only Red Sox player to hit a home run outside the United States or Canada: He hit his first career shot in the 6-5 season-opening win over the A's in Tokyo, a ninth-inning blast that tied the game.

He stole his first career base last night after his decisive single as he made the most of his opportunity after five games on the bench.Terry Francona said it's been hard to find Moss playing time, but the manager added that the rookie's attitude has been "great," as has his work ethic.

"Every time he gets to a level, after he repeats it, you see him start to emerge - hopefully, that will happen here, too," Francona said

Moss said the bench takes some getting used to after being in the lineup (he had 36 at-bats last month in 22 games) but he watches the veterans like Casey and Cora to help stay sharp.

Kevin Thomas - Sea Dogs run out of rallies; Portland finally gets a lead in the seventh, but New Hampshire recovers with two homers for a victory.

The Sea Dogs took their first lead when Aaron Bates swatted a three-run home run to center field in the seventh inning for a 6-5 advantage.

Bates was a triple short of hitting for the cycle, going 3 for 4. Bates, whose batting average dropped 27 points in the last month to .277, showed signs of breaking out of the slump. The home run was his sixth of the season.

...

Portland starter Adam Mills made his Hadlock debut and his second Double-A start since his promotion from Class A Lancaster.

Mills, 23, an eighth-round selection in the 2007 draft out of North Carolina-Charlotte, is known for his control.

He pounded the strike zone Tuesday, but the Fisher Cats pounded back for nine hits and five runs over five innings.

"It was maybe the case of being around the plate too much," Beyeler said. "They got a lot of two-strike hits. He just didn't finish the hitters.

Kevin Thomas - Pinckney making himself at home

Pinckney returned to Hadlock Field for the first time Tuesday. He received a polite round of applause when he led off the second inning before grounding out to first. He went 1 for 4 with a double.

"It's not as weird as I thought it would be," Pinckney said of his return. "But I miss seeing the guys I played with."Pinckney said the transition has been seamless.

"This is a great group of guys," he said. "Gary (Cathcart), the manager, is great … and we played them so much last year, I felt like that was our second home.

"I couldn't be happier. I'm glad I'm at a place where I'm wanted."

Kevin Thomas - Could Ortiz be coming to Portland?

Portland lost despite a 3-for-4 performance from Aaron Bates (a triple short of the cycle).

In Portland tonight, Michael Bowden makes another start. His innings will probably be limited to 5 ... and, of course, the speculation builds with every start that he is making his last appearance at Hadlock.

Lancaster won on the road and first baseman Lars Anderson (.319) keeps showing that he may be in Portland by August. He went 2-for-4 with his 12th home run ... Second baseman Chih-Hsien Chang (.294) went 2-for-4 with his 7th home run. Chang, 20, is quietly moving through the system in his third season ... Reliever Bryce Cox (3.47) pitched two scoreless innings (1 K).

In the Gulf Coast League, 18-year-old outfielder Bryan Peterson keeps hitting and went 3-for-4 ... third baseman Michael Almanzar doubled in the first inning and then left for unknown reasons. He was not initially on the Red Sox daily injury report.