Bell's numbers are bubbling over
LANCASTER, Calif. -- Once the Bells knew their baby was going to be a boy, Bill Bell decided to nickname his son "Bubba." He would take his father's name on his birth certificate, but he would be known as Bubba Bell. Because, Bill Sr. thought, it was a great baseball name.
Twenty-four years later, Bubba Bell is making his father look prophetic. With overwhelming statistics at Lancaster, the Red Sox' high Single A affiliate, Bell has positioned himself to make the organization take note of the 39th-round draft choice in 2005. Though Lancaster's conditions are hitter-friendly, Bell is batting .367 this season with 21 home runs, 77 RBIs, 46 walks, and 36 strikeouts, a strikeout-to-walk ratio that would make anyone pay attention. He has scored in 14 straight games, with 27 runs over that period.
"You're under a microscope a lot less than [high-round draft picks] are," said Bell, a center fielder who has been hitting leadoff for the JetHawks. "But that means that when they are watching you, you have to be the one putting forth that much more effort on an everyday basis. Not to say that you shouldn't do that anyway, but it's important because when they do see you, you want it to be something positive that they associate with your name."
That last part hasn't been a problem for Bell. And, though his age (25 in October) and development status make him a long shot to ever reach the Red Sox, the organization is taking notice.
"It's about you making the decisions for us," said director of player development Mike Hazen. " There's no denying what he's done. He's going to force us to make a decision."
That decision, likely, will involve Bell heading across the country to Double A Portland. Bell has done about all he can to take advantage of the conditions at Lancaster -- which routinely has 30-mile-per-hour winds blowing out to right field -- and hit on the road. His splits aren't as skewed as one might expect, with Bell hitting .406 with 14 home runs (in 25 more at-bats) at Lancaster and .319 with seven homers on the road.
"He's very comfortable," said manager Chad Epperson. "He has a simple approach to the game, and that's all out. He's starting to figure some stuff out. And I think he's put himself in a situation where the organization is going, 'Hmm . . . ' "
So it seems as if his father's prediction has come true. Bubba Bell doesn't just have the baseball name.
"Worked out OK, I guess, for him," Bell joked. "It's worked out well for me. But I guess his plans, everything, kind of came together."
When Buchholz got a standing ovation from the fans in New Hampshire after his outing Monday -- 6 1/3 innings of four-hit ball with 11 strikeouts in Portland's 5-4 win -- Fisher Cats manager Bill Masse wasn't pleased, even though quite a few fans were likely there simply to see Buchholz pitch (some of them Sea Dogs fans, since Portland isn't that far from Manchester).
"I think it's sad," Masse told the Union Leader. "We're not playing the Boston Red Sox. We're playing the Portland Sea Dogs. Unless you're from that area, you root for your hometown team. This is New Hampshire's team, Manchester's team, and to see Clay Buchholz get a standing ovation was absolutely disgraceful."
The Fisher Cats are the Double A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.
