Bowden, Beckett, blog
A couple of super-quick, semi-formed thoughts, along with a sort-of announcement you may have already heard . . .
One of the more rewarding things about following sports is when a touted young player makes his debut with the big club. So of course we're all anticipating watching Michael Bowden take on the White Sox today. If you haven't seen him yet, he's an interesting pitcher, with a something of a short-arm delivery that reminds me a little bit of Keith Foulke, and uncanny poise and command for a 21-year-old. The more often I saw him in Portland, the more I liked him. And though Clay Buchholz's struggles make me hesitant to expect anything but maddening inconsistency out of a young pitcher, I'm glad Bowden is getting this start rather than the likes of David Pauley or Charlie Zink. Maybe he's ready for this, maybe he isn't, but at the worst today we should catch glimpses of what promises to be a bright future.
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The commenters and emailers were right: I absolutely should have listed Javier Vazquez among my favorite Yankees in the previous post. He's been a great friend to the Red Sox through the years, last night being the latest example, and I just can't figure out why he's not a better pitcher. He's the definition of an enigma: he has ace stuff, a high K rate, seems like a bright guy, and yet he's more or less a No. 3 starter. Maybe his fastball is too straight, but still, he should be better.
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A Yankees fan buddy of mine always liked to point out - usually in the midst of a crazy-eyed rant about how Jim Rice should not have won the '78 MVP award - that Ron Guidry's 25-3 record that season resulted in the best winning percentage by a 20-game winner in, I believe, modern baseball history, or something like that. (Sorry. I was usually slipping into a coma by the time he got to the actual facts.) With that in mind, I find myself wondering if Daisuke Matsuzaka might run the table on his next five or so starts this season, and if he can't go, say, 21-2, then here's to Cleveland's Cliff Lee (19-2) getting at least one more victory without a loss this season. Guidry was a class act for sure, but I'm all for any Yankee-related reminders of the '78 season being stricken from the record books.
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I'll admit I feared the worst when it came to the state of Josh Beckett's elbow, mainly because he seemed terribly concerned, and he doesn't exactly strike me as someone with a low pain threshold. I was pretty much braced to hear this old lefty's name grimly referenced after Beckett's visit to Dr. James Andrews, so today's reassuring news that his elbow is structurally sound might go down as the most important single development in Sox' season. Beckett's importance in this team's championship quest cannot be overstated. I hope the Red Sox play well enough in his absence that he can take his time until he feels healthy enough to come back and pitch like he did last October.
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My wife, who obviously knows a cool cat when she sees one, wondered out loud after reading my post yesterday (and checking out this photo) as to what the great Oscar Gamble might look like today. Well, here you go. The famous 'fro has gone the way of disco, but we all should look so good at 58.
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As for the sort-of announcement: You know how I'm always saying I'm going to write more, then like Don Draper blowing off Betty's pot roast, I disappear without an explanation? Well, this time I mean it, baby. I am going to write more - every stinkin' day, Monday through Friday, as a matter of fact. The difference this time is that this blog is now an actual part of my job, and not something I throw together in a semi-conscious state at 2:30 a.m. after putting together the mind-numbing Fan's Guide for eight hours. Starting Tuesday, I'll be sliding over to Boston.com full-time in the new position of sports news reporter. My main duties, as I understand them now, will be to make sure the site doesn't miss a thing when it comes to reporting that day's relevant Boston sports news, whether it's aggregating national links, writing quick-hit stuff myself, or filling in the gaps when our beat writers are swamped. I'll be busy, but I'll also have a good amount of time each day to write this silly blog. As you might have figured, it's pretty much my dream job - actually, hell, I never even dared to dream of this - and I can't wait to get going. I feel like the quality my work is going to increase exponentially - I'm eager to do more stuff like this Celtics piece, big-picture stuff I've rarely had the time to do before - and I'm glad to say that finally, I'll also be as dependable as I wished I could have been all along. So thanks for sticking with me. I think you'll like where this thing is headed.
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Good luck, Chad!
Looking forward to more Chad but one thing though. No more favorite Yankee columns, huh? Reading that piece and the comments, all I could think was
"F*ck (insert random Yankee)"
"F*ck (insert random Yankee)"
"F*ck (insert random Yankee)"
It's a deal. To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't get ripped more for that. And I'm somewhat surprised at the praise for Jeter - the fist pump is reason enough to want to slap him. I guess '03 is a long time ago now.
Great news - and so well deserved.
Frankly, I look forward to Chad's stuff these days as much as I did BSG dueing his pre-ESPN, Digital City days. Only Old Hickory's legendary Sunday baseball notes' column in The Globe back in the 70's had more palpable anticipation from this end, but Chad is approaching that...
Congratulations, Chad! Will be great to read your stuff on a daily basis.
Oscar looks terrific for 58, and can still probably swing the bat better than Salami Bat Varitek. As Dan Duquette would say, Oscar was a "professional hitter".
"Enigma" is the perfect description for Vasquez.
I agree about starting Bowden, as opposed to Four A hurlers like Charlie Zink and David Pauley. Pauley has been unimpressive in his starts at the major league level and Zink is the winner of this year's Mike Rochford Award. The award is in honor of the Pawtucket hurler who had an excellent season at AAA, then proceeded to get bombed at the MLB level. In case you forgot, Rochford was the ace of the Pawtucket pitching staff in the late 80's. However, his lifetime record and ERA in the majors is 0-1, 9.58 ERA in 8 games.
If Bowden is getting the nod, what's the latest with Bartolo Colon? Did he have a set back where he forgot to put Vaseline on the inside of his thighs so they became chafed from rubbing together after doing 6 sprints in the outfield? Does he even want to pitch? That oblique injury has been 2 months!
Nice article as usual Chad! Maybe you can fill Gordo Ede's shoes as they are gigantic ones to fill to say the least. Mr. Gamble looks good enough for a plumb Obama cabinet position should the Democrats prevail in November! I am SO greatful the Sox were unsuccessful in trying to obtain Javier Vasquez, he has been a disappointment to say the least though he is a solid number 3 as you have pointed out.
I am greatly looking forward to Michael Bowden's debut. he has certainly been highly touted for the past 2 or 3 seasons and perhaps will have more of the mental makeup like a Justin Masterson to become a solid ML starting pitcher, it'll be fun to see him tonight!
Congrats Chad, and good luck!
I'm a huge Bowden fan, but I couldn't believe that they're giving him this start. It's quite a compliment to him and a credit to the hard work he's done.
Congratulations on your promotion Chad! Now I'll get even less work done if you're writing every weekday. Please don't let the blog suffer for want of the -
"reporting that day's relevant Boston sports news, whether it's aggregating national links, writing quick-hit stuff myself, or filling in the gaps when our beat writers are swamped"
I was also amazed at the praise for Jeter. I can't even deal with looking at him and that smug superior smirk (SSS) that's *always* on his face no matter the circumstances.
As to Michael Bowden, yeah it'll be fun to watch tonight but it would have been more fun if it was April or May.
you should do more live blogging of games, that would be cool.
Best of luck to you Chad. I love everything you write, and you seem to write what we all think.
One thought, advice if you may say as you head to FT status.........
NEVER pull a Tomase. Enough said.
$$$
Congrats Chad...now we need the most hated Yankee column...or better still, most hated Yankee fan that isn't Billy "wore a Mets hat in City Slickers" Crystal.
I think New York ruined Vazquez--when he was in Montreal, he was an absolutely phenomenal pitcher. I remember watching him face off against Pedro in an interleague game in which both guys were on their game, and it took a Darren Lewis squeeze bunt in the 7th for the Sox to take the lead and eventually win, 3-1. But since he went to NY, it seems like he's done a fantastic job throwing batting practice for the Sox ... not that I'm complaining.
Chad: Although its great to get your insights on boston teams, I truly miss your thouhtful and intelligent comments on the rest of baseball. I gess I miss your 9 innings blog on fox, which is the reason I became a devout follower. Can you, once in a while of course, treat us to comments on the rest of the legue and for that matter, the rest of sports.
Chad, since I'm dropping by to check every day, you might as well be writing something every day! At any rate, congratulations on the increased duties. It's nice to see a home town friend dong well. You write the same way you shot 3's, deeply and from the hip ;-)
Javier Vazquez's name is worth the most points in Scrabble.
And enigma or not, he was lights out last year.
Awesome news! I need to come to this site daily now, not just when I need an update. Good start for local teams so far too, Sox up early, BC looking good albeit against Kent State.
Chad! I'm so happy for you! I've been following you for at least a year to year and a half. Keep up the great work!
So does this mean we're finally gonna get some Bruins coverage in this dump? I keed.
Ditto Jack's comments on the BSG comparison. Congrats, Chad and keep up the good work!
Congrats Chad! We all have more to look forward to now!
P.S. I promise,...I mean promise, that I won't tell any ML pitcher to throw a FB to Jason Varitek!!
Who's BSG? :-P
Great news! I'm glad to hear that for us (readers) as well as yourself. It's a great body of work you've put together to date and we're looking forward to more of it now. Congrats, and keep it coming.
While reading the Aeneid for homework in the waning days of summer, i came across this quote that seemed to apply to the yankees quite well...
"Poor Fellow, how could rashness take you this way? Don't you feel a force now more than mortalis against you and heaven's will has changed?"
Taylor, Williamstown MA
Ah, the Guidry rant. A Duckler classic. Congrats on the new gig!
Chad,
Terrific news...for all of us!
Good for you Chad. Glad to hear you'll be writing more as I visit the site almost daily hoping for a new entry (cannot believe I didn't see this one earlier, though). Anyway, like it or not you've inherited the BSG mantle/cape so run with it my good man, run with it!
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
Irreverence and insight from Chad Finn, a Globe/Boston.com sports writer and lifelong and incurable sports nut. Yes, he realizes how lucky he is. You can e-mail him at chadfinn4@yahoo.com.
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