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Zen653 · 05-16-2007, 06:42 PM

I went down to the Pawtucket vs. Durham matinee game today and watched Abe Alvarez pick up the win in a 5-inning, 4 run effort. Alvarez's fastball was a Foulkesque 86 mph, and his breaking pitches didn't really break. He served up two homeruns and didn't seem to fool anyone with his pitches. As a starting pitcher, Alvarez has AAA journeyman written all over him. I am hopeful, however, that he could be converted into an effective lefthanded specialist a la Mike Myers. Alvarez has a deceptive delivery and I heard someone at McCoy mention that Alvarez had only given up two homeruns entering today's game - the implication being that he normally induces a lot of groundballs, or at the very least keeps the ball within the park. If true, that could make Alvarez a potentially decent major league relief pitcher. When you go to the bullpen to fetch someone for an out or two, you're looking for someone who isn't the reincarnation of Upper Deck Beck or Way Back Wasdin.

Jacoby Ellsbury started in center field and did a really nice job of tracking fly balls and firing the ball back into the infield to hold runners to base hits. I wouldn't say that the has a rocket arm, but he had very good throwing accuracy and did not need a cut-off man to reach third base from deep center. Offensively, Ellsbury didn't do much of anything - he grounded into a double play, struck out, and just looked uncomfortable at the plate in general. It was probably an uncharacteristic day for him, given his solid overall statistics.

I did not get an opportunity to see George Kottaras. Kevin Cash started behind the dish and did an okay defensive job. I can't remember if he did anything offensively.

The two hitters who stood out most in the game were David Murphy and Brandon Moss. Both players had clutch hits in this game - especially the 2-out hit by Moss which put Pawtucket ahead for good in a 5 run 5th inning that erased a 4-1 deficit. Murphy and Moss both have excellent hand-eye coordination. They swung early in the count but were able to pull out of 0-2 and 1-2 holes by fouling off tough pitches and laying off the breaking stuff low and outside. Murphy is hitting at around .319 and I think he's more than ready to at least be a major league utility outfielder. Moss seems like a similar player and I think he's ready too.

On the pitching side, I found it interesting to see that Mike Burns, not Craig Hansen, is now closing out games for the PawSox. Burns got the job done in the 9th, without much flash. This was in stark contrast to Manny Delcarmen who had electric stuff in this game. Delcarmen consistently hit the mid to high 90s on the radar gun and he mowed down the Bulls, without giving them a chance. He pitched the 6th and 7th innings and struck out three or four batters with an array of well-placed fastballs and 12 to 8 curve balls. He was clearly a cut above the other pitchers who performed today (on either side.)

05-16-2007, 06:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
Zen653 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 6,901	I went down to the Pawtucket vs. Durham matinee game today and watched Abe Alvarez pick up the win in a 5-inning, 4 run effort. Alvarez's fastball was a Foulkesque 86 mph, and his breaking pitches didn't really break. He served up two homeruns and didn't seem to fool anyone with his pitches. As a starting pitcher, Alvarez has AAA journeyman written all over him. I am hopeful, however, that he could be converted into an effective lefthanded specialist a la Mike Myers. Alvarez has a deceptive delivery and I heard someone at McCoy mention that Alvarez had only given up two homeruns entering today's game - the implication being that he normally induces a lot of groundballs, or at the very least keeps the ball within the park. If true, that could make Alvarez a potentially decent major league relief pitcher. When you go to the bullpen to fetch someone for an out or two, you're looking for someone who isn't the reincarnation of Upper Deck Beck or Way Back Wasdin. Jacoby Ellsbury started in center field and did a really nice job of tracking fly balls and firing the ball back into the infield to hold runners to base hits. I wouldn't say that the has a rocket arm, but he had very good throwing accuracy and did not need a cut-off man to reach third base from deep center. Offensively, Ellsbury didn't do much of anything - he grounded into a double play, struck out, and just looked uncomfortable at the plate in general. It was probably an uncharacteristic day for him, given his solid overall statistics. I did not get an opportunity to see George Kottaras. Kevin Cash started behind the dish and did an okay defensive job. I can't remember if he did anything offensively. The two hitters who stood out most in the game were David Murphy and Brandon Moss. Both players had clutch hits in this game - especially the 2-out hit by Moss which put Pawtucket ahead for good in a 5 run 5th inning that erased a 4-1 deficit. Murphy and Moss both have excellent hand-eye coordination. They swung early in the count but were able to pull out of 0-2 and 1-2 holes by fouling off tough pitches and laying off the breaking stuff low and outside. Murphy is hitting at around .319 and I think he's more than ready to at least be a major league utility outfielder. Moss seems like a similar player and I think he's ready too. On the pitching side, I found it interesting to see that Mike Burns, not Craig Hansen, is now closing out games for the PawSox. Burns got the job done in the 9th, without much flash. This was in stark contrast to Manny Delcarmen who had electric stuff in this game. Delcarmen consistently hit the mid to high 90s on the radar gun and he mowed down the Bulls, without giving them a chance. He pitched the 6th and 7th innings and struck out three or four batters with an array of well-placed fastballs and 12 to 8 curve balls. He was clearly a cut above the other pitchers who performed today (on either side.)