The Bum(garner)'s rush!

Ah, Memorial Day weekend - the official unofficial start of the summer! Is there a better way to kick it off than by catching a game at your favorite ballpark? Nope!

So, we were back at Portland, Maine's Hadlock Field to watch the Sea Dogs take on (who else?) the Connecticut Defenders for a Double-A Eastern League Saturday afternoon game. Due to scheduling peculiarities, we've seen quite a bit of the Defenders so far this season at Hadlock. They're normally a team we like to root for, but not when they're playing our Sea Dogs!

Anyone who was rooting for the Defenders this day had plenty to cheer about, however, as they scored a convincing 12-1 victory over the Dogs.

Despite that offensive display, the story of the game was the sensational performance by Defenders starter Madison Bumgarner, the 19 year-old southpaw who ranks as the number one prospect in the Giants system. He's the goods, all right!

Bumgarner came into the game sporting a .750 ERA to go along with his 2-0 Double-A record. Six shutout innings later found him 3-0 with a .500 ERA. Only two hits and one walk allowed plus ten strikeouts equals a good day at the office!

Facing this kid was bad enough, but nothing went the Sea Dogs' way at all, as the score indicates. Even their lone run was scored in a wacky manner: Zach Borowiak led off the bottom of the eighth with a double. Two outs later, he was still at second when a passed ball allowed him to take third. Then a wild pitch let him in. But that was way too little, way too late.

Despite the score, we had a good time. Our seats were in the front row, right behind home plate. That gave us a good look at Bumgarner in action. We'll have a good story when he's starring for the Giants in the National League.

And that might be soon!

Rockin' the 'Cats

We were back up in Portland, ME this Saturday to see our Sea Dogs host the New Britain Rock Cats for some Double-A Eastern League action.

A nice day for a still early season game found the 'Dogs edging the 'Cats 8-7. The Rock Cats scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to make things squirm-inducing for the Hadlock Field crowd, but they finally ran out of outs just in time!

The starter for the Sea Dogs was Jarod Plummer, a big righty with whom we weren't familiar. He was signed by the Red Sox as a minor league free agent during the last off-season, as opposed to having been drafted by the Sox as most of the Sea Dogs were.

Plummer didn't figure in the decision, as the win was notched by reliever Richie Lentz, a Red Sox draftee who had been promoted to the Sea Dogs last year after starting that season with the High-A Lancaster JetHawks.

Prior to the start of this season, the Red Sox moved their High-A team from Lancaster, CA to the more convenient Salem, VA. Salem's prior team had been called the Avalanche, but the current club goes by the Salem Red Sox.

Recently called up from Salem to Portland was outfielder Matt Sheely, who's filling in for injured centerfielder Josh Reddick.

With Reddick out and Iggy Suarez in Triple-A Pawtucket, the Sea Dogs lineup looked a bit different, especially since first baseman Lars Anderson had the day off.

We did get a chance to talk to Lars, however, as he manned the autograph table before the game. He's the Sox' top prospect, so plenty of people had plenty of things for him to sign. At right, he signs a ball for J. (Note J's "playoff" beard. Go, Bruins!)

Anderson's predecessor at first base and now left fielder Aaron Bates (below) was the DH and h'd pretty well indeed, going 3-for-4 on the afternoon, which raised his average to a robust .359. That average leads the team and ranks high among all Eastern League batters.

So, another fun time with the Sea Dogs. It's about time for us to see them on the road...

Brave new world

Were were back at McCoy Stadium this Saturday to see Pawtucket Red Sox host their newest International League rivals, the Gwinnett Braves.

This Triple-A version of the Braves found a new home in Gwinnett, GA after having called Richmond, VA their home since 1966. That's quite a long time, especially for the IL, where teams seem to change locations and/or affiliations fairly often.

Whatever the Braves' reason for moving, Richmond's loss is Gwinnett's game, as who wouldn't want a minor league team nearby?

There had been a fair amount of rain in the area during the week and the forecast didn't sound brilliant for Saturday, but the weather was actually quite nice for the game. It was cool at the start, got a little warmer as the game went on. It did start to rain, but not until we were already on our way back home. Talk about good timing!

As for the game itself, the Paw Sox pretty much had their way. Right fielder Chris Carter (at left) hit a home run in the second inning to give them a lead they never relinquished. The seven runs put up in the third was all they need for an 8-5 victory.

Enrique Gonzalez, whom we had seen in the stands charting pitches on our last trip to McCoy, was the starter and picked up the win.

The save was notched by fireballer Daniel Bard. As noted before, this kid can throw! Who else could throw a fastball registering 97 on the pitch speed, then reverse it on the next pitch for a 79 mph change-up, with the same motion? Take that, Lars!

We had good seats at this game as well, so we were eager to see if we could spot another Paw Sox pitcher in the stands. Very recognizable to us was Michael Bowden, the previous night's starter.

He was busy charting pitches, but you couldn't blame him if he was a bit distracted at times, as right behind him among the wives and girlfriends (W.A.G.s, if you will) of the Paw Sox was the fiancee of fellow pitcher Clay Buchholz. And who's that? Lindsay Clubine, number 26 herself from TV's Deal or No Deal!

Not all the familiar faces were in the stands. Some were on the field too. We were glad to see Iggy Suarez playing third base. Iggy had recently received his first Triple-A call-up (from the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs) and we were hoping to see him in action. He picked up his first Triple-A hit during the game and added a second base knock for a 2-4 afternoon. Good job!

On a rehab stint from the Red Sox was Mark Kotsay, who served as DH. Nothing against the guy, and we do appreciate that he was also once a Sea Dog back when they were a Florida Marlins affiliate, but we like seeing "our" players better. Still, he got a nice ovation from the fans, due to his name recognition.

But you can bet we cheered louder for Iggy! Meanwhile, another former (and most likely future) Paw Sox was having the time of his life with the Red Sox. Jonathan Van Every, the onetime Cleveland farmhand, made a great diving catch against his former employers in Wednesday's Red Sox/Indians game, then hit a home run in the tenth inning for the winning run in a 6-5 Sox win.

What a game, but what could he do for an encore? How about pitch? The next night, the Sox were on the bad end of a 13-0 margin in Tampa. The bullpen was getting roughed up and another arm was needed. Leave it to "Lefty" Van Every to finish the game. He does it all!

No matter what happens to J-V-E in the future, he'll have some great stories to tell about his time in the Show!

And who could ask for anything more?