Futures Game

[Basketball Jesus]

Anybody going this weekend?

[Bleeding Green]

I wanted to, but I have a job.

Feel sorry for me.

[wigglestrue]

You know I'm going, and we'll be semi-doppelgangers.

[Basketball Jesus]

Two games, two walk-off wins for the home team. Great stuff.

[The Rondo Show]

From your seats, could you see the radar gun? If so, how hard were Capellan and Bowden throwing, BBJ? There was no radar gun on NESN but I wasn't too impressed with Bowden, definitely looked more like a bottom of the rotation starter in the future than the #2 BA thought he might be (last off-season). I thought Masterson was quite a bit more impressive last year.

[nykgeneralmanager]

From your seats, could you see the radar gun? If so, how hard were Capellan and Bowden throwing, BBJ? There was no radar gun on NESN but I wasn't too impressed with Bowden, definitely looked more like a bottom of the rotation starter in the future than the #2 BA thought he might be (last off-season). I thought Masterson was quite a bit more impressive last year.

Every scouting report and piece of information I've read makes it sound like Bowden is another Tyler Clippard. I've never understood why the two got such different ratings from BA, but then I realized it was just Jim Callis' Yankee hate/Boston love at work most of the time. Bowden certainly has a future in the majors, but it is more as a middle of the rotation guy than anything else, similarly to Clippard. Even if you think he is better than Clippard which I really wouldn't argue, he isn't better by a wide enough margin for him to be considered a #2 and Clippard a #4/5.

[Basketball Jesus]

From your seats, could you see the radar gun? If so, how hard were Capellan and Bowden throwing, BBJ? There was no radar gun on NESN but I wasn't too impressed with Bowden, definitely looked more like a bottom of the rotation starter in the future than the #2 BA thought he might be (last off-season). I thought Masterson was quite a bit more impressive last year.

I was in the pavillion club so I wasn't at a good enough angle to see any movement on the pitches. However some things did stick out:

- Capellan looked impressive in the first two innings; he was repeating his delivery, he was hiding his average fastball (hitting 90 on the stadium gun) by mixing in a good amount of off-the-plate stuff. By the third he was putting noticeably more effort into his delivery and getting by with throwing fringe stuff to novice hitters. His success yesterday was due more to the lack of patience on the part of his opponents than actual talent. If I were to guess, I'd say he's destined for the pen sooner than later. The only thing saving him from moving there now is great command, which was still there even when he was laboring with his delivery.

- Even though he's old for his league, Jorge Jimenez looked the part of a major-league hitter. He only had one bad swing in all his ABs yesterday.

- There are shades of Brett Butler in Jeff Natale. Although the power's lacking, the patience, pitch recognition, and smarts on the basepath will make him a serviceable major league reserve. The only thing he's lacking is the speed to leg out XBH (and defense) which will keep him from becoming the next Brett Butler.

- Michael Bowden didn't impress me other than a moving fastball that he was dialing up to 93 in the first few innings. But that delivery...yikes. He's going to have either elbow and/or wrist problems down the road: he snaps his curve with such a violently quick flick of the wrist that he ends up having to put too much strain on his elbow to keep his hand level to the strike zone. Plus he was pushing off to all sorts of weird angles, which was keeping him out of the strike zone, forcing him to throw meatier pitches deep into the count. That HR he let up to Blanco was no lucky swing. That thing came over flatter than my prom date.