ENTIRELY TYPICAL OF THE TWO TEAMS...:

After rough start, Pedroia dusting the competition (Bob Ryan, June 3, 2007, Boston Globe)

[Y]esterday Terry Francona posted a Red Sox lineup in which Pedroia was batting second. That's what happens when a guy hits .415 for an entire month, raising his average to .323. With a 3 for 5 yesterday, including an RBI single in the five-run seventh inning of the Sox' 11-6 victory, he is now up to .333.

If ever a guy had a right to gloat, it is Francona. The manager pulled the full Tammy Wynette in April, when his little second sacker was going 5 for 48 in one stretch of 18 games. Day after day, Francona stood by his man, even on days when Cora was doing things like hitting a triple and a homer in the same game at Yankee Stadium.

The kid is our second baseman, he kept saying. The scouts say he'll hit, so he'll hit. Cora is here to back us up at short and second. That's his job. No, I'm not contemplating a switch.

But as April rolled into May, the kid did not hit. And you had to wonder if he ever would hit, since he did not hit when he was called up last September (.191 in 89 at-bats) and he did not hit in Florida, either. Sometimes scouts are wrong.

It now looks as if maybe they weren't wrong, and Francona was wise to believe them. For the past three weeks, no batter, not even Ichiro Suzuki (well, perhaps Kevin Youkilis) has been harder to get out than Pedroia. Facts are facts.

...that Pedroia was underestimated and Robinson Cano wildly overestimated.

The middle of the game yesterday was really a microcosm of the Yankees' problems--a bad outing from their #1 starter; no help from the bullpen; horrific defense, especially from their shortstop (no one expects Cabrera and Cano to field well); and Roger Clemens--the only non-roster guy with a chance to make an impact--going on the minor league DL.

MORE:
Meanwhile, the Sox have a whole group of youngsters knocking on the door, like The Killer B's (Kevin Thomas, 6/03/07, Press Herald)

Clay Buchholz looks ready for Pawtucket, if not Boston. Michael Bowden, 20, is already impressing in Double A. And Josh Beckett pitches Sunday night for the Red Sox.

Think those three will be in the same rotation someday? I do. Buchholz, 22, put in another eye-opening performance for the Sea Dogs Saturday night, striking out 11 in seven innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks. His ERA is now 1.70.

He's young, but he's aging quite well: Michael Bowden is ahead of schedule at Double-A Portland, but he won't be rushed to the majors. (KEVIN THOMAS, 6/03/07, Maine Sunday Telegram)

When Michael Bowden pitched for Waubonsie Valley High in Aurora, Ill., he played the proverbial man among boys role, striking out 172 batters in 80 innings.

No need to reach for the calculator. That is 2.15 strikeouts per inning.

True, that was only high school. And how many schoolboy stars can adjust to the grind and talent of professional baseball?

Well, it appears Bowden can.

Bowden, 20, is playing a new role with the Portland Sea Dogs: a boy among the men. He is the youngest top pitching prospect to wear a Sea Dogs uniform, and he is one of the pitchers who should figure into the future plans of the Boston Red Sox.

"The scouting department scouted him extensively in high school before they made the decision on him, and it's played out," Sea Dogs pitching coach Mike Cather said. "He's done exactly what they hoped he would do, which is pound the ball low in the zone."

Boston drafted Bowden in the supplemental round in 2005, the 47th overall pick five spots behind teammate Clay Buchholz. He figured to still be in Class A right now, but Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein declared him "ahead of schedule" and promoted him to Double-A Portland last month.

Bowden, who is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, is scheduled to make his Hadlock Field debut today in his fourth Sea Dogs start. He has a slightly herky-jerky motion, a workable change-up, bending curveball and a heavy fastball.

A heavy fastball?

"It has late movement, with heavy sink," Cather explained. "When you catch it, it feels like you're catching a cinder block.

"It's the same thing for the hitters. They get the broken bats, the miss hits and the feeble ground balls."

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 3, 2007 8:32 AM