When does Brad Penny get removed from the rotation?

[cjkalt]

I can't blame all of this on Javier Lopez. Once again Brad Penny was pathetic at best. The Sox spotted him leads in the first 3 innings and right on cue he blew all 3, (to be fair the 3rd blown lead was in thanks to a Julio Lugo drop on a routine DP ball) but he hasn't thrown the ball with any accuracy at all (Strike % ~55%) and he had about 85 pitches when he got pulled.

So my question is when do the Red Sox end this experiment and call up Buchholz, Bowden or Smoltz, or let Masterson keep his spot when Dice-K gets back?

[love_that_reefer]

Is Bowden a starter? His delivery made me sick the other day. I voted July. Two good starts, two bad starts. Shit happens.

[cjkalt]

He has a 8.66 era thats pretty bad, and considering all we need out of a 5 starter is to keep us in games, having a blowup every other start is not what we are looking for. He definitely will lose the spot to Smoltz on June 1 at the latest, I'm hoping we pull the plug on this earlier

Yes, Bowden is a starter, and I like that delivery although he's prolly 4th in line for the #5 spot

[love_that_reefer]

How on earth can you like that delivery? Explain that one.

[cjkalt]

Thats easy, he has a career 3.15 ERA in the minors, thats why I like it, it works, and he hasn't had any injury problems so it works for me

[HollywoodLeo]

That's like looking at a train on a collision course and stating you like the path it's on because it hasn't crashed yet.

That's not really a comment specifically on Bowden, as I haven't seen him pitch, moreso on the concept of liking his delivery just because he hasn't been injured yet and has performed well up until this point in time.

[love_that_reefer]

Leo, watch this guy throw. You just can't sit still or at least I couldn't.

[cjkalt]

You think the Red Sox would let him keep the delivery if they thought it would increase his risk of injury? They don't want a prize prospect to get a major injury and would do whatever it could take to keep him healthy

[love_that_reefer]

It happens all the time.

[HollywoodLeo]

That is pretty crazy.

The Red Sox will let him keep his delivery because they don't want to mess with his mechanics.

You make him change his delivery then he may not be as effective.

But none of that removes the fact that that is a crazy delivery.

He seems to rely heavily on his arm strength and not his lower body to deliver the ball, which can't be good for the long run.

[HollywoodLeo]

Found a good write up on him by some dude named Pat Hickey.

Mechanical Analysis: Michael Bowden - Fire Brand of the American League

He doesn't seem to think the delivery is going to be a problem for him (albeit for the same flawed reason cj gave prior to my post) but he does say it's holding him back from excelling even more.

[realmofotalk]

"There were a few people I didn't get along with on the coaching staff that don't respect people," Penny said. "I mean, me and [Manager] Joe [Torre] got along fine. I just feel like nobody had my back there. You're in the clubhouse and you have players coming up to you saying coaches are saying this to them about you."

Said Bowa: "Is this the same Penny that never went to meetings, that came late, left early, was never in shape, always had an excuse when things didn't go right, didn't help the young kids at all? Coaches get on players when they're lazy and don't work. I think he should worry about getting hitters out in the American League East and not worry about me."

Fatass best watch his own back. Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden aren't far away.