Sox On Deck: Buchholz ready for return to the bigs

By Mike Scandura

When Clay Buchholz was optioned to Pawtucket, it was with explicit instructions to work on (i.e. throw) his fastball. So far, consider it mission accomplished. Buchholz not only has been using his fastball more - which obviously makes his breaking pitches more effective - but he's also been topping out at 95 on the McCoy Stadium radar gun.

Over his previous two starts, Buchholz is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. In 11 innings over those starts, he's allowed seven hits and two walks and has fanned 14. According to PawSox manager Ron Johnson, Buchholz "... is getting more consistency with his arm slot in terms of getting it where he wants it. The feel for his breaking ball is good and his fastball is downhill."

The obvious question is how long does Boston keep Buchholz in Pawtucket before promoting him again to the big club? Might a Buchholz-for-Justin Masterson swap be in the works even though the sinkerballing right-hander has performed admirably for Boston?

Stay tuned.

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Portland's Michael Bowden should be filed under the heading of an embarrassment of riches. The 21-year-old right-hander has been dominating Eastern League batters, and in the process, forcing Boston to contemplate when he should be bumped up to Pawtucket (the betting here is by mid-July). One of the key measuring sticks for any pitcher is total hits and walks allowed versus innings pitched.

Bowden has allowed fewer hits (58) and walks (19) - which equals 77 - than innings pitched (89) for the Sea Dogs through June 24. And over his last 70 1/3 innings pitched, his ERA is a microscopic 1.66.

Bowden is utilizing four- and two-seam fastballs to go with a hard curve and is throwing more off-speed pitches. Moreover, he combines his physical tools with a bulldog mentality that's the envy of pitching coaches throughout the league.

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All of a sudden Pawtucket's Charlie Zink has crept back onto Boston's radar screen. Through games of June 24, Zink was 8-2 with a 2.33 ERA that ranked second in the International League. Zink, who began his pro career as a "conventional" pitcher, converted to a knuckleball pitcher in 2005. Now, he's reverted - to an extent - back to being a conventional pitcher and has added a changeup (Right. How much separation is there between a knuckleball and a changeup?), slider and cut fastball to his repertoire.

Not only is Zink eating up innings for the PawSox, who lead the North Division, but his control has been off-the-charts - which is something considering the knuckleball still is his primary pitch. Through 96 2/3 innings he's walked only 29 and struck out 60.

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One of Johnson's strengths as a manager is to shuffle playing time among guys who play the same position. A perfect example this year is the way he's splitting time behind the plate with Dusty Brown and George Kottaras. Johnson is getting respectable offensive production from each player while making sure a rivalry (i.e. complaining) doesn't exist over who gets X number of games and who gets Y number of games.

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Portland's Bubba Bell and Jeff Corsaletti, who split time between the outfield and DH, are making a case for a promotion to Pawtucket - which is interesting considering the PawSox' Chris Carter and Jonathan Van Every are enjoying career years.

Bell has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games at a .326 clip (29-89) with four homers and 16 RBI. Corsaletti is hitting a robust .338 (23-68) over his last 17 games, with two homers and 16 RBI - and he's reached base safely in 26 of his last 28 games.