July 17, 2007

On Baseball: Works in progress

By KEVIN GRAY
Staff Sports Writer

MANCHESTER – Major League Baseball had its own Futures Game to kick off All-Star festivities in San Francisco.

The Fisher Cats and Sea Dogs had their own version last night.

Starting pitchers Michael Bowden and Ricky Romero, highly regarded prospects for the Red Sox and Blue Jays, respectively, took turns on the mound at Merchantsauto.com Stadium.

Righty vs. lefty. Power arm vs. power arm.

Edge: Bowden.

Both pitchers were drafted in 2005, with Romero laying claim as the first pitcher selected (sixth overall). The Cal State Fullerton product signed with Toronto for a club record $2.4 million, while the Red Sox tabbed Bowden with a supplemental first-round pick (47th overall) and shelled out $730,000 for the high schooler from Chicago.

Who's the better bargain? Check back in a few years when perhaps they're battling for American League East supremacy, but Bowden (4-4) clearly looks more impressive at this stage of his career.

While the Red Sox' fan base has learned much about No. 1 prospect Clay Buchholz in recent weeks -- his impressive outing in Manchester won't be soon forgotten -- Bowden is the next farmhand making a name for himself.

He popped 93 mph with his first strikeout last night and earned his 16th career win after going six innings (eight hits, one run) in Portland's 13-1 win at Merchantsauto.com Stadium. Bowden kept challenging hitters and didn't walk a batter, throwing 58 of his 80 pitches for strikes.

Robinzon Diaz broke up the shutout bid with an RBI single in the third, but the 6-foot-3 starter stayed in control and turned in one of his best outings of the year. Some of the 5,653 fans would've been shocked to learn he's only 20 years old.

"He wouldn't be here if he wasn't good enough to handle himself," Portland manager Arnie Beyeler said.

Taking your lumps in the minors is part of the development process -- and both starters have done some serious developing this season. Romero (0-3, 5.26 ERA) still hasn't won a game and needed a six-week break to iron out some shoulder soreness.

Bowden entered last night with a 5.11 ERA, which reflects a pair of rocky outings in June, including an eight-run outing at Akron. He's in Double-A to work on fastball command and secondary pitches (curveball, changeup), and the kid's got plenty of time.

Bowden's easily the youngest on the team.

"My secondary pitches are what I need to work on," he said. "When I can throw those for strikes, I feel no one can beat me. As you could see, the first four innings, all I was throwing was fastballs, and I was getting away with it."

Added Beyeler, "When he gets behind in the count, he's got to be able to throw something else over the plate than just fastballs and command his stuff."

Romero was chased in the third inning after the Sea Dogs tattooed the southpaw for nine hits and five earned runs. Portland won its seventh straight and overtook NH for second place in the standings.

The 2007 season has been like a version of "Groundhog Day" for Romero. No matter how hard he tries, Romero can't reach the sixth inning and give the Fisher Cats a quality start. (The 22-year-old has given NH one quality start in nine attempts.)

"I just got hit. There's nothing I can do about it. I feel like I let the team down," Romero said. "We got our butts kicked today, and that's embarrassing to me and embarrassing to all of us. You hate to lose like that, and if there's one person to blame tonight, it's me."

The lack of success has forced New Hampshire manager Bill Masse to pull Romero aside and voice his concern.

The message? Trust your stuff and throw hard because you've got the talent.

"I told him not to be too fine with his pitches. He got drafted because he's got a great arm, not because he can throw 88 mph and sink it," Masse said. "Sometimes a pitcher feels he needs to take a little something off (his fastball) because he feels he's missing his spots. What ends up happening is you start aiming instead of just throwing it ... If you try to be too fine, that's when you start getting hit hard."

Romero is taking a page from Curt Schilling and writing his own blog this season, which appears at minorleaguebaseball.com. Yesterday's update hinted of a promising outing.

He wrote: "I feel like I have made big strides on becoming a better pitcher and not going out there and just being a thrower. Crucial situations during my last two games have been handled in a very calm manner and I haven't let them get out of hand."

Romero may have wiggled out of jams in the first and second inning, but the wheels came off in the third. Jeff Natale, Chad Spann, Andrew Pinckney and Bryan Pritz had four straight hits.

Romero walked three and struggled with location, even hitting the backstop with a run-scoring wild pitch. Now it's back to the drawing board for New Hampshire's starter, known for his maturity in handling adversity.

"As soon as I leave the field today, it's done. It's over with," Romero said. "It's frustrating, but I know I'll get back on my feet and be fine. I feel like I'm out there working as hard as anyone, and at one point, it's all going to turn around."

Bowden, meanwhile, can build off the outing as Portland tries to secure a playoff spot. He'll likely again face New Hampshire and maybe meet up with Romero.

To be continued ...