Bowden a possibility to take his place.

Wakefield DL

I'd prefer Zink over trying to rush Bowden, who was in double A not that long ago. Zink pitched Friday but I don't see why a young (relatively) knuckleballer can't pitch on three days rest.

Wake's injury is a major blow, though. Now we have two rotation spots that are unreliable, unless CB gets it together.

Yes, not good. My first thought was Curt Schilling, if he hadn't come up hurt at the very start. Can't be thinking about him though.

Actually, it might be worth considering putting Masterson back in the rotation. He was taken out of the rotation and sent down to become a reliever when it seemed like the BP needed a savior. But he really hasn't had a lot of opps out there and it almost seems like his talent is being wasted.

I had thought recently it might be worth it to put him in the rotation to replace CB, who's shown himself to be a lot more adept at dating babes than at giving us quality starts.

Neither Bowden nor Zink is on the 40 man. Pauley is, however.

We do have a couple scrubs we could ditch if it came to it in Eric Hull and Lincoln Holdzkom. It seems that they dont want to lose Holdzkom for some reason. I suppose Van Every is a possibility to go, too, but I think theyd want to avoid losing him now that Moss is gone.

Id just as soon use Pauley rather than shake up the 40 man, but his schedule doesnt match up...

Day they last pitched:
Pauley - Saturday
Zink - Friday
Bowden - Tuesday (perhaps they knew this was coming...?)

Colon is pitching right now (Sunday). 3 IP so far, 3H 3K no runs.

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Im thinking the decision was made a few days ago and its Bowden. Pawtucket's rotation went like this the last couple time through:

7/29 Zink
7/30 Pauley
7/31 Bowden
8/1 EMart
8/2 Hansack
8/3 Zink
8/4 Pauley
8/5 Bowden/Colon(piggybacked because of low pitch count)
8/6 EMart
8/7 Hansack
8/8 Zink
8/9 Pauley
8/10 Colon

Well, Ill be excited to see Bowden face major leaguers... or at least, the Rangers.

EDIT: Just thinking... I dont know Colon's pitch count today - its possible they piggybacked Bowden again. We'll see soon. If he doesnt pitch in this game we're probably going to see him Tuesday

EDIT 2: Colon finished after 3 IP. Holdzkom(2 IP) and Vaquedano(1 IP) have followed.

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Also, though I havent heard his name mentioned, Hansack would be due to pitch on Tuesday AND is on the 40 man.

Zink I think would have a better chance at success. Bowden I think since hes a fastball pitcher would be better served as maybe a September call up used in low pressure situations.

I don't know if the Red Sox can stick wth Clay any longer. He just doesn't seem to have it this season. I think Boston might send Buchholz down, roll the dice and bring up a couple starters, one to fill in for Wakefield and one for Clay. Maybe Hansack and Paulie? If Clay could go down to Pawtucket and work on relieving, then he could help Boston in September.

As for Masterson, I think it would take too long to redevelop him as a starter at this point, and the bullpen would be much weaker if he were to leave it.
Hopefully Wake and Colon will get better soon!

That, and he's in the bullpen for a reason...and that reason isn't that he wasn't getting it done as a starter, or that they like him better as a reliever. Most likely they're not going to budge on keeping him in the pen, just like they didn't budge on shutting Buchholz down for the postseason last year even though at that point he was pitching like he deserved a spot.

I don't see where it would take that much to get Msaterson stretched out as a starter again, since he was a starter for most of the year. He couldn't go 65-70 pitches/5 innings in a start four days from now? I don't believe it.

As far as the pen being weaker without him, that's true. But the point is that he's not getting much work out of the pen and certainly not much high-leverage work. And with CB sucking big-time and Wake gone for a couple of starts, the immediate need is in the rotation.

What's the timeline on Colon? Before he got hurt he seemed to be pitching some quality innings.

In late July it was reported in the Projo that they were being cautious so Colon wouldn't aggravate anything, and that he was on a mid- to late-August trajectory. So I think he's probably going to fill Buchholz's slot and isn't an option for Wakefield's turn. But damn, he'd be nice to have right about now.

I hope that was a joke. The Rangers offense will likely pulverize whoever gets the call. That team can rake.

I expect to see Pauley or Zink (last I heard he was doing good) to get a start and than hand the reigns over to Colon. I wouldn't be shocked to see Masterson revert back to a starter thanks to a poor season by Buchholz. This team is really hurting without a 4th and 5th starter. I don't think we'll see Bowden until September.

Masterson went to the pen to fill a need; if we put him back in the rotation we'd create a new hole in the relief corps. Not to mention, I don't think it's a good idea to switch his role multiple times in the same season.

The Wakes injury is a tough one, as he's been pitching great for us. I thought even before today that Buchholz needed to come out of the rotation and go back to Pawtucket, and I'm convinced about that now. Colon pitched 3 shutout innings today, yielding 3 hits and 0 walks. That's encouraging, but he needs to be stretched out to 5 innings at least once before he comes back to the big club. Barring any setbacks, I think we'll see him in a couple of weeks.

If any remotely capable major league pitchers clear waivers I hope we can work a deal. Paul Byrd has supposedly cleared and he's been pitching well. He'd be worth going after, but I'm sure we'll be competing with the Yankees for Byrd and any other potential waiver acquisition.

Zink pitched 7 innings on Friday ... probably won't be available.

I think the better question is who should replace Buchholz, and I would nominate Zink for that position. Hansack makes the most sense to take Wakefield's place on Tuesday since he's already on the 40 man and has shown mettle in a major league setting before. Then before it's Clay's turn in the rotation, you send him down and call up Zink, since I believe there are only 39 men on the 40 man right now anyway.

Damn it... if Buchholz makes his next start, I will drive to Boston, find Theo and bite his face.

There is zero chance the Red Sox will toy with Masterson again this season and re-stretch him into a starter. In fact, I'm not wholly unconvinced the Sox hope to groom Masterson as a shut down setup guy long-term, given the scouting reports on him over the last few years (people forget he was projected to be a fringe starter with above-average pen stuff until his run at Portland last year).

Bowden is pitching for the PawSox this afternoon so he is out. Hansack makes the most sense since Zink's turn was Friday meaning he's have to turn around on three days rest. Ironically, their peripherals are very similar this season (Zink's low ERA buoyed by a lower BABIP, their FIP are 3.70 and 3.73 respectively) with Hansack getting the slight edge in K rate while Zink has been a bit better keeping the ball in the park. BB rate, WHIP, strand rate-- all are nearly identical between the two. Unless there is some hidden benefit to calling up a knuckleballer to replace a knuckleballer, I'd expect Hansack to get the nod purely because of how easily he slots into the rotation with respect to rest.

I believe Hansack has been getting lit up of late and I would speculate that is the reason he is not getting the call.

Then I'm all for Bowden to get the call. I guess he'd have to get added to the 40 man, which isn't a big deal since there are 39 guys on. But then if you're going to (hopefully) add Zink or someone else to replace Buchholz, you're going to have to cut someone off the 40.

Hansack may be struggling right now, but from what I recall, Masterson had not been doing that well in AAA before his last ML start, then he got the call up and pitched a pretty effective game.

It's really too bad Zink pitched Friday, because I think he would have been the best option. They may very well still go with him since he is for all intents and purposes a knuckleball pitcher (although he throws heat in the low 80s, as well) and he may not have thrown on the side yet (I have no idea), but that wouldn't be putting him in the best position to succeed, which is crucial, given that it would be his first major league start.

Bowden will not get the call (at least tomorrow) as he is pitching for Pawtucket this afternoon.

Given his development curve, age, and mediocre showing at AAA to date, I don't see the Sox pressing him into action until September at the earliest.

He may have a league average ERA, but 14 K and only 3 BB is pretty good. You're right though, he's still 21 so there's no need to rush him.

Daniel Bard, on the other hand....

My bad... I hadn't realized it was a day game, and had hoped they would pull him in favor of a ML start. It's going to be interesting indeed to see who they go with. I don't see how it can be anyone but Hansack, despite his recent suckage.

Think Zink.

He's having a great year and if he's ever going to make it he needs to have the chance now. Shifting Masterson back and forth does not make sense to me and the risk of injury is too great. The Sox need him beyond 2008.

Zink it is: Extra Bases

I'm slightly surprised since he'll be on 3 days rest. But I guess they figure he's young and it is the knuckleball he is throwing, after all.

Charlie, best of luck, kid, and congratulations getting your first call up to the majors. Go get 'em! I guess this means Cash catches tomorrow, eh?

You thinked right. Zink it is

mgy beat me to it. Zink will be 29 YO in two weeks. This year, he is 13 - 4 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Most other years have been a mixed bag. Of course, he's another knuckleball pitcher, which helps keep Cash sharp.

I wonder, between Theo and his minions, and Tito and his coaches, who has more say in who comes up.

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=30553

I'd guess that Theo has more say, because he's supposed to have the whole organization in mind while Tito is supposed to focus more on Boston. In any case, the decision was most likely not entirely one-sided.

According to posters over at Soxprospects.com Zink had to be added to the 40 man roster this off-season anyways or he would have been a minor league free agent.

http://soxprospects.wikispaces.com/Rule+55

There also is the small factor of Wakefield's age/health and $4M salary. If Zink can show the ability to pitch at the MLB level then perhaps the Sox decide to go with two knuckleballer's on the roster next year or decide to let Wakefield go and keep Zink and save $3M+. Not to mention the fact that Wakefield may decide this off-season or next that he wants to hang it up $42.495M career earnings, 2 World Series rings, 13 years in Boston...

Zink has certainly earned his shot and if he pitches well, Buchholz may be the one sent down when Wakefield or Colon is healthy. But I don't want to get too ahead of myself.

As much as I'd love it, Zink and Wakefield won't be on the roster at the same time. If they are both starting that mean Cash 2/5 days and if Zink is in the bullpen that means Varitek comes out when he goes in. I just don't see that ever happening.

Don't wonder, it's Theo. I doubt Francona knows much about the kids in the minor leagues compared to the guy whose job depends on them. It's ALL Theo (and the rest of the baseball operations crew).

They typically will talk it over. The FO definitely involves Francona and Farrell and the coaching staff in pretty much every decision, even if its as minor as calling up a Pawtucket reliever for a few days.

The buck does stop with Theo, though. He is the ultimate decision maker. Im sure they disagree at times, but we'd never hear about it. I have heard Francona discuss on a radio interview how he has been skeptical of a move or strategy that Theo was in favor of and that they eventually convinced him it was the right move. There is a lot of mutual trust. Im sure they wouldnt do anything Francona was strongly opposed to, either.

I'm sure that if the FO feels that Zink deserves to stay with the big club, Varitek's dislike of catching the knuckler will not be a deal-breaker. Varitek's production could probably be replaced by any random scrub at this point. He's below replacement level with the bat.