Is Lars Anderson Being Bumped to Pawtucket Too Soon?

Lars Anderson speaks with Matty on Media day(Jeff Schools CMSB Photo)

Lars Anderson, who 2 years ago was the top prospect in the Red Sox organization, has parlayed a super hot start at the plate into a promotion to Pawtucket. In 17 games so for this season, he has 5 homeruns, a .355 BA and an OPS of 1.086. His attitude was different coming into camp, and it showed in his start to the season. The question is, is he being sent to Pawtucket too soon?

On the surface, this move seems premature. Anderson struggled for most of 2009, and if they didn't send him to Salem or Lowell 17 games into last season, I don't quite understand the logic here. Is he going to start every day at Pawtucket? Aaron Bates has been playing first for the PawSox all season, and although he is far from crushing the ball (.250 BA, .760 OPS, 2 HR's), he was called up to the big club last season and did alright. I'm all for rewarding prospects with promotions when they do well, but I worry that the groove Lars has found in Pawtucket is going to be undone if he ends up splitting playing time with Bates, or if he starts to slump after the promotion.

With the memories of Craig Hansen dancing in our heads, Red Sox Nation has a right to look at this move with trepidation. Perhaps the organization thinks Lars has finally figured it out, and wants to get him back on track to play in Boston if need be. Maybe they want to see how he handles hitting at the next level and deals with possible frustration in a new place. No matter the scenario, I hope Lars succeeds. He's a good kid who came into Portland this year with a brand new attitude, and it's always good to see good people do well. I just hope he doesn't end up back in Portland if he has a bad stretch of 17 games in Pawtucket.

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RETURNING 1ST BASEMAN LARS ANDERSON (PHOTO JEFF SCHOOLS/CMSB MEDIA)

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Tito on Lars Anderson:"He Had to Really Grind"

Matt Boutwell/CMSB Media Photo

Red Sox manager Terry Francona answered some questions in his NESN mailbag this week, and he talked about prospect Lars Anderson, the first baseman who struggled in Portland last season.

"Last year at this time, Lars had just completed the rookie development program. He was the talk of the town. Going into spring training, everybody was looking at Lars to make the next big impact. It was probably a little unfair, and I believe he tried to live up to a lot of those expectations and, in the process, put undue pressure on himself. After tearing up Double-A to end the 2008 season, he had to really grind through a year of adjustments. He is slated to be in major league camp as a non-roster player, and we are looking forward to seeing him a year more mature -- and, hopefully, all the good things that will come with it."

Many on the player development side in the Red Sox organization are hoping that Anderson taking the off-season off from Fall Leagues and the like will allow him to clear his head and rebound. Needless to say, if he develops into the power-hitter everyone thinks, the bat everyone thinks the Red Sox need might just have to be called up instead of traded for.

Sea Dogs heading to AA All Star Game Wednesday

The Eastern League in conjunction with the Trenton Thunder has announced that Sea Dogs' right-handed pitcher Chris Province has been added to the 2009 Eastern League All-Star roster. Province replaces Sea Dogs' right-handed pitcher T.J. Large on the roster, Large was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket on July 12th.

Province will join teammates Lars Anderson, Jorge Jimenez, Dustin Richardson and Junichi Tazawa at the Eastern League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 15th at Waterfront Park in Trenton, New Jersey. Tazawa will attend the All-Star Game but will not participate due to his participation in the XM Satellite Radio MLB Futures Game.

Province has appeared in 29 games for the Sea Dogs posting a 2-4 record with one save and a 3.29 ERA (19 ER/ 52.0 IP). In his last 14 appearances, Province is 0-0 with a 1.71 ERA (5 ER/ 26.1 IP). He has not allowed a run in seven of his last nine appearances. Last season, he combined to go 9-6 with a 4.82 ERA between Single-A Greenville and Single-A Lancaster. The 24 year-old was selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

The All-Star Game will feature the Northern Division All-Stars against the Southern Division All-Stars. Each team will consist of 24 players. The All-Star teams were selected through fan voting along with selections from media personnel, club field personnel, and Eastern League administrators. Each Eastern League team has at least three players, including at least one pitcher and one position player.

The Portland Sea Dogs take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Monday at 12:00 noon at Hadlock Field; it is the final game before the Eastern League All-Star break. Tickets for most 2009 Portland Sea Dogs' home games are available. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or online at www.seadogs.com.

Lars Anderson Talks Trade Rumors

Lars Anderson joined Chris Sedenka on the PM Jab this afternoon, and talked about his career so far, being named to the All-Star Game, his feelings on the city of Portland and the Sea Dogs franchise, and seeing his name in trade rumors. You can listen below.

Mike Hazen, Red Sox Director of Player Personnel

Mike Hazen, who is the Director of Player Personnel for the Boston Red Sox, joined us to talk about the draft and the Red Sox fertile minor league system. Some highlights include him stating that the scouting department is “already working on the 2010 draft”, that Casey Kelly is nearing his 100 innings limit for pitching this season and will play the rest of the year as a shortstop, that he was not worried about the the early season struggles of Lars Anderson and that he is back on the right track, talk about Mark Wagner possibly being in Pawtucket before the end of the year, Junichi Tazawa talk, and talk about some of the players from this year’s draft, including Luke Bard, Michael Yastremszki, and Raymond Fuentes. You can listen to that interview by clicking the play button below.

Sea Dogs beat Defenders 3-1

Lars Anderson in the Third Inning (Photo courtesy Pierre's of Exchange St)

It was beautiful evening for baseball at Hadlock Field in Portland Friday night, and snapping a three game losing streak made the evening even better. The Portland Sea Dogs beat the Connecticut Defenders 3-1 to even their record to 7-7 on the young season.

With the Sea Dogs down 1-0 in the bottom of the second, Bubba Bell wasted no time in extending his hitting to eight games, stroking a two-run homer to centerfield to give the Sea Dogs a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish.

“I was waiting on the pitch,” said Bell. “Managed to hit it out.”

Felix Doubront started off the game with a three pitch strike-out of Defenders second baseman Sharlon Schoop, and then got himself into trouble with a hit by pitch and two walks. He got out of danger by allowing one run on a sacrifice fly by Andy D’Alessio, and striking out Mike Mooney to end the threat. He seemed to settle down from there, working around a lead-off double by Brad Boyer in the second and holding Connecticut at bay. The constant work inflated his pitch count early, but he made the most of his 82 pitches and got through the minimum 5 innings to qualify for the win. He allowed one earned run, 2 hits, 2 walks, hit a batter and struck out 8.

“He made good pitches tonight,” said catcher Mark Wagner of Doubront. “He really battled when he needed to.”

Lars Anderson got in on the offensive action in the bottom of the 5th inning with a 1 out double that scored Josh Reddick and gave the Dogs a 3-1 lead. Anderson finished the night 1-4 with the RBI double, and also made a couple of fine defensive plays to keep the Defenders from getting runs. The hit also chased Defenders starter Daryl Maday, who ended up with a line of four and third innings pitched, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk and three strikeouts. The poor outing raised his era on the season from 0.66 to 2.00 as he faced the Sea Dogs for the second time on the young season.

The Sea Dogs bullpen locked down the win, as Chad Rhoades pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings. The game got closer in the eighth, as an error by Zach Borowiak cost the Sea Dogs an out and gave the Defenders runners on the corners with one out. TJ Large induced a double play from the bat of Brett Pill to escape yet another sticky situation.

“Bullpen really pitched great tonight,” said Sea Dogs manager Arnie Beyeler. “It’s big for them to put up scoreless innings for us.”

Bryce Cox came into close it out in the ninth, allowed a base hit to Eddy Martinez-Esteve (who was pinch-run for by Tyler Graham), but Cox kept Connecticut off the board, and ended the game by getting Brad Boyer to ground out to second base.

The crowd of 7,028 was not only treated to a win, by a fireworks show as well. It was truly a masterpiece of a Friday night.

Notes: The Defenders bullpen had to be warned a couple of different times about throwing debris into the propane heaters…This is the second series of the month for Connecticut at Hadlock…Saturday’s game is already a sell-out as Junichi Tazawa takes the mound against Brooks McNiven…The Sea Dogs bullpen has thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings.

SEA DOGS BEAT METS 8 - 4

(Binghamton, NY) – 2B Ryan Khoury smacked a 3-run double and LHP Dustin Richardson (2-0) worked three strong innings in relief, leading Portland past the Binghamton Mets (4-3), 8-4 on Friday night at NYSEG Stadium. Portland evens the series at a game apiece and improved their record to 5-4.

C Mark Wagner ignited the scoring with a solo-homer off losing pitcher RHP Dylan Owen (0-1) in the first inning. Wagner had two hits, including a double and two runs scored. Owen lasted only 3+ innings, giving up seven hits and six runs. Binghamton’s bullpen pitched six innings and allowed just two hits and two runs.

Richardson relieved RHP Blake Maxwell (3 IP, 5 H, 2 R) in the fourth inning and fired three strong frames on three hits, one run and three strikeouts. RHP Chad Rhodes yielded one run over two innings and RHP T.J. Large escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning to secure the win.

Portland scored six runs in the first three innings off Dylan. 3B Jorge Jimenez, who extended his hitting streak to six games, doubled home RF Bubba Bell (2-for-5, 2B) to give the ‘Dogs a 2-0 lead. SS Argenis singled on the next pitch to plate Jimenez and extend his hitting streak to three games. In the third, the Sea Dogs loaded the bases on a double by Wagner, a walk by 1B Lars Anderson and a single by DH Jon Still. Owen fanned Bell but Khoury cleared the bases with a 3-run double down the right-field line.

Anderson accounted for the final two runs with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and a solo homer over the center-field wall in the ninth. The Portland first baseman picked up his first homer and multi-RBI game of the year.

The Mets didn’t make it easy for Portland, scoring twice in the second inning on consecutive run-scoring doubles by DH D.J. Wabick and C Mike Nickeas. In the sixth inning, LF Josh Peterson closed the gap to 7-3 with a broken-bat RBI single. RF Carl Loadenthal (3-for-5) added an RBI double in the seventh inning for the Mets final run.

Portland’s pitchers held Binghamton to 4-for-15 with runners-in-scoring position. The B-Mets stranded seven runners in the final four innings. The two teams combined for 32 baserunners and were retired in order only once.

The series will shift to a 1:05 PM start on Saturday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium. LHP Felix Doubront (0-0, 4.15) will face off against RHP Jose Sanchez (1-0, 4.50). Catch all the action on the U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network beginning at 12:35 PM with the CorrectDeck Pre-Game Show. Tickets for Sea Dogs Baseball at Hadlock Field can be purchased at www.seadogs.com or by calling (207) 874-9300.

Notes…Jimenez has an RBI and a hit in six straight starts…Portland has hit nine homer on the season – eight have been solo shots…Khoury’s 3 RBI was his first multi-RBI game of the year…Richardson is the only reliever this season to pitch three innings...Maxwell made his 16th career start and his first at Double-A.

Courtesy Portland Sea Dogs

Sea Dogs Notch Walk-Off Win

Lars Anderson drew a 2-out, bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning, giving Portland (1-1) a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Defenders (1-1) on Friday night at Hadlock Field. The Sea Dogs loaded the bases on 3 infield singles off losing pitcher Waldis Joaquin (0-1). Ryan Khoury began the rally with a one out single off Joaquin's glove. With two outs, Josh Reddick singled to the shortstop and Bubba Bell followed with an infield-single to the pitcher. Chris Province hurled two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win for Portland in his Double-A debut. Josh Reddick went 4-for-5 and the game with a solo-homer in the eighth inning off Dan Griffin.

Portland starter Adam Mills remained winless in 12 career Double-A starts but was strong over five innings in his outing of the season. Mills scattered seven hits on two runs without a walk and fanned four. Richie Lentz was dominant in two innings of relief, fanning 5 of 6 batters faced.

Connecticut scored first with a single run in the second inning off Mills. Brett Pill started the frame with a double to right-center field and scored on a run-scoring ground out by Mike Mooney. The 'Dogs came right back in their half of the second inning to tie the game on Ryan Khoury's RBI double. In the fifth inning, the Defenders scored their final run of the night on Eddy Martinez-Esteve's RBI double to right field.

The game would remain tied until Reddick clocked a solo-homer over the right-field wall to start the eighth inning. Portland had 11 hits, including 4 infield singles and three doubles. Connecticut starter Brooks McNiven took a no-decision, allowing five hits and one run over 3.2 IP.

The two teams play a day game on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM at Hadlock Field. RHP Travis Beazley makes his Double-A debut for Portland against Defenders' righty Nick Periera.

Notes...Reddick's homer was the team's first of the season...Connecticut had no hits and one baserunner after the fifth inning when Pill reached on a error by 3B Jorge Jimenez in the ninth inning...Reddick, Bell, Anderson and Khoury all had multi-hit games for Portland.

Box Score

Recap courtesy Portland Sea Dogs media relations