The most important piece

The Red Sox are rollin' as we approach the mid season mark and everyone in Beantown is happy. There is no reason not to be when the Hometown team has 44 wins and is sitting comfortably in first, 8 games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings.If the Red Sox need to improve in one aspect, most people will say they need another hitter. I do not believe this is true. Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell are both having great seasons, while Manny Ramirez and JD Drew are both starting to heat up. I strongly believe that the one piece that the Sox are missing is a power arm out of the bullpen. Mike Timlin is over the hill and Brandon Donnelly is injured and will not be able to continue with his workload. Oh Yeah, Joel Pineiro is a bust! Jon Papelbon and Hideki Okajima can't pitch everyday. The Red Sox could address this issue through a trade for a player like Brad Lidge, or Eric Gagne, but the best man for the job is already in the organization. Call me crazy, but Manny Delcarmen is the key to a great second half and a World Series run.

Manny D is a hometown kid, who the Sox drafted in the second round of the 2000 MLB Draft out of West Roxbury (MA) HS as a starting pitcher. Delcarmen signed to late to play in 2000, so he started his career in 2001 in the Gulf Coast League. Manny dominated the GCL going 4-2 with a 2.54 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 46 innings. Delcarmen earned a promotion to Low Class A Augusta in 2002. At Augusta, he went 7-8 with an ordinary 4.10 ERA, but struck out a batter per an inning with 136 k's. Manny started 2003 with High Class A Sarasota. His season did not last long. On April 22, Delcarmen injured his elbow against the Dunedin Blue Jays. The injury required "Tommy John" surgery, and he was shut down for the season. Manny came back to Sarasota for 2004, where he had an ordinary season and lost most of his prospect status.

In 2005, the Red Sox decided the best thing for Delcarmen was to turn him into a reliever and let him loose at Double A Portland. Manny responded well quickly earning himself a promotion to Triple A Pawtucket where he went 3-1 with a eye opening 1.29 ERA in 15 games. Delcarmen impressed the Red Sox front office enough to merit a late season callup. Manny had no record, but had a 3.00 ERA with 9 K's in 9 innings for Boston.

In his first extended season with Boston in 2006, Manny was mediocre with a 2-0 record and 5.06. He wasn't great, but he did not pitch as badly as his ERA indicates. He should have earned a spot in the Red Sox pen for 2007, but Theo was too busy signing garbage like Joel Pineiro to large contracts.

Manny has pitched well this season in Pawtucket with a 3.38 ERA. He has held opposing hitters to a .243 BA and has struck out 37 batters in 29.1 innings. His ground ball tendencies have really impressed me.

Delcarmen throws a fastball that sits around 95 MPH and tops out around 98. He throws a plus 12-6 curve, which might be his best pitch, and a solid changeup that keeps batters honest. When he is commanding his fastball well is close to unhittable. Manny has the tools to be a very good major leaguer. The Red Sox need bullpen help to make a playoff run and will rely heavily on the hometown kid. Manny Delcarmen, I hope your ready for the challenge.

RANDOM NOTES

- WEEI reported that Curt Schilling has been sent back to Boston to be checked out by the medical staff. If Schilling is placed on the DL, Jon Lester would probably be called up to take his place. Schilling is 0-2 with a 10.61 ERA, since his one hit gem against Oakland. Yesterday in 4.1 innings against Atlanta, Schill did not strike out one batter.

- Brandon Moss is a Triple A pitcher's nightmare and one of the more underrated players in the Red Sox farm system. He was named the Red Sox' #2 prospect and MLB's 72nd best prospect by Baseball America at the start of the 2005 season. After two inconsistent years in Portland Moss is has found his stroke again. He is batting .306/.406/.555 in 67 games. Moss has 12 HR and 49 RBI. With the logjam in the Boston outfield Moss will most likely be traded. If Moss is not traded, look for him to get a September callup.

- Today in the Texas League, last year's #1 overall draft pick, Luke Hochever, will face off against #2 overall pick Greg Reynolds. Surprisingly, this is the first time that the #1 and #2 overall picks of any draft have squared off in the minors.