Stopped by the Futures at Fenway presser this morning while not quite fully awake yet, and came away with several impressions: The Sox have some qualified, excellent people working at their minor league affiliates, there may be no way to "adjust" the statistics that both the pitchers and hitters are putting up at that launching pad of a ballpark in Single A Lancaster, and Justin Masterson is one personable dude.

Here's some thoughts from Sox Director of Player Development Mike Hazen on Clay Buchholz just prior to him making tonight's Triple A debut at Pawtucket.

How impressed have you been with Clay’s development this season?
MH: Very…very. We’re trying to keep some realistic expectations for him as this is a pretty big transition for him as he goes up a level from Double A to Triple A. We’ve been extremely excited with the work that he’s put in and the development that we’ve seen from command of his fastball to his delivery to a whole host of things.

How much of a stride has he made in commanding his fastball…I know that was one of the big things you had him working on this season?
MH: He’s making good strides so far but he’s going to be even more tested now because it’s going to be even more important to have the ability to consistently and effectively command his fastball. His secondary stuff has been very good from start to finish this season and when his fastball command has come through the course of this season we’ve seen some truly dominant performances…and that’s when I think we will see his dominant performances in the future. This is going to be a good test for him [Monday] night.”

Are we going to see the organization back off him a little bit when he gets to about the 160 innings pitched mark this season?
MH: There’s no set number but it’ll be somewhere in that range based on last year and not wanting to jump his innings significantly from one year to the next while also keeping in mind next year. What’s the expectation going to be for next year? Putting him in a position where you don’t want to be too low [with innings pitched] because then we’ll be in a situation next year where we don’t want to push him too far.

Is he ready to help the big club yet?
MH: That’s a tough question because it’s ultimately up to Theo and Tito and those guys to sit down and decide when the time is right. He’s moving in the right direction and I feel like he’s on the right development path. There are still some things for him to work on at the Triple A level, but I think in the next 6-12 months he’s definitely going to be in the mix for the big league club.

And then there's this from the AOL Funhouse...I personally can't wait for the return of Zap and Blazer to the PowerBall ring and the Hang Tough Arena, and NBC Execs somehow cajoling Joe Theisman back into the announcer's chair for the real-life realization of 'The Running Man.' I always said American Gladiators was an advanced form of entertainment brought to television way before its time...just like the Gourgeous Ladies of Wrestling.





Buried in a long Advertising Age piece about the plans of new NBC Universal Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman is this little nugget:

One show that's changing the definition of the word "future" as it relates to Mr. Silverman is "American Gladiators," the Reveille-owned cavalcade of well-oiled, padded combatants that might soon reappear on NBC after NFL football.

National Football League action and then American Gladiators on NBC...my prayers have been answered.

You think free agent to be Mark Texeira wants out of Texas? Apparently the hard-hitting first baseman made some pretty big waves with these comments while on a rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco, and likes the cut of both Boston and New York's respective jibs. The thought of Texeira manning first and Youk manning third next season is very appealing; paying Scott Boras' demands for Texeira or giving up prospects for a couple of months of his services, however, are not very appealing. This according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

 "No player is going to sign up with a team knowing they are going to lose. When a player has the chance, they're going to go with a winner."

"I know this is a business," Teixeira said, "but when the Yankees go get All-Stars every year and the Red Sox go out and get All-Stars every year, it shows you they want to compete and win."