End Of The Line For Abe

Pawtucket pitcher Abe Alvarez was released by the Red Sox yesterday. Although this is just a mere footnote in the history of this storied franchise, it means a little more than that to me.

In 2003 he was drafted as a top pitching prospect and I was there for his Major League debut on July 22nd during the magical 2004 season. It was the first game of a day/night double-header against the Orioles, so the Sox needed to bring up a starter and Abe got the call from double A. It was a hot, sticky Thursday afternoon. The game had been on the schedule for a while as it was a makeup from a rainout in April, so I had decided to make it the game for my annual trek to Fenway with Kyla and had secured tickets a month or so earlier.

It sticks out in my mind so much because when I found out that he was going to make the start, I knew that it was going to be the Major League debut of a highly touted prospect and I (and even more importantly Kyla, even if she wouldn’t remember it) might be present while history was being made. The first thing I noticed about the guy was that he was wearing his hat so that the brim was tilted to one side, something that drives me crazy. I forgave him when I found out later that he was legally blind in his left eye, it was sensitive to light, and he wore his hat this way to help keep the light out of the eye.

Unfortunately the debut did not work out as he, or the rest of Red Sox Nation had hoped. Although we got 5 innings out of him, which was all management was looking for; he gave up 8 hits, 5 walks and 5 runs in an 8-3 loss. It was not a very memorable performance, and of course, having only been up to make the start, he was sent down right after the game so the Sox could add another reliever to the pen.

But still, it wasn’t like he was the first big time pitching prospect to have a rough Major League debut, he was only 21 and there was still a bright future ahead of him, right? He went back to Portland where he made the Eastern League All-Star team and was named the Sea Dogs “Pitcher of the Year” and things were looking good.

Having seen his Major League debut I took a particular interest in his career. Unfortunately he had already reached the high point in ’04. He was promoted to Pawtucket for the ’05 season where he made a couple of appearances with the big club and another one in ’06. But he was not progressing as quickly as it was hoped he would and by 2007 it was beginning to look like his days as an elite prospect were over and his career as a Major League pitcher was even in jeopardy. He never really managed to put it all together. At the start of this year he was moved to the bullpen, and yesterday he was finally released after posting a 6.46 ERA in 13 games.

So it looks like the days of me telling Kyla that we were there for his debut as we watch him leading the Sox to World Series titles while competing for Cy Young Awards will never come.