AnibalJonJon

Yes their from Cuba, what year idk ( I'm guessing 2003)..... Took me a while to translate it from spanish + the site sucks major balls ....

Only stats I could find on him... Side by side compared to Kendry Morales ... ----------------R - HR - RBI - BB - AVG - SLG% Michel Abreu- 78 - 23 - 82 - 61 - 356 - 647 Kendry Morales- NL - 21 - 82 - NL - NL - 577 NL = Not Listed * Not bad being that Morales got a $3 million signing bonus ... * Seems like he was the MVP of the Cuban BBall league in "2002" ...

Michel Abreu maybe?

Don't know if anyone posted this but, here you go ... Michel Abreu defected from Cuba 18 months ago with endless expectations. He figured he would gain residency status in Mexico, perform in a tryout camp for 30 major league teams and sign a lucrative contract to play first base in the United States. But Abreu's path from defecting to agreeing in principle to a $425,000 signing bonus with the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday was more circuitous. Abreu bounced between agents and sacrificed two years of his career for that modest bonus. He also had to live in two countries as he chased a contract in the United States. Abreu, one of Cuba's best power hitters, could compete for a spot on Boston's 25-man roster in 2006. Bart Hernandez, an agent who recently tried in vain to represent Abreu, said Abreu defected by boat in February 2004. Bill Rego, another agent, took Abreu to Mexico to establish residency. When a defector does that, he is not subject to the amateur draft and can negotiate a contract with any major league team. For instance, the Yankees outbid Boston to sign the Cuban pitcher Jos? Contreras to a four-year, $32 million deal in 2002. That prompted Larry Lucchino, the Red Sox president, to refer to the Yankees as the evil empire. The Yankees also signed pitcher Orlando Hern?ndez, another defector, to a four-year, $6.6 million contract in 1998. First baseman Kendry Morales, who is regarded as one of the best Cuban prospects ever, received a $3 million signing bonus from the Angels this season. Morales hit over .300 at Class AA Arkansas. But some players who defect do not sign with a team, or sign and never reach the majors. Abreu spent several months in Mexico and could not get the documentation necessary to become a resident, so he relocated to Costa Rica. He parted ways with Rego and, after waiting some more, acquired the proper paperwork to become a resident of Costa Rica, where Bernie McGregor became his representative. John Boggs, an agent, negotiated the signing bonus with the Red Sox. Some baseball executives involved in pursuing international players said it was not uncommon for players to switch agents. That annoys teams because the progress made with one representative usually vanishes when that person is replaced. Roberto Gonz?lez Echevarr?a, a professor at Yale who is an expert on Cuban baseball, said defectors often ended up languishing in other countries while they awaited the documentation to pursue a career in the United States. Gonz?lez Echevarr?a said teams had also become more cautious about signing Cubans. "The market for Cuban players has dropped precipitously in the wake of Contreras's poor performance with the Yankees," he said. "The Yankees gave him all that money to keep him away from the Red Sox, and then they didn't have patience with him." Contreras was supposed to be a dominant pitcher for the Yankees, but he had a fragile psyche and was mostly an enigma. He was 15-7 with a 4.64 earned run average before the Yankees traded him to the Chicago White Sox last season. What made Contreras's stint particularly galling to the Yankees is that he was dreadful against the Red Sox, with an 0-4 record and a 16.43 E.R.A. Abreu, who is listed as 6 feet 3 inches and 220 pounds, made his debut with the Cuban national team in 1999. While the Red Sox have David Ortiz under contract for next season, he is essentially a designated hitter and rarely plays first base. Kevin Millar and John Olerud, Boston's primary first basemen, are not signed for 2006, so Abreu, 26, could be given a chance to play first next season. General Manager Theo Epstein refused to comment on Abreu. But Craig Shipley, a special assistant to Epstein who specializes in international scouting, has scouted Abreu for more than a year. The Red Sox gave Abreu a Tuesday deadline to accept their offer. Abreu, who had been hoping for a bigger bonus, did not know if another team would come after him, so he agreed in principle with Boston, ending a long journey from Cuba to the United States. Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/sports/baseball/08cuban.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1126225898-fVmfmRtVZr4n85IylehZqw * Possible 1B in 2006? :dunno: Btw, can anybody find any stats on this guy?

According to Baseball America ...

Interview: Interview: An 6-foot 3-inch 215-pound righthander from Aurora, Illinois, Michael Bowden was the 47th overall selection in the 2005 draft. Taken by the Red Sox as a supplemental pick after the first round as compensation for Derek Lowe signing with the Dodgers, the 18-year-old Bowden was rated by Baseball America as having the third-best breaking ball among high school pitchers. We talked to Mike about his curveball, his favorite Norman Rockwell cover, and a notable Mother's Day gift. RSN: You started your professional career in the Gulf Coast League, going six scoreless innings in four games. Why didn't you pitch more than that? MB: I probably overthrew a bit in high school, and my MRI showed a little inflammation. I also had a pretty long break before signing, and the Red Sox had me doing some strengthening before they even let me get on the mound. Then I had two more weeks on the throwing program before I pitched in a game. And even before the MRI, I was told that I wouldn't be going more than two innings at a time. My arm feels good, but I guess they wanted to be cautious. RSN: Overuse is always a concern when drafting pitchers. How much of a concern do you feel there should be with you? MB: I threw a lot of innings, but I was never abused. I’d say I threw over 100 pitches in a game twice…maybe three times. The most I ever went in a game was around 115. I think my arm is healthy. RSN: Your Baseball America draft bio said your delivery is a little unorthodox. What were they referring to? MB: I've never really had a pitching coach, and have always just gone with what feels natural…what feels best. Unorthodox seems a bit…oh, man, I don't know. I throw over the top, but I guess I'm not smooth. I'm a little herky-jerky, but personally, it's been working. Some people say a few tweaks might increase my velocity. But so far they haven't changed anything. They're just making a few suggestions and letting me be me. RSN: You're known for having an excellent curveball. What can you tell us about that? MB: I really just started throwing it this year. It's a 12-to-6…a hard, fast-breaking curve. Sometimes I muscle it up too much, trying to throw it too hard. That causes it to break into the dirt, which I'm trying to keep from doing. I'm also trying to tighten it up a little. Still, Goose Gregson, the pitching coordinator here, told me that maybe five guys in the big leagues have a curve like mine. That makes me feel pretty good. RSN: You didn't throw it before this season? MB: I started throwing it going into my senior year. Before that I threw a slider and change-up. RSN: Do you still throw a slider? MB: I do, although I haven't thrown it down here. I think it's pretty tight, and it has a good break. It's not on a straight plane. I do drop my arm-slot a little with it, but I have a lot of confidence in it and used it as an out pitch before I started throwing the curve. You know, it seems like everyone has been going to the slider the last few years. The curve is becoming kind of a lost art. RSN: What about your change-up? MB: That's been an out pitch for me, too. It's kind of a modified circle-change, and works well off of my fastball. RSN: How would you describe your fastball, including velocity? MB: I throw it between 91 and 93, and have hit 95. I throw both a 2 and a 4-seamer, and get a pretty late cut on it. RSN: Do you see yourself as a starter only, or could you imagine becoming a closer some day? Do you have what people refer to as a closer's mentality? MB: I've been asked that, and sure…I'm up to anything. As for the mentality, oh yeah…I'd fit that perfectly. I've always looked at myself as a starter with a closer's mentality. RSN: Are you aggressive on the mound, thinking "I can blow this guy away," or are you more cerebral, thinking, "He did this last time, so now I want to…"? MB: I'm not a finesse guy, but it's never just blow it by someone. It's all about pitching. Hitting spots is more important, and fortunately I'm usually able to hit them while throwing pretty hard. RSN: What is your opinion on radar guns? MB: They don't really matter to me. Whether you're throwing 80 or 90, an out is an out. I don't ever come off the mound and ask how hard I was throwing. RSN: You're said to be very athletic. What positions did you play when you weren't pitching, and how much will you miss hitting? MB: My senior year, I played everything but second base, catcher, and centerfield. Wherever they needed me…that's where I played. As for hitting, yeah, I'm going to miss it. I hit .500 with seven home runs, so I've been pretty good with the bat. I'm honored to play for the Red Sox, but I'd have loved going to a National League team so I could still hit. RSN: Did you grow up rooting for the Cubs, or were you a White Sox fan? MB: The Cubs. I'll watch the Sox when they're on, but it's the Cubs for me. RSN: Any opinions on Steve Bartman? MB: Bartman. Man, they beat him up so much. But I don't blame him for what happened. Plus, everybody would have done the same thing. People shouldn't kid themselves by saying they wouldn't reach for a foul ball into the stands. RSN: Did you play other sports in high school? MB: I played football until I was a sophomore, but stopped for baseball. I also played basketball -- I was a forward -- and was the second leading scorer on the team. Our leading scorer was pretty good. He went to Northern Iowa on a full scholarship. RSN: I read a story about you regarding Mother's Day and a driveway -- one that could have impacted your standing in the draft. Tell us about that. MB: We live down a gravel road, and it had a lot of potholes. My mom always has us do chores on Sunday, so we decided to fill them. It took all day, and I didn't realize how much work it would be. I was still sore on Tuesday for my next game, and my velocity was way down. That really hurt me a lot, because the scouts didn't know what was up. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to show them more after that game. RSN: The Red Sox have a reputation of going after predominantly college players. Were you surprised when they drafted you? MB: As the season progressed, they showed a lot of interest. They gave me some pretty good hints that they were after me, so no, I wasn't surprised. I told friends that it would probably be the Red Sox. As a matter of fact, there's this Norman Rockwell picture of three Red Sox rookies walking into the clubhouse carrying suitcases. A couple of my friends got me a picture of it, with "Bowden" written on one of the suitcases. RSN: Are you aware of the Cubs’ having had any interest in you? MB: I pretty much knew it wouldn't be the Cubs because of where they were drafting. They picked too high in the first round, and then I probably wasn't going to last until their next pick. So no, I knew they weren't going to be taking me. RSN: In a perfect case scenario, who do you make your Major League debut against? MB: I'm facing the Yankees. That's where it's at. RSN: You're pitching in the Gulf Coast League, which consists of noon games in the Florida sun with almost no fans. Today, in the last regular season game, you clinched a playoff berth. What was that like? MB: It's kind of…well, every day it's kind of repetitive down here. But today, with the playoffs on the line, there was a lot of energy on the bench. It was nice to see, because it's always more fun when you're playing for something. RSN: Two more. Tell us something about yourself that most of don't know. MB: I can sing along to anything, but it's not something I'll do in public. I pretty much have stage fright unless I'm on the mound. I can pitch in front of thousands of people, but I can't give a speech in class. RSN: Last one: Has it really hit you yet that you're playing professional baseball? MB: I think so. But where it will really hit me is once I'm in Fenway Park. I haven't been there yet, but I did get to go into the clubhouse and on the field when the Red Sox were at Wrigley Field. The team brought me down there, and I got to meet a lot of the guys. I talked to Theo for a long time, and also met Damon, Millar, Tek, Ortiz...a few others. Ortiz called me a big guy. Man, that was pretty funny, having him say that. It was an awesome experience just to be there. Link: http://www.redsoxnation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=17834&

http://www.soxprospects.com/players/images/michaelbowden.jpg Age: 19 Born: September 9, 1986 Aurora, Ill Height: 6-3 Weight: 215 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 1st round, 2005 How Acquired: Draft High School: Waubonsie Valley HS (Ill) ETA: 2009 According to soxprospects.com: He didn't pitch much this year but here are his stats ... Name W L ERA G GS CG SHO GF SV TBF IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG BK WP HB M Bowden 1 0 0.00 3 1 0 0 0 0 19 4.0 4 0 0 0 3 7 .267 0 0 0

Does anybody have Anibal Sanchez?

I'll take Micheal Bowden & Andrew Pickney... I claim Felix Doubront for next year also, if he's pitching in the GCL that is ......

I agree, Millar deserves the mins now, BY TIME! Whatever happened to Pentagine tho? guy was on fire ...

I heard he has a very good FB and a very good cutter but that he needs to work on his curve. Anybody actually seen him pitch & is his curve really that bad?

Not for nothing but I agree, lets drop it ... =D

yeah, but how is > "not for nothing"

Ortiz will retire as the best bosox slugger ever, GIVE HIM HIS MONEY HENRY!!!!!

Italian..? LOL... this coming from a guy that typed " get the f*** outta here" ...lmfao!!!! :thumbsup: ok, whatever you say 4th Gotti kid ...

Smh, you guys need to get out more, go visit Mrs Vagina or something...

Thank you... RED!! I rest my case .....

LOL... can't I have my own opinion ? Anyways, Foulke did ok, lets all remember that the chisox are not known for their offense ...

First of all let me state that theo has done a wonderful job drafting pitchers ( Pap, Hansen,Bucholz,bowden etc ..) but why doesn't he draft POWER? Besides, Soto, Eagan & probably Blade who else do we have? :dunno:

I agree with Jimmy on this one, i was gonna add Demitri to my list with Olerud on the bench ... Just thought Huff might be a little cheaper after the yr he had that's all ...

I am your 10 year old brother, you better stop touching me there before I tell mom!!!!!!! :stop:

LOL... how the all mighty have fallen, bet you the Nats sign him ...

Omg, I can't believe that you're questioning my baseball knowledge yet you don't know who Daisuke Matsuzaka is...LOL@ YOU! About Wells, SD & Boston had trade talks involving him, mueller & trot, now for who idk ... About Trot, yep, I would upgrade in RF, SHAME ON ME! but like know that he's very loved in beantown I would let you keep him LMFAO! Lighten up guy, really ... About Wake, he'd be my long reliever/6th starter, blame me for wanting to upgrade at every postion, Wake = Perfect for the pen in my opinion & I'd make him s SP because we all know Schill might be done. About Wagner, here we go again, Theo wanted to get him when he was in Houston so I bet Theo go hard after the guy, being that he also tried to get him this summer..REMEMBER!?!?! About the name calling, their just names..lol...

I stand corrected, but his own brother did say that craig was a SP in highschool... Btw, 7 shut out innings in that start correct?

Do you even know who that japanese pitcher is? Go google his name & then talk s*** f*** face... About Trot, wouldn't you want a RF that's actually healthy? Wouldn't you want a RF that can actually hit lefties?