Tonight's other major league debut

Earl

Relief Pitcher, Boston Red Sox

Bats Right, Throws Right Height 6' 0", Weight 174 lb.

Debut August 22, 2006 Born November 9, 1974 in Austin,TX

Signed by the Boston Red Sox as a free agent, 45 minutes prior to game time.

____________________________________________________________

News

Making his major league debut at the age of 31, Earl was called in as an emergency relief starter prior to a late-season series against the Los Anaheim Angeles of Edison Field. His first appearance was in the second inning, relieving Kyle Snyder, with the bases loaded and no outs. He went on to not retire seventeen batters in a row, at which point Francona decided to pull him from the game. As a result, Earl's ERA is now 4th-worst in the Sox bullpen for the month of August.

Scouting Report

Signed largely because of his proximity to Anaheim, and the theory that "he can't be any worse than what we already got", Earl is essentially a junkball pitcher. This is because of his gimpy shoulder, preventing him from throwing harder than 70 mph, and the fact that he doesn't really know what the different pitches are, let alone how to throw them. While he can be terrible against righties, he is merely horrible against lefties, so he may find his new role to be that of set-up man during the Sox's stretch run. Earl's best pitches are the "intentional walk" and the "balk".