Shoppach Makes the Show

Former Portland Sea Dog Kelly Shoppach was promoted to Boston today, becoming the 112th Sea Dog to make it to the Major Leagues. An EL all-star while with Portland in 2003, Shoppach was hitting 279/392/571-11-28 in 40 games for Pawtucket. The only number that you'd like to see improve is the 43 K's. Ask Mark Bellhorn how much Red Sox fans like strikeouts. Shoppach's stay will likely only be until Doug Mirabelli returns from the DL, but it's a nice step forward for him. Always a stellar defensive catcher, Shoppach had a bit of a rough road with the bat last season. He's come back strong this year and if he can keep it going in the big leagues, he'll be one of the better catchers in the majors. I think that Red Sox fans really like having home-grown players on the team, so I hope the team keeps Shoppach as part of its future plans. Mirabelli is signed through next year, but I don't see him standing in the way of Shoppach's progress. Jason Varitek is still playing terrific baseball, but I think he and Shoppach will be sharing time by 2007.

There may be some domino-effect roster movement that affects the Sea Dogs. I'll try to keep up to date with that.

Meanwhile, I think they might actually play a baseball game tonight!