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Abe Alvarez Featured

Alvarez is the realMcCoy for PawSox

By Maureen Mullen, ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - He is just 22 years old and not only the owner of a World Series championship ring, but also a trivia answer for good measure. Not a bad start for someone who has just one full season of professional baseball on his resume.

But Pawtucket Red Sox lefthander Abe Alvarez wants to be sure it is only a beginning.

"I got really lucky to get one of those (World Series rings) already," said Alvarez, soft-spoken and polite. "Some guys play their whole lives and don't get a ring and I already got one. But, hopefully, I'll make it more."

Alvarez was Boston's second-round pick (49th overall) in the 2003 draft out of Long Beach State University where he assembled a 23-5 record with a 2.56 ERA in three seasons and was twice named Big West Conference pitcher of the year.

One of the organization's top prospects, the California native was named Double-A Portland's pitcher of the year last season, compiling a record of 10-9 with 3.59 ERA, 108 strikeouts over 135 1-3 innings, and a strikeouts-to-walks ratio of 3.38.

Baseball America, in its organizational preseason rankings, had him ninth, calling him "the most advanced pitching prospect in the organization."

For Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson, who also managed Alvarez last season in Portland, Alvarez is a manager's favorite kind of ballplayer.

"Abe's the kind of guy, he just really blends in," Johnson said. "You really don't even know he's on the ballclub except for every five days when he takes the ball. He's kind of a manager's dream."

Alvarez, who is on the Red Sox's 40-man roster, got his World Series ring by virtue of a spot start for Boston in July, when he was called up from Portland to help a depleted pitching corps. It was a situation that could have hurt the self-confidence of a young pitcher, but the Red Sox believed if any pitcher in the organization could handle the pressure, it was Alvarez.

"We knew he wasn't there to stay," General Manager Theo Epstein said earlier this spring. "We just thought he was the right guy for that one game. We were kind of in a bind and actually thought it might be good for his development.

"Abe's a rare minor league prospect that doesn't cause us to worry at all about his mental development. He's as polished a guy as we've seen from a mental standpoint.

He's got unbelievable composure on the mound. He's very well prepared."

In that July start, the first game of a doubleheader with the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, Alvarez was tagged with an 8-3 loss as he went five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits, including two home runs, and five walks, while striking out two.

"I just tried to take it in," Alvarez said earlier this spring. "You get a taste and say this is the big leagues and you want to get back fast. But you have to realize it's not going to be that easy to get back, and it's not easy to stay there. It's a big deal so now it's just learning more."

Alvarez (2-1, 3.90), began this season with Triple-A Pawtucket and got off to a rough start. In his first outing, he went four innings, giving up six runs on four hits, two home runs, and two walks, while striking out two. He was not involved in the decision as the PawSox lost to Indianapolis, 7-6.

Since then, he has made four starts, allowing seven runs on 18 hits while striking out 15 over 23 2/3 innings. Alvarez has not allowed a walk since that first start.

"I think it's going very, very well," Griffin said of Alvarez's early returns. "I've been very pleased. In his first outing he struggled a little bit only for the reason he was a little rusty. It was his first outing of the season, and his last two games in Fort Myers before he had his first start were rained out. So we had to take him to the cage and get in a simulated game in the cage.

"He was little bit out of rhythm his first outing but after that he's been, for me, lights out, vintage Abe Alvarez. Mixes and matches, changes speeds, and has done a very good job so far.

"I don't know (if he's performed) better than I (expected) because there's always room for improvement. I'm just very happy that he's pitching well right at the beginning of the season. You always want everybody to start off the season well and right now he has. But as far as right now am I surprised? No. Am I pleased with what he's done so far? No question."

One of the first things an observer will notice about Alvarez as he pitches is his hat, tilted askew to the left. It's not a fashion statement - or any other statement, for that matter. Alvarez is legally blind in his left eye. Wearing his hat like that helps to shield the glare from his right eye.

"I have T-ball pictures of me wearing it like that," said Alvarez, who was born with an infection in his left eye. He believes he may have started wearing his hat like that subconsciously, to shield his right eye, and that it became a habit.

"It feels comfortable. I never really thought about it. I've just always put it on this way. As a little kid, you don't even think about how you wear your hat you just put it on."

He has heard what some people say, speculating that he wears it to make a statement, but doesn't pay any heed.

"It doesn't bother me," he said. "People say what they say. But you're still going to be yourself and go about your business."

Alvarez wears clear glasses when he pitches, but does not use prescription glasses or contacts.

"I had glasses as a kid with a really thick lens on (the left) side, but it was just a bigger blur," he said. "And I had a contact for one year, but it was just a waste of money and a waste of time. Now, I just wear these (he points to the clear sports glasses) because my eye doctor said it's better when I'm on the field to just protect my eyes.

"I just had the infection in (my left) eye, but I have like eagle vision in (my right) eye. It's like 20-16. I'm blessed with one eye."

Alvarez does not possess a blazing fastball. A 'crafty lefty' control pitcher with command of all his pitches, his fastball, which is in the 84-88 mile-per-hour range, is complemented by a curve ball and changeup.

"I think right now all of them are working well, all three - his fastball, curve ball, changeup," Griffin said. "He's using his fastball on both sides of the plate very well. He's using his curve ball to get some first-pitch strikes, and he's getting outs with his changeup. So now, I just hope that can continue for the rest of the summer. I'm knocking on wood. I think he will."

There are also a few things Alvarez will be working on.

"His strengths are his command, his deception, his ability to change speed and hit spots," Epstein said. "He has a really good idea of how to attack different kinds of hitters. Areas we'd like to see him improve are his breaking ball a little bit.

"We talked to him about maybe adding a cut fastball to get in a little on righties. And he's learning to readjust once hitters, as good as big-league hitters are, learn to adjust to him."

With Boston pitchers Curt Schilling and David Wells being placed on the disabled list last week, Alvarez was among those mentioned as potential call-ups. He didn't get the call this time, but Griffin believes Alvarez will be ready when that call comes.

"I think he can handle it, there's no question he can handle it," Griffin said. "Then again, those higher to be will make the call and we'll go from there."

Oh, the trivia questions? Take your pick:

- Who was the only lefthanded pitcher to start for the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox?

- Who was the youngest Red Sox pitcher (21 years, 9 months, 5 days) to make his major league debut since Jeff Sellers (21 years, 4 months, 4 days) in 1985?

- Or, who was Epstein's first draft pick to reach the major league?

Honest, it's Abe Alvarez.