Sox Notes: Gabbard gets the call; Beck passes away

Gabbard gets the nod over Jon Lester to replace Schilling
The Red Sox announced that Pawtucket starter Kason Gabbard will start in Curt Schilling's place tomorrow night in Seattle.

Gabbard is no stranger to the big club, having made four starts for them last season and one earlier this year when Josh Beckett went on the DL. He pitched five innings and allowed six hits and two earned runs in a win against Atlanta on May 20th.

The decision means that Jon Lester will not make his 2007 debut tomorrow despite speculation that the righty, who has been feverishly rehabbing from cancer treatments, would get the call.

But Tito and the front office are still riding the "he's not quite ready" blah blah blah bullshit train, so Gabbard it is, at least this time.

The promotion means someone will have to be sent down, and though most assume it will be the recently recalled outfielder David Murphy (it's so appropriate that Boston have a 'Murph' on the team, isn't it?), today's Globe reports that Manny Delcarmen could be the one on the PawSox express.

Either way it looks like RSN will have to wait at least one more week for the return of Jon Lester to the mound; perhaps they just want him to make his season premiere at Fenway.

Ex-Sox reliever Rod "Shooter" Beck dead at age 38
The well-liked and well-traveled Rod beck passed away late Saturday night at his Arizona home from undetermined causes.

The man known to for his cool nickname, "Shooter", and his bushy mustache, Beck was one of the top closers in the game during the '90s, compiling 238 career saves including a Giants record 48 in 1989 and a league high 51 for the Cubs in 1998.

But by the time he got to Boston in 2000 he was a shell of his former self as injuries and substance abuse, namely alcohol dependency, made him half the pitcher he once was. Beck appeared in 102 games for the Sox in 2000-2001 primarily as a setup man, amassing six saves and an ERA of 3.62.

Although one of his most (in) famous moments in a Boston uniform came when he allowed a homer run to Bernie Williams in the 1999 ALCS, Beck was the type of guy who never drew the ire of the fans, and even if he did he was the type of guy who didn't give a shit about it anyway.

Because it wasn't his stats or his 'stache that made him the beloved man he was; former teammates and opponents alike have been heaping praise on Beck for being a self-proclaimed everyman pitcher, a guy who famously parked his RV outside a minor league Iowa ball field and invited fans & neighbors to come on over for beers and steaks after the games.

Tim Wakefield, who described himself as one of Beck's closest friends while he was with Boston, said in the Globe that he "was absolutely floored" when he heard the news and that he's "had a hard time dealing with it all day."

Jason Varitek, another former teammate, had this to say: "He absolutely loved the game. He loved competing. He was there early, there late. He was great at what he did. He was a good person and a good person to be around."

R.I.P, Shooter

You were one of the last of a vanishing breed-the unspoiled, old school ballplayer.