On the same day that I took his uncle to the Brazoswood and Pearland high school playoff game at The University of Houston's baseball field, I found out that my cousin Lance Broadway had been traded. I have followed closely Lance's professional career the past few years after he was the 15th pick in the first round of the 2005 major league baseball draft by the Chicago White Sox. Gary Broadway, the younger brother of Lance's father Lynn Broadway, attended the high school game in Houston with me, my sons Brian and Bret, my wife Peggy and Brian's fiance Tiffanie. Gary had not heard the news of his nephew's trade either.
Brian informed us while we were dining on barbecue at the Pappas restaurant near the UofH campus prior to the start of Game 1 of B'wood and Pearland's best-of-three series last Thursday night. The winner of the series, pitting a pair of Brazoria County 5A elite baseball teams, would advance to the state tournament in Austin. Brazoswood came up on the short end of a 1-0 pitching duel in the Thursday night game we attended. Then Pearland edged the Bucs 11-8 in Game 2 Saturday to advance while eliminating Brazoswood from the playoffs.
"Are you still going to follow the White Sox as closely as you have been?" Brian asked me at the barbecue restaurant. I didn't know what he meant by that question. So my son responded to my quizzical look by telling me that Lance Broadway had been traded to the New York Mets a few days prior to our dining venture. I had not heard but was not shocked. A couple weeks ago rumors were flying that the White Sox were going to trade four players to the San Diego Padres for former Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy. Brian had sent me a text message then when he heard about the possible four-for-one trade on ESPN, speculating whether our cousin would be involved in the trade. Peavy, who has a no-trade clause in his Padres' contract, eventually vetoed the trade to the White Sox.
Lance, a 6'3", 200-pound right hander who had begun the 2009 season pitching for the AAA Charlotte Knights, had pitched in eight games for the White Sox following his late April recall from the minor leagues, all in relief. He was 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA for Chicago, having struck out nine batters while also walking nine and giving up 19 hits and nine earned runs in 16 innings of work on the mound for the White Sox.
Lance, 25, was swapped to the Mets on May 29, 2009, for veteran catcher Ramon Castro, 33, who will now backup White Sox starting catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Castro was hitting .253 for the Mets with three home runs and 11 RBI's.
The Mets optioned my cousin Lance to AAA Buffalo where he will pitch until an opportunity arises for him to return to the big leagues later this season. He pitched for the White Sox in their final game at old Yankee Stadium last September, striking out Alex Rodriguez looking with runners in scoring position to retire the side in a game that was televised nationwide on WGN-TV out of Chicago. Now Lance should have the opportunity to pitch in "The Big Apple" for New York City's National League entry, the Mets.
To view a videoclip on the Internet of Lance Broadway go to http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=473560 and double-click with the left mouse button on the box that reads "Mets trade Ramon Castro for righty Lance Broadway."
No comments:
Post a Comment