PAWTUCKET — Jose Vaquedano got some news he didn't expect Saturday afternoon. He'd need to scrap his plans to go to Newport with his girlfriend this week, because he was headed to the Triple-A All-Star game.

"I was kind of shocked, but happy at the same time," Vaquedano said.

Vaquedano was named as a replacement to the squad today for this Wednesday's game, set for Portland, Ore. Vaquedano will join PawSox closer Fernando Cabrera at the game. Starter Clay Buchholz was also named to the team, but will not attend because he is scheduled to pitch for Pawtucket Sunday.

The sidearming right-hander has a 2.83 ERA in 47 2/3 innings this season. Opposing hitters are batting .194 against him.

Vaquedano is only in his third season of throwing sidearm, and he felt that finally becoming comfortable with that arm angle is the key to his success this year.

"This is my third year of dropping down, so I think I'm really getting comfortable with it," Vaquedano said.

Vaquedano, 28, has also taken a more aggressive approach on the mound, making certain to throw strikes and attack hitters with his fastball, something he often failed to do last season,

"That's the main key, throwing a lot of strikes. Last year, I fell behind in the count a lot, and had to come back with the fastball. But this year I'm mixing all my pitches in,"

He spent a lot of time in winter ball in Puerto Rico working on his approach, and it shows, according to PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur.

"He's matured a lot. It's his second year here, and he knew what to expect coming in. He handled it really well from the get-go. He knew what he had to do," Sauveur said.

This is the first time Vaquedano, a 34th round pick in 2002, has been named to a minor league All-Star team. He's hoping that he actually gets in the game, so he can show off for his parents, watching from their home in San Antonio.

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Pawtucket's record this season would make a math teacher frustrated. The numbers just don't add up.

Pawtucket had been outscored 337-279 going into Saturday night's game. Despite that huge differential, the team entered tonight one game above .500, and they have not dipped below the .500 mark all season.

It's the kind of mark that raises eyebrows, and questions of whether it's luck, or circumstance that has contributed to Pawtucket's .500 record this season.

Much of it lies in how they lose. When they win, they win close. When they lose, they lose big. Pawtucket has lost by 10 or more runs four times this season, and given up double-digit runs six times –– despite owning the league's . If those six games were all 1-0 defeats, the team's run differential would actually be almost even, 264 runs scored against 268 runs allowed.

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Chris Carter has kept the team DJ's busy this season.

The superstitious slugger has changed his walkup music time after time, looking for something that inspires him at the plate.

Most recently, he switched to "Real American," more commonly known as Hulk Hogan's high-energy theme song during his long wrestling career. Its distinctive chorus is known beyond the wrestling world: "I am a real American, fight for the rights of every man, fight for what's right, fight for your life!"

It seemed to pay off. In his first at-bat, Carter flew out to the warning track. In his second, he crushed a home run over the right field wall. It's a good bet he'll be sticking with this one for the moment.

dbarbari@projo.com