Say what you will about Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz, but he's heard it all before: he's too immature, he's too skinny, he's not ready for this level of play, he's not worth the hype.
This past Wednesday, having taken the mound for just the 7th time in 2009, he faced off against Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in baseball. This was a game that mattered very much, and the Blue Jays were favored to win it.
Buchholz defied the odds and looked like the star this time around. Pitching six innings, he allowed just one earned run and pitched the Sox to victory. Halladay, on the other hand, looked like the inexperienced pitcher here, allowing 4 runs in 5 innings.
While Buchholz's performance against Halladay is obviously impressive, the two starts before this one were nearly as difficult. One was against CC Sabathia of the Yankees. During this game, Buccholz only allowed two earned runs in six innings pitched. The other one was against Justin Verlander of the Tigers, in which case Buchholz surrendered just one earned run in seven innings pitched. Simply put, he's been solid.
While there have been struggles - namely a horrendous outing against Baltimore before this stretch of quality starts - Buchholz (2-3, 3.99 ERA) has been pitching well enough to keep his spot until Tim Wakefield and/or Daisuke Matsusaka returns and deserves credit for filling a hole left by John Smoltz's abysmal run in a Red Sox uniform.
There is no coincidence this is happening since the July 31st trading deadline has passed, a deadline where his name was brought up regularly for weeks leading up. Now that he is assured he's staying with the Red Sox the rest of this season, Buchholz knows this is his time to prove he belongs and he's taking full advantage of it.
Each time he takes the mound, Buchholz is looking more and more like a future force to be reckoned with. He's maturing before our very eyes at the young age of 25, and it should be a pleasure to see him develop from here.
The Red Sox have been the center of attention regarding pitching concerns. Suddenly, with Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, and Buchholz there to fill a gap, things aren't looking all that bad.
This past Wednesday, having taken the mound for just the 7th time in 2009, he faced off against Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in baseball. This was a game that mattered very much, and the Blue Jays were favored to win it.
Buchholz defied the odds and looked like the star this time around. Pitching six innings, he allowed just one earned run and pitched the Sox to victory. Halladay, on the other hand, looked like the inexperienced pitcher here, allowing 4 runs in 5 innings.
While Buchholz's performance against Halladay is obviously impressive, the two starts before this one were nearly as difficult. One was against CC Sabathia of the Yankees. During this game, Buccholz only allowed two earned runs in six innings pitched. The other one was against Justin Verlander of the Tigers, in which case Buchholz surrendered just one earned run in seven innings pitched. Simply put, he's been solid.
While there have been struggles - namely a horrendous outing against Baltimore before this stretch of quality starts - Buchholz (2-3, 3.99 ERA) has been pitching well enough to keep his spot until Tim Wakefield and/or Daisuke Matsusaka returns and deserves credit for filling a hole left by John Smoltz's abysmal run in a Red Sox uniform.
There is no coincidence this is happening since the July 31st trading deadline has passed, a deadline where his name was brought up regularly for weeks leading up. Now that he is assured he's staying with the Red Sox the rest of this season, Buchholz knows this is his time to prove he belongs and he's taking full advantage of it.
Each time he takes the mound, Buchholz is looking more and more like a future force to be reckoned with. He's maturing before our very eyes at the young age of 25, and it should be a pleasure to see him develop from here.
The Red Sox have been the center of attention regarding pitching concerns. Suddenly, with Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, and Buchholz there to fill a gap, things aren't looking all that bad.
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