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Exit Stage Left
August 21, 2008
Well, I guess it really was a make or break start for Clay Buchholz last night. The right-hander failed to make it out of the third inning in last night's embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Buchholz was touched up for five earned runs through two and a third innings and was handed his seventh loss in his ninth loss of the season and his seventh loss in his last eight starts. Buchholz is 0-7 in his last ten starts and in those 42 innings pitched he has an ERA of 9.21 having given up 43 earned runs in that span. Control has also been an issue for Buchholz as he has walked a total of 27 batters in his last ten appearances and last night threw 60 pitches while only 30 of them were for strikes.
Immediately after the game, Clay Buchholz had been notified that he had been demoted to double-A Portland and had the following to say, "People have tough games. I've had a tough season. Down there is where you develop. Up here it's a pennant race. If you ask if the decision was right, I'd say it was." Sadly, I don't think any Red Sox fan would disagree with this decision either. Clay Buchholz has been lacking a lot on the mound this season, control of his pitches, the ability to go deep into starts and above all, he has lacked confidence.
The decision for Buchholz to be demoted was not only best for the sake of the rotation but for the sake of the bullpen. He has turned himself almost into a guarenteed loss every time he takes the mound and his inability to go deep into games and keep his team in the game itself has been taxing to the Red Sox bullpen every fifth day. Last night, manager Terry Francona had utility infielder Alex Cora warming up in the bullpen just incase. That is just something that no Red Sox fan wants to see and no Red Sox manager wants to have done.
The Red Sox have an off day today and this coming Tuesday so with a little bit of luck, if all goes according to plan, Tim Wakefield could replace the hole left by Clay Buchholz in the fifth slot of the rotation. Buchholz will certainly be working on his mechanics in Portland but his confidence is what needs some fine tuning most desperately. The minor league season is scheduled to end in a little over a week so Buchholz will rejoin the team in September when the rosters expand but do not expect Clay to rejoin this rotation in the 2008 season.
On the injury front, JD Drew is expected to be in Friday night's lineup in Toronto after leaving Sunday's blowout with stiffness in his lower back. Giving Drew the night off last night was a good decision due to the fact that the game was one sided followed by an off day. Expect Drew to be in right field for the series opener in Toronto. Julio Lugo suffered a setback in his rehab process from injuring his quad while running sprints before last night's game. Lugo, who has been out of action since July 11, may likely be out of action for the remainder of the season. Even if he were to return at full health, there was a real good chance that Jed Lowrie would have stayed as the team's starting shortstop and Lugo would have taken on a new role as a backup to Lowrie and a late inning pinch runner if needed.
-Jared Carrabis
-Jared Carrabis
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