It seems like everyone has always had criticism for Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox starting pitcher. Whether they point out his young age, his height, the unworthy hype he receives, or anything else, people are always ready to point out his flaws.
Lately, Buccholz has been more than solid. Just this past week, he started in Toronto against the always intimidating Roy Halladay. This was a very difficult match-up for Buchholz, and anyone following the game would have expected Halladay to out-pitch him.
But Buchholz continued to be unfazed by all of it and put up his third-straight solid start, going six innings and allowing just one run on six hits on 94 pitches for the win while Halladay looked like the inexperienced one (five innings, eight hits, four earned runs, 103 pitches). He's learning on the job and despite going up against the other team's best, Buchholz continues to send a message to anyone that will listen that he has earned his spot.
This was a great start against the Blue Jays, and adds to the list of recent impressive starts we've seen the young pitcher put together. His last three match-ups have all been extremely difficult ones, as we've seen him pitted up against CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, and Roy Halladay in consecutive starts. His starts against the Yankees and Tigers were on the same level as the start against Halladay, as he allowed just one and two earned runs respectively in these.
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.
Incidentally, Buchholz was the subject of many rumors leading up to the trade deadline. It's very well possible that these rumors had a real impact on his performance, which is when his struggles essentially took place.
Don't let the haters fool you: Buchholz is for real and this three-start trial by fire against three of the AL's best shouldn't be overlooked. Those that say he isn't pitching well should explain what their criteria is, because from everything I'm seeing, this is exactly what you should expect from a top prospect with 25 career starts pitching for one of the highest-profile and most covered teams in sports.
The Red Sox are sorely in need of a reliable starting pitcher. With Matsuzaka and Wakefield sidelined, and Smoltz back down in the minors, there couldn't be a better time for Buchholz to establish himself as a steady hand in Boston's rotation.
Lately, Buccholz has been more than solid. Just this past week, he started in Toronto against the always intimidating Roy Halladay. This was a very difficult match-up for Buchholz, and anyone following the game would have expected Halladay to out-pitch him.
But Buchholz continued to be unfazed by all of it and put up his third-straight solid start, going six innings and allowing just one run on six hits on 94 pitches for the win while Halladay looked like the inexperienced one (five innings, eight hits, four earned runs, 103 pitches). He's learning on the job and despite going up against the other team's best, Buchholz continues to send a message to anyone that will listen that he has earned his spot.
This was a great start against the Blue Jays, and adds to the list of recent impressive starts we've seen the young pitcher put together. His last three match-ups have all been extremely difficult ones, as we've seen him pitted up against CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, and Roy Halladay in consecutive starts. His starts against the Yankees and Tigers were on the same level as the start against Halladay, as he allowed just one and two earned runs respectively in these.
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.
Incidentally, Buchholz was the subject of many rumors leading up to the trade deadline. It's very well possible that these rumors had a real impact on his performance, which is when his struggles essentially took place.
Don't let the haters fool you: Buchholz is for real and this three-start trial by fire against three of the AL's best shouldn't be overlooked. Those that say he isn't pitching well should explain what their criteria is, because from everything I'm seeing, this is exactly what you should expect from a top prospect with 25 career starts pitching for one of the highest-profile and most covered teams in sports.
The Red Sox are sorely in need of a reliable starting pitcher. With Matsuzaka and Wakefield sidelined, and Smoltz back down in the minors, there couldn't be a better time for Buchholz to establish himself as a steady hand in Boston's rotation.
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