Clay Buchholz's Demise Continues

Remember when Clay Bucholdz (left) threw a no-hitter in his second career start? Ya, me neither. The one-time phenom was sent down to Double A Portland after a terribly disappointing one-month stint in the big leagues. The demotion of the 24-year old Buchholz was a startling act from the Red Sox, who suffer from a starting rotation that is quickly becoming paper-thin. The final straw came against the same team that he threw his epic no-hitter against - the Orioles. This time around, Baltimore wasn’t so kind, putting up five runs on Buchholz in 2 2/3 innings. His latest loss makes him 0-7 in his last nine starts, a streak that started all the way back in May.

Amid all the life-without-Manny talk since the trading deadline, Boston’s glaring weakness has become its pitching, both in the bullpen and the starting rotation. Ever since Jason Bay was acquired, the guy’s been on a tear offensively, putting up comparable numbers to what Manny would have done. In a little over two weeks of service for the defending champs, Bay is hitting .347 with 4 home runs and 18 RBI. Even with those tremendous numbers, he will continue to be scrutinized just because of the man he’s replacing. The team’s pitching, however, hasn’t been as impressive, but hasn’t been sufficiently criticized. Who could forget last week’s 19-17 slugfest against the Rangers last week where Boston nearly blew a 10-0 first-inning lead? Charlie Zink was making his first career start that night, but still couldn’t handle that much run support. The Red Sox pulled a deaf ear on that one because they pulled the W; lately, with Buchholz, there haven’t been many wins to divert his sub-par pitching.. It’s gotten that bad for the Red Sox.

Ace Josh Beckett has been nothing like his postseason self of 2007 where he proved that he might be the guy in baseball you would turn to win Game 7 of a World Series. His dominant form has been missing this year as his 11-9 record and 4.34 ERA suggest. He’s shown flashes of dominant form throughout the year, but has allowed five or more earned runs in six starts. That’s far too often for the team’s supposed ace and perennial Cy Young contender. It’s been difficult all year long GM Theo Epstein and Jim Francona to find a reliable five-man rotation that works, especially with Curt Schilling being MIA throughout. It’s gotten so bad that Epstein hopelessly searched the waiver wire and plucked Paul Byrd from thin air. His 7-11 record, 4.55 ERA, and pitiful 56 K’s reek of desperation from a team looking for a fifth starter, or middle-reliever for October.

Buchholz was supposed to be the guy to step into that role, at least for now, where he could pitch meaningful games before he would inevitably become one of the team’s go-to guys in the rotation. His fellow no hitting, but cancer-surviving, and World Series clinching counterpart Jon Lester (right) has taken that position right from under him by winning 13 games so far in 2008. Lester has become everything Buchholz was expected to be, but with a little less hype. He’s been nothing short of spectacular this season, leading Red Sox in innings pitched (167.2) and ERA (3.17). Since Buchholz’s no-hitter on September 1st of last year, Lester has won Game 4 of last year’s Fall Classic, pitched his own no-hitter, and become Boston’s solid number three starter behind Beckett and Dice-K . Dice-K has been terrific this season; he and Lester are the sole reasons the starting rotation has put Boston at the top of the wildcard standings.

Throughout Buchholz’s ordeal over the last three months, the Red Sox have been very patient with him. He’s been offered numerous opportunities to reassert himself in the big leagues, but he’s failed miserably each time. Before being sent to the DL in May with a broken fingernail, Buchholz had a 5.53 ERA and his team was 2-6 in his starts. Despite this, he took the ball every fifth day until he got injured. Since returning from the minors on July 11, it’s gotten worse. Buchholz has personally taken the loss on five of his seven starts, sitting at 2-9 for the year. During that time, Boston has lost three games on the surging Rays, who are starting to take the drama out of the AL East race,

It would be in the best interest of the Red Sox to shut down Buchholz for the rest of the season. Epstein and Francona have given the kid numerous chances to earn his spot on the roster, and he’s proved to a devastating detriment. The Red Sox are good enough to win the wildcard without Buchholz. They thought with Buchholz, it would allow them to overtake Tampa Bay, earn a division title, and be in good position for a repeat. Those dreams are quickly fading away, and the Red Sox should just try to move on for now.