Buchholz to AA Portland

[Boston Boxer]

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

think his season in the majors is over for this year?

[Evangelion]

Since he return from the DL, he's been dreadful.

I don't believe we'll see him again this season. He might get the call in a couple of weeks, but I doubt it. He needs to work on his issues in the minor leagues.

[Dogdaze]

I think this demotion is long over due. I think the Sox kept him up longer then they should have and tried changing his mechanics too much which didn't work so imo has caused his confidence to be shaken. But going to Portland as opposed to Pawtuket is the right move at this point.

And I believe the Sea Dogs pitching coach Mike Cather, who has worked with Clay in the past can help him regain his confidence and will be able to help him improve his mechanics to produce a quality command of his pitches. Weve seen the talent in Buchholz last year, so I'm sure with some hard work and a renewed confidence, Buchholz will be back up with the Sox next year and hopefully pick up where he left off in 2007.

[hellborn]

Young pitchers will usually break your heart...not an original thought of mine, I assure you.
The Bosox should be able to find somebody who can do better than an earned run per inning. What's up with Colon? Is he done for the year? Maybe Hank Steinbrenner was right about the NL needing to "grow up"...
:cap:

[maximum jack]

What's up with Colon? Is he done for the year?

This story from the Boston Herald is about a week old:

Bartolo Colon Takes His Time On Road Back (http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/2008_08_15_Bartolo_Colon_takes_his_time_on_road_ba ck/srvc=home&position=also)

[rwolfe09]

Wakefield will take Clay's spot in the rotation. They don't need a five starter for a couple days because of the off days on Thursday and Tuesday..Timmy Wake will be ready by then. I know we will see Buchholz again this year..in September but with how he performs in the next few weeks is what he will be doing. Either pitching out of the bullpen or starting for Boston.

[Imgran]

I know we will see Buchholz again this year..in September

I'm not so sure. When a guy gets sent to AA with weeks left before callups I begin to doubt he can recover from the disgrace in time..

[rwolfe09]

It's being reported all over. The only reason he got sent to AA is because he has had much success with the Sea Dogs' pitching coach. All the media outlets are reporting that Buchholz's performance over the next few weeks will decide if he's a starter or reliever this September/postseason.

From BostonDirtDogs/Rotoworld - "Red Sox optioned RHP Clay Buchholz to Double-A Portland.
The Red Sox likely would have skipped his next start anyway, and with the minor league season ending in a week and a half, the team wants him to have a couple of chances to gain some confidence. He'll be back in September, but might not rejoin Boston's rotation."

From ESPN/Boston Globe - "Buchholz, who has struggled in his last several starts including Wednesday night, was demoted to Double-A Portland where he will work with Portland pitching coach Mike Cather, reports the Boston Globe. (Aug 21)"

[MudvilleMike]

I know we will see Buchholz again this year..in September

I hope not, and I doubt it. I think the best case scenario is that he can return next year. What we've seen this year is light years away from a MLB pitcher. He has so much talent that he was given every opportunity (far too many) to get on track. I can't see allowing him to squander any more games this season.

[rwolfe09]

If anything I believe he will be in the bullpen. Everyone sees the AA move as him being thrown out. They sent him to AA because of the pitching coach there. All they need to do is rebuild his confidence and clear his mind. They need Buchholz as much as they need him not to collapse and ruin his career. His mind is pretty much clay (no pun intended) and they need to mold him into something good but with no confidence that building a superstar wont do much.

[riredsox]

I think he might be the Billy Rohr of this decade-you know, Rohr came 1 strike away from a no-hitter in his 1st start, then won only 2 games after that.

[MudvilleMike]

I think he might be the Billy Rohr of this decade-you know, Rohr came 1 strike away from a no-hitter in his 1st start, then won only 2 games after that.


He's the biggest disappointment of the season, but I sitll think he could be an excellent pitcher. I hope he can stay in the minors until the middle of next year to fully sort out his problem. We know he's capable of being great. I don't want to give up on him, but I also really wouldn't want him screwing things up this season. I don't think we have much room for error this season.

[rwolfe09]

BUCHHOLZ UPDATE
From Boston.com
PORTLAND, Maine -- Clay Buchholz pitched seven innings for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs tonight against the New Britain Rock Cats. Save for one rough inning, he looked like the Buchholz of old (at this level) anyway. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, struck out eight Rock Cats and didn't walk any.

Buchholz threw 93 pitches, 69 for strikes, and capped his night with a nifty coverage play at first base. He left the game with a lead, but did not get the win after the Rock Cats rallied for two runs in the eighth and pulled out a 6-5 victory.

Buchholz was quite pleased with the way he threw, and the way he felt.

"I felt really good," Buchholz said. "There were a lot of mechanical things that I've been thinking about, that I didn't try to think about (tonight). I went back to what I did last year when I was here. They seemed to work real well for me. So I tried to revert back to that a little bit."

He said his next start will probably come on Saturday. He also said he's prepared himself to stay in Portland for the rest of the season.

[sharrock]

BUCHHOLZ UPDATE
From Boston.com
PORTLAND, Maine -- Clay Buchholz pitched seven innings for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs tonight against the New Britain Rock Cats. Save for one rough inning, he looked like the Buchholz of old (at this level) anyway. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, struck out eight Rock Cats and didn't walk any.



Boston.com's attempt to put a positive spin on this is just stupid. Should we be happy that Bucholz gave up 4 runs in 7 innings at AA? I don't think so. The rest of this year is him getting his head on straight, certainly he should dominate AA.

Now, he is very young and I don't knock him too much if he regressed. But I'm sure he was far less excited about his performance than Boston.com was. I hope he forces his way into the big clubs rotation next season... until then its just statistical updates.

(No negativity toward the poster, just the article's odd tone.)

[Tyrus4189Cobb]

Buchholz has good pitches, he just can't control them. Until he finds a way to do so, he won't be seeing much light from the Majors.

[rwolfe09]

Boston.com's attempt to put a positive spin on this is just stupid. Should we be happy that Bucholz gave up 4 runs in 7 innings at AA? I don't think so. The rest of this year is him getting his head on straight, certainly he should dominate AA.

Now, he is very young and I don't knock him too much if he regressed. But I'm sure he was far less excited about his performance than Boston.com was. I hope he forces his way into the big clubs rotation next season... until then its just statistical updates.

(No negativity toward the poster, just the article's odd tone.)

Before I posted the Boston.com article I thought the same thing. I was like..why are they excited about four runs against people who (mostly) have about much talent that Buchholz has in pinky. I mean it shouldn't be hard for him to dominate. They are just trying to give RSN hope.

[efin98]

Before I posted the Boston.com article I thought the same thing. I was like..why are they excited about four runs against people who (mostly) have about much talent that Buchholz has in pinky. I mean it shouldn't be hard for him to dominate. They are just trying to give RSN hope.

Making things sound good is good for their investment(they own 19% or so of the team ;))

Anyway, compared with his previous outings anything like that line is an improvement for him, despite being against a AA team...