The Boston Red Sox began their series on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays by celebrating Star Wars Night at Fenway Park. Children and adults alike showed up in costume on what broadcaster Don Orsillo described as the most beautiful night Boston had seen all season. Yes, the Red Sox had just suffered a sweep at the hands of the Yankees, but this was a chance for a new start, especially with the team’s ace Clay Buchholz on the mound. Buchholz retired the first two batters he faced in quick succession before, But before fans could even grasp what had happened, the game took a turn for the worse.
James Loney sent a sinking line drive into left field. Hanley Ramirez, the team’s home run leader and so far their best hitter (as well as a recent convert to the outfield) chased down the fly ball before crashing into the wall in foul territory. The ball came popping out of Hanley’s glove before the left fielder fell to the ground clutching his shoulder. Any Red Sox fan who has watched Buchholz’s career closely over the last eight years could have predicted what would happen next. Evan Longoria doubled and the slumping David DeJesus singled into right field, giving the Rays a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. The Red Sox went from having a 1-2-3 inning, to having a two-run deficit and their best hitter walking off the field with a sprained shoulder.
However grim Hanley’s injury may have seemed in the moment, his shoulder will most likely heal without him even taking a trip to the disabled list. Clay Buchholz, on the other hand, may be a different story. The thirty-year-old is the club’s longest tenured starter and self-proclaimed ace, but since the beginning of 2014 he is 3-10 at Fenway Park with an ERA over 6. That means only a select group of Red Sox fans have been fortunate enough to witness the team’s number one starter secure a win in his home ballpark. Those in attendance Monday night were not among those lucky few.
Giving up two runs in the 1st inning is not a particularly troubling sign, especially since (after giving up two more in the 2nd inning) Buchholz was able to settle down and pitch into the 7th. The problem is the starter’s inability to close out the inning after Hanley’s unfortunate injury. Few people will question Buchholz’s raw talent and ability as a pitcher. However it is his mentality that seems to have led to his career being defined by inconsistency and frustration.
Before the season, Curt Schilling said of Buchholz that he did not believe his former teammate wanted to be an ace. Schilling said, “I think there’s a level of commitment mentally and physically you have to have … losing has to hurt so bad that you do whatever you can do to make sure it never happens again … Clay is just kind of, ‘Hey, I’m going to pitch today.'” To have the most talented teammate at your position that you have ever played with say that you do not have the mental fortitude to be the number one starter in a mediocre rotation is incredibly damning, and so far Clay Buchholz has done nothing to prove Schilling wrong.
Buchholz has pitched a no-hitter and is a two-time World Series champion. Yet unless he can begin to consistently turn in quality starts on the mound, he will merely be remembered as a blip on the radar of Red Sox history. This is because the righty has never led the staff, never been the clutch performer that carried his team over the hump. When the Red Sox have found postseason success, it was due to starters like Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, while both times Buchholz has turned in non-memorable playoff performances (no decisions with an ERA over 4). He tends to pitch well only when the circumstances make it easy for his outing to go smoothly. The Red Sox are en route to winning the AL East? Clay will post a 1.74 ERA. The two difficult seasons surrounding that? 4.56 and 5.34. Most other years? Injuries. It appears as though the only consistent aspect of Clay Buchholz’s career has been his inconsistency.
The frustration Red Sox fans feel comes not only as a result of the pitcher’s unpredictable numbers, but also from his inability to stay on the mound. Buchholz is 30 years old and has yet to make 30 starts in a season, while Mark Buehrle has made at least 30 starts every year since Buchholz has been in the league. If Clay wants Boston fans to have faith that he can carry the rotation into the postseason in 2015, he needs to make sure he can carry himself out to the mound every fifth day. There is still time for Buchholz to rewrite the story that is told about him, to force fans to remember the impressive stats he can put up and the big wins he has earned for his team. However, he also needs to realize that the clock is ticking, and judging by how painfully slowly he continues to work with runners on base, he is in no rush to change anything
When Boston’s best hitter slammed into the wall on Monday night and went hobbling off the field, they needed their best pitcher to close the door on the Rays. Instead, he left it wide open and earned his third home loss of the young season. This performance, along with his reliably unreliable seasons of late, spell trouble for the Red Sox’s shaky starting rotation.
Before the season began, Clay Buchholz had T-shirts made for each member of the rotation that said “He’s the ace,” and one reserved for the starter each day that said “I’m the ace.” But Buchholz may have been better off keeping the “I’m the ace shirt” for himself and wearing it until he actually started to believe it.