Super Bowl III. Tyson-Holyfield. Magic vs. Bird. Ali-Frazier. Buchholz vs. the Blue Jays.
OK, so maybe the last one doesn’t exactly fit, but given the way Clay Buchholz’s start on Friday night is being treated around Boston, you might be confused.
After all, it’s hard to remember too many starts which carried as much hype. There was Daisuke Matsuzaka’s debut in Kansas City in April of 2007. There was the first showdown between Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens
at Fenway Park. There were, naturally, bigger starts in bigger spots,
but it’s been a while since such importance was placed on an otherwise
meaningless start.
The reason is because for Buchholz, and potentially the future of the Red Sox, it’s far from meaningless.
Buchholz stands to be either a future top-of-the-rotation starter
for the Red Sox or a key component to a blockbuster trade. Any way you
slice it, the Red Sox of the upcoming decade go through Buchholz.
But regardless of where Buchholz ultimately ends up, his fate
cannot, should not and will not be determined based on his results in
Toronto on Friday.
The start will be more than 500 miles away from Fenway, but Buchholz
will be feeling the millions of eyes of Red Sox fans staring through the glass of their
TV sets, which will serve as their crystal balls for the evening.
An endless number of events could happen. For one, Buchholz could
get shelled. A two-inning, seven-earned-run performance in the Rogers
Centre wouldn’t exactly have the Sox’ clubhouse attendants clearing the
space for Roy Halladay’s locker.
Then again, the 24-year-old could dominate. He could go eight strong
innings, striking out a dozen Jays without allowing a run, bridging the
gap to Jonathan Papelbon, who could close out a
memorable 1-0 win. Hey, maybe the kid could even go the distance and
collect his second no-hitter in just his 19th start in the bigs. The
Buchholz jersey tee, which was greatly surpassed by that of Jacoby Ellsbury,
would once again become popular on Yawkey Way. Little League pitchers
all across New England would start wearing six necklaces during starts,
drawing inspiration from the Texas native.
Or, the more likely event could happen. He could just be OK. Six innings, three runs, five hits, four strikeouts, two walks.
What then?
Nothing. Nothing at all. That is the point. By 10:15 on Friday
night, the future won’t be set, no trade will be made and no World
Series will be won. What could be won is a game. What could be gained
is some experience — good or bad. What will happen is Buchholz
returning to Triple-A, his proverbial “bone” having been thrown and
subsequently caught.
That being said, the start in and of itself will be exciting.
Everyone has heard how well he’s done with Pawtucket. Everyone has seen
the stats (7-2, 2.36 ERA) and read about how close Buchholz came to a
perfect game. Now it’s time to see it live, to see whether or not the
same pitch that strikes out Bobby Nobody on a Wednesday night in
Louisville can retire Scott Rolen or Alex Rios.
Will all eyes of Red Sox Nation be fixed squarely on the back of No.
61? Yes. But one start does not make a career, and one start certainly
does not determine the fate of a franchise.
