Which came as no surprise to PawSox manager Ron Johnson.
“You have to be impressed with a young man who goes up and does that and has the history that he has,” Johnson said. “He has been told and told and it’s been brought up to him by every media person that’s come through here and has made the comment of, ‘Oh, this guy could pitch for any other team in the big leagues.’
“He has handled it so maturely. His answers have been correct. And by him going up and doing his job, which has been the focus of Clay Buchholz all year, has professionalized him, engaged in the point maturity-wise. He looks at it like a professional day at work. But he went to Toronto, he did that, he helped that team win that game and then he got his stuff together and he got back. He’s doing his work to prepare for his next start. That’s what I like to see.”
For Buchholz, who turns 25 Aug. 14, his history has been well chronicled. From his no-hitter against the Orioles in his second big league start, Sept. 1, 2007, to his struggles last season, posting a record of 2-9 with a 6.75 ERA before being exiled to Double-A Portland in August, to his stellar performance this spring training – when he went 2-0 (2.52) in six starts with 19 strikeouts against four walks in 25 innings – but was passed over for the big league team in favor of Brad Penny.
His last big league win came May 2, 2008, against the Rays. After that, he recorded seven straight losses in 10 starts before being sent to Portland. The Sox went 1-9 in those games.
In 17 starts with the PawSox this season, he is 7-2 (2.36) with a ratio of 0.89 walks and hits per innings pitched, .188 opponents’ average, and 89 strikeouts against 30 walks in 99 innings.
All of that has gone into making Buchholz the pitcher who earned the start in Toronto Friday.
“He was excited. He wasn’t surprised,” said Johnson, who gave Buchholz the news of the promotion after the PawSox’ July 12 game, their last game before the All-Star break. “But every part of it was impressive because he handled it the way you can only hope he would and the way you try to, in his particular case, the way we have tried to get his mind on how it’s more than just ability. It’s a mindset. It’s the way you carry yourself. It’s a thought process. It’s a feeling you get. Which all leads to confidence which allows you to pitch good — 17 of 24 first-pitch strikes, fastballs pounding the zone, right from the start the other night.
“To me, that’s exciting stuff. That’s good to see. It’s not one where a guy goes up and pitches good and all of a sudden crawls back here licking his wounds, ‘Oh, man, I got [shafted].’ You don’t see that.”
Buchholz went 5 2/3 innings in Toronto, allowing one run on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts. His next start has not yet been set.
Both Buchholz and Johnson know the young right-hander’s days of dealing with adversity are likely not over. But, that’s baseball.
“It’s about dealing with adversity,” Johnson said. “And when players with quality stuff learn that this game is all about dealing with adversity, and they know that, hey, I may not have my best stuff today but it’s my day to pitch and I need to get my team into the fifth, sixth, seventh inning regardless, then we have a chance. And, he gets that.
“He comes here, he works hard every day. He doesn’t have his head in the big leagues. He’s a good teammate. He gets his [big league] start. He’s back here the next day. I’d like to say, ‘Mission accomplished.’ But, we’re not done yet. But, we’re getting really close.”
