Clay Buchholz threw 30 pitches Saturday at Fenway Park in his first bullpen session in over two months.
Although he was not throwing with everything he had, the righty said he felt fine and remains on track to achieve one of his few remaining goals.
"My thought process hasn't ever been pitching in the regular season. I want to be back for the playoffs," Buchholz said. "So if we work up to that point and I feel good enough to pitch in that last series, then I don't see why not. My whole goal was to pitch in the playoffs and get to the playoffs and try to help this team win."
Buchholz has been on the disabled list since the middle of June. Once a stress fracture in his back was discovered, he was given an outside chance of rejoining the club at some point. His methodical, calculated and successful program has made that a possibility. And for a team lean on pitching, such a return could prove incredibly important.
However, that won't be in the rotation. Buchholz feels he will not have enough time to get ready to start, but do not discount his ability to get some big outs as a reliever in October.
"If the team thinks I can help them in a different role, then I'll do it," he said of performing out of the bullpen. "If not, then I don't want to make the team worse."
That's been the drumbeat all along. The team, and Buchholz, wanted to make every effort to get him back in a game at some point, but never at the expense of the team’s present or the pitcher's future.
"[Playing this year is] the goal, but only if it's supposed to be," manager Terry Francona said after Buchholz's session. "Again, just want to caution that we haven't pulled the plug on the season and Clay's done a terrific job. We'll see."
Buchholz thinks he will need about two more bullpen sessions. There may also be a need for a simulated game along the way. Much of the routine will be mapped out once the team sees how he recovers from Saturday's session. Also, the Sox want to get past the nuttiness of Monday's doubleheader against Baltimore before taking that next step.
