Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
It could be argued that the most maligned member of the Boston Red Sox at the start of the season was starting pitcher Clay Buchholz. He has made a career out of being annoyingly inconsistent, and this is the guy who was projected to be the “ace” of the staff.
Well, Buchholz has made some people eat their words. He has pitched extremely well for most of the season. Lately he has pitched to the tune of a 2.28 ERA with 48 strikeouts and 10 walks in his last eight games. His win-loss record is not that impressive, but don’t let that fool you, he has taken the role of the ace and done very well with it.
He reminds me of how he was pitching in 2013, and it is certainly the best he has pitched since that stretch. As a matter of fact, his performance can be considered to be good enough to make the All-Star game.
Throughout his career, Buchholz has always been considered the little brother of the staff. He was always following Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey. He could sort of hide behind those guys and not get noticed. Now that all of those guys are gone, Buchholz is standing alone and he is showing what he is capable of being.
The Red Sox are not even close to where they need to be, but you can’t blame Buchholz for that.
Carter Roane is a Boston Red Sox writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter@CarterGRoane, “Like”him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
