Let the Penny vs. Buchholz Controversy Begin
We have two pitchers, both with good stuff, and both with their fair share of problems. One is older, out of shape, and relies too heavily on his fastball. The other is young and promising, but displays what could be viewed as an abysmal lack of confidence. Pick your poison.
Clay Buchholz was conjuring up memories of 2008 with a performance that the WEEI crowd might call “gutless” but I’ll simply refer to as “poor”. Luckily, the baseball gods were in a generous mood, as a Jose Contreras error allowed the Sox to post a 6-run inning in the third.
"Ow. There goes my fibula. And my tibia. And my clavicle. And my scapula. And my femur. And my patella. And my metatarsals. And my....ass bone."
The error itself was just very fortunate. David Ortiz was apparently conceding the out as he slowly cruised down the first base line after weakly tapping a 3-0 pitch to the mound, but lo and behold, he apparently found an extra gear and increased his running speed two-fold after seeing Contrares boot the ball. Yes, Papi’s initial approach is what some might refer to as (GASP) not hustling. Let’s just be grateful that he doesn’t wear dreadlocks, or all hell would be breaking loose right now.
Hey, it’s another ugly win, but I’ll take it. With the Rangers and Yankees playing each other, I found myself in an emotional dilemma for about 2.5 seconds, and then quietly decided that I will be happy if the Rangers lose the majority of those games. The Sox can separate themselves from Texas in these next few weeks, which could make September a little less miserable for us all.
Next up – we’ll take a look at some promising news from minor league rehab land.
I’ll take Buchholz over Penny. He isn’t in his prime yet, and Penny is long past his, which was nothing to brag about anyway.
Right now I’m wanting to see Bard given a shot in the starting rotation. He’s got better control than most pichers with his caliber fastball, so if he has the stamina for a starting role he’ll be a big-time winner. Only one way to find out if he does have (or can develop) the stamina. IMO.