 Michael Bowden – waiting patiently. Photo taken by Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.net in April 2009 and used with permission. |
Well he didn’t get to pitch last night but Clay Buchholz still has everyone talking about him. Well done, Clay, well done.
Clay told NECN’s Mike Giardi that he wanted to pitch in the bigs, whether it was for Boston or another team. The nerve, huh?
Do I think maybe it would have served him better to say the things Michael Bowden did? Sure. Everyone wants to hear “Id rather stay in the minors an extra year or so to play with Boston, and to play in Boston at Fenway, with that group of guys.†instead of “If not that team, then I want be in the big leagues and I do want to go where I’ll be able to play and go and pitch every fifth day.â€. But, really, the bottom line seems to be that both pitchers want to play – and isn’t that what you want to hear? Don’t you want your players to be eager to jump into the fray? I sure as heck do. Is there a small part of me that would have preferred Clay to use all the cliches you learn when dealing with the media? I suppose. But I agree with those who think it’s refreshing that the kid isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. He didn’t disrespect anyone or insult anyone he just told Giardi how he felt and where his mind is at right now. I don’t have much of a problem with that. (NESN’s headline “Bowden willing to wait longer than Buchholz” killed me. Bowden’s younger than Buchholz and has less time in the bigs. It would make sense that he’s more patient. Not too hard to figure that out, NESN.)
The biggest disappointment yesterday regarding Clay was that the PawSox game got rained out. Sure, they’ll play a double-header today but NESN won’t be airing it so many folks will miss getting to see what all the hub-bub is about.
I don’t think I’ve made a secret of how I feel about Buchholz. When he finally comes up with the big team he’ll be on my list of “favorites”. Getting to see his first two MLB appearances – including the no-hitter – has made me quite fond of the kid. But I’m willing to wait as long as it takes (though I really hope it isn’t that long) for him to make his return.
Regarding another pitcher: Ian Browne reminds us that Jonathan Papelbon is quietly coming up on breaking the Red Sox all-time saves record held by Bob Stanley. At 129 career saves, Papelbon needs three more to tie and that extra one to go ahead of Bigfoot. As Browne points out, how amazing is it that Stanley did it over the course of thirteen seasons in MLB and Papelbon will do it before he’s even through his fourth season in the league? Papelbon might make me bite my nails down to the quick…but there’s no denying how impressive he is on the mound.
The Florida Marlins are in town! The last time they were here, they began the series by losing25-8. The losing pitcher? Carl Pavano. Even more amusing? The winning pitcher was Byung-Hyun Kim. Tonight, Tim Wakefield takes the mound against Chris Volstad. That same kind of run support would be greatly appreciated fellas!