Did we know this?

So I’m at the Rolling Rally last October with KellyO and Cindy. At some point we all begin to lament the absence of Clay Buchholz. Sure he missed out on the post season, but he gave the team two really important wins. He deserved to be at the Rolling Rally and he wasn’t. And we were bummed.

But, apparently, we were WRONG.

Buchholz, who threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox last September in just his second major league start, lives close to Fenway Park. Ideally, with the Sox scheduled for a day off, he could have taken in the Banner 17 festivities. But Buchholz isn’t pitching for the parent club these days. He’s back in Triple-A Pawtucket, so he had to get out of Dodge before the rolling rally put him behind schedule for that night’s 7:05 game against the Columbus Clippers.

Pity that he missed Green Day (the party, not the band), but Buchholz could guess what it was like.

Adoring crowds. Fist-pumps. A trophy.

He saw it all a few months ago. Despite having been shut down for the season in late September because of a “tired arm,” Buchholz was in a Duck Boat with outfielder/cult hero Jacoby Ellsbury and Ellsbury’s girlfriend when the Red Sox were feted for their 2007 World Series sweep of the Rockies.

The best part of that spectacle? “Just seeing how into the Red Sox everybody is,” Buchholz said. “There were probably a million people on the streets.”

He was on the same duck as Jacoby and no one noticed this? How the hell did we miss it?

I’ve Googled every version of “Clay Buchholz” “Rolling Rally” “Red Sox Parade” that I can think of and have found NADA. So what’s the deal?

Is Clay making this up? Was he hiding on the Duck Boat? Why am I up at 1am wondering about this? Does anyone out there have any photographic evidence that he was there? I just don’t buy it. How the hell could we ALL miss him?

EDITED TO ADD: KellyO Shares with me this link to a blurb by Rob Bradford from February 2008:

He noted that he was actually at AP while watching the Sox clinch the World Series and during the parade.

So either Clay is now “misremembering” or the writer of  the initial piece I quoted (Hello, Eric McHugh) misrepresented what Clay said.  I have now officially spent too much time thinking about this (and am probably not done!).

Since I’m talking about Clay, he starts tonight against Brian Burres and the Baltimore Orioles. I seem to be one of the few, outside the team, who thinks he’ll be able to do something good. Kick ass, Clay, and shut people up.

In that piece about Clay, there’s a quote from Kyle from before he went to Florida (I’m guessing). I like that he’s outwardly supportive of his teammates. He seems like he’s quite the good teammate. Yes, I will hold to my own view of Kyle being a really good guy until someone comes and rips that one to shreds. I never learn. If I can have ONE let it be Kyle, okay? Maybe Kyle is the only guy in baseball I choose to follow who won’t turn out to be a dick? (Okay, give me Timlin too. Can I have two of them? Two out of all of MLB aren’t dicks. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)

Photo of Kyle at the Rolling Rally from “Flickr”. His sticker doesn’t lie. 🙂 Yanks lost tonight; Rays lost tonight; Sox are a game and a half out of first place with a real shot at taking the position back by the All Star Break. Here’s hoping!