When Clay Buchholz is healthy he has proven to be nearly unstoppable in 2013. The trick is staying healthy.
Jun 12, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz (11) in the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Buchholz’ neck strain and earlier AC joint inflammation simply won’t go away and it looks like a trip to the DL and some rehabbing might be required to get Boston’s pitcher with one of the best records in baseball straight.
Buchholz starts have pushed back from Friday, to Sunday to Tuesday and now that milestone appears to be in jeopardy. In particular, Buchholz has been battling an issue with his trapezius muscle on his throwing side.
“Clay threw today (Saturday) and feels a little bit better than he did yesterday,” Boston manager John Farrell told MLB.com’s Jeff Seidel, “but not to the point where he’s going to throw a bullpen [session] tomorrow. We do have the benefit of the off-day [Monday] where we can keep guys on turn with Felix [Doubront] going on Tuesday, [Ryan] Dempster on Wednesday and stay on turn from there. Right now, we haven’t announced the other starter for Tuesday.”
Buchholz indicated after throwing that it’s only about the trapezius muscle and not the AC joint problem he previously had which started the downward spiral.
Tuesday’s up in the air posture could open the door for another Alfredo Aceves spot start.