Red Sox players who are painful to watch
By Rick McNair
Jul 10, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz (11) pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Clay Buchholz is just terrible to witness as a pitcher. Excruciatingly slow when totally unnecessary. Watching Buchholz is like having a tooth extracted without Novocaine.
The idea is relatively simple for a pitcher. Get the ball. Look for sign. Throw the ball. A simple procedure that is a 1-2-3 step. Simple for a Wade Miley, a notorious fast worker, but for Buchholz? Ouch!
The various pitching coaches that have dealt with Buchholz have routinely worked on his “pacing.” That is a polite pitching term for tossing the ball in a reasonable amount of time. With Buchholz on the mound I bring my Kindle to the game. If by some pitching miracle he goes deep into the game I can get half a book in. Hey, Clay, Rule 8.04!
Frustrating to watch when a slow is matched up with another slow. There are numbers on this and Buchholz was one of the slowest. Traipsing around the bump while he waits for the cowhide on the ball to ripen. Maybe this all goes back to Josh Beckett? Beckett was notoriously slow and Buchholz somewhat idolized Beckett – so just maybe?
The Red Sox also have a fast worker in Justin Masterson. Based on Masterson’s 2015 performance it might be a good idea for him to hold the ball until the next ice age.
Meanwhile, I’ll just wait for Mark Buehrle to pitch.