| 01 March 2009
Clay Buchholz is in a very unique situation this spring. He has a major league no hitter on his resume, but he will likely start the 2009 season in Pawtucket - not as a starter for the Boston Red Sox.
That said, Buchholz is doing all the right things right now. He's showing good command of his fastball, he inducing ground balls and he's keeping runs of the score board.
Last night, "Bucky" threw two scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds, earning three ground outs and a strikeout. As The Globe's Adam Kilgore pointed out, Buchholz has been focusing on staying ahed in the count... and it appears to be working. Bucky also had a 1-2-3 third with two grounders and a strike out in his first outing of the spring.
Buchholz told Kilgore that he's focused on a slower approach to the plate that has made his delivery more smooth and controlled:
"The right term would be under control," he said. "Last year was jerky and jumping towards home plate whenever I was delivering a pitch. This year I've tried to maintain a slow steady movement and make it a little more smooth going through the zone. That has let me ease back instead of being so tense, trying to throw 100 miles-per-hour. I can thrown 91 or 92 and locate the ball a lot better."
He felt smoother with his wind-up and stronger, the product of a more focused winter. "I took advantage of the offseason this year," Buchholz said. Buchholz began "spinning off" after his motion at times during live practice this spring, falling toward first base too much. But he noticed the problem and fixed it himself, an ability he lacked before and appreciates now.
Buchholz also returned to throwing with his arm the angle which he feels most comfortable with. "Definitely," Buchholz said. "It's sort of back to where it was two years ago, three ago, in the minor leagues. That's where it's comfortable to me. It was sort of a discomfort to myself whenever I tried to throw it from a different arm angle. And then I'd go back to the arm angle. It was all mixed up last year. It was a fight to stay where I was at in Boston and not get sent down. That's where the anxiety kicked in, because I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. But yeah, the arm angle is definitely fine by me. I don't see any real problem with it, and that's the way I'm going to keep it."
Bottom Line: I couldn't find the article, but Bucky's new approach sounds very similar to Jon Lester's focus in 2008. Like Buchholz, Lester found himself working too quickly and that made his delivery ineffective. We all know how well Lester performed last season... let's hope Buchholz experiences similar success.
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