12/22/24
September 02, 2007
Red Sox rookie twirls no-hitter in just his 2nd American League start: Clay Buchholz walks 3, hits one, but shuts down Orioles for MLB's 3rd no-hitter of the season.
posted by tommytrump to baseball at 02:54 AM - 37 comments
No Red Sox rookie has ever thrown a no-hitter. Varitek has now caught three no-hitters. Pedroia made a ridiculous play. I was at the game when he made his pitching debut a couple weeks ago and was impressed. It was then that I fully realized why everyone wanted him as part of a trade package. Not a bad compensation pick for Pedro.
posted by jerseygirl at 08:12 AM on September 02, 2007
Yeah, Pedroia keeps doing what he's doing, he'll be a legend with Sox Nation. Still, what Bucholz did would have been pretty spectacular even without without Dustin's play. This makes me feel a lot better coming off the sweep at Yankee Stadium. I didn't fear a collapse as much as I did going into the postseason in a funk, but this kid definitely gave them an infusion of good vibes today. Screw Johnny Damon. And that Varitek stat is crazy. Talk about luck.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 08:15 AM on September 02, 2007
Only the 3rd guy since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his 1st or 2nd start (according to the NYT)
posted by kokaku at 09:16 AM on September 02, 2007
I don't know much about baseball. What are the requirements for a Gold Glove? I have watched the Red Sox play and it seems that Pedroia and Crisp should get one at the end of the season if they do not start making excessive errors.
posted by Cave_Man at 09:32 AM on September 02, 2007
A gold glove is given to the best defensive player at a position in their league. If anyone deserves a gold glove it's youk with his errorless streak at first. He may not make many astounding plays, but his streak is not luck.
posted by lucky23pjq at 10:46 AM on September 02, 2007
Congratulations to Mr. Buchholz. Coming on the opening Saturday of college football, this achievement seems to be mentioned almost as an afterthought. A stealth no-hitter. Could be the best thing possible for him in the long term.
posted by Newbie Walker at 01:37 PM on September 02, 2007
I'm watching the Red Sox telecast on NESN as I type. Believe it or not, the announcers were saying that there were plans to pull Buchholz, no-hitter notwithstanding, if he exceeded a certain pitch count. There is speculation that Jason Varitek was planning to remove Terry Francona's arm if he reached for the ball. Francona himself says that if the orders had come down to relieve Buchholz, he would have told Theo Epstein to come down and do it himself. I spent the last few innings of the game in front of the TV screaming at my wife, any voice on TV, and my 4 cats not to even think about what was going on. Did anyone else notice that Joe West hesitated just a fraction longer than usual of a second on the out call after the final out? I think he might have been playing with the crowd just a bit.
posted by Howard_T at 01:54 PM on September 02, 2007
And that Varitek stat is crazy. Talk about luck. You think so? I'd say the man knows how to call a game like few others.
posted by Venicemenace at 01:59 PM on September 02, 2007
Please chalk the preceding comment up to blatant homerism. The game was awesome, I'm still feeling the excitement.
posted by Venicemenace at 02:21 PM on September 02, 2007
I caught it in the 5th inning and noticed the no hitter. Didn't really give it a chance at all until he got into the seventh, but as soon as Pedroia made his play I knew he had a chance. The line drive in the ninth really looked like trouble, but it held up. He got lucky a few times, but most no hit games have an element of luck. He also struck out 9, so he was dealing. Awesome game and I was proud for him. Both the red sox and yankees seem to be building staffs out of their farm systems now. That could prove to be trouble for the rest of the league as that leaves more money to go after position/key players.
posted by justgary at 05:08 PM on September 02, 2007
Pedroia made a ridiculous play. You know, if Dustin Pedroia wasn't a midget, that play might not have been as difficult... That said, it was a hell of a play.
posted by grum@work at 08:07 PM on September 02, 2007
Maybe a little homerism but I would say catching one no-hitter is dumb luck, three is a catcher who calls a good game (and a rook who knows enough to throw what he's told, unlike this guy).
posted by kyrilmitch_76 at 08:13 PM on September 02, 2007
You know, if Dustin Pedroia wasn't a midget, that play might not have been as difficult... Actually, I think his being so close to the ground with such tiny arms helped. He gets up and rid of the ball faster than just about anyone I've seen. Here's a good story on Pedroia.
posted by justgary at 09:32 PM on September 02, 2007
Both the red sox and yankees seem to be building staffs out of their farm systems now. From your mouth to God's ear. That's how you're supposed to build a baseball team, dammit.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:23 AM on September 03, 2007
Varitek is now tied with about 100 other catchers for the modern record. Definitely feels like luck though as the Sox hadn't had a no-hitter since 1967 or thereabouts and now have had 3 in 7 years. The fact 'Tek caught ~140 games a year during that period helped him.
posted by yerfatma at 09:03 AM on September 03, 2007
I'd say the man knows how to call a game like few others. Hey, you're preachin' to the choir. I'm a Bosox homer most of my life, but still, at least part of me's chalking it up to a large dose of good fortune.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:24 PM on September 03, 2007
It's not just luck. Jason Varitek has a special bit of voodoo going for him. (Courtesy of Eric Wilbur's Boston Globe blog.)
posted by Howard_T at 03:29 PM on September 03, 2007
Cool article comparing the mechanics of Buchholz and Ian Kennedy. Spoiler alert: he rates Buchholz higher than Kennedy and golden boy Phil Hughes. Ergo, he may well have no idea what he's talking about. When he puts Buchholz over Joba, this will be confirmed.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 10:57 AM on September 05, 2007
Tek is awesome, no doubt about it. Still, being a Red Sox certainly helps stacking up No Hitters. I don't care how amazing he is, if he was a Royal he wouldn't have one.
posted by Slaptastic at 11:33 AM on September 05, 2007
Good article about the scout who found Buchholz.
posted by yerfatma at 11:35 AM on September 05, 2007
Awesome article, Crafty.
posted by yerfatma at 11:40 AM on September 05, 2007
Volvo is the standard issue car of the Red Sox? They're boxy, but they're good. Sunday night I was half-watching a broadcast of the Pawtucket/Scranton-Wilkes Barre game, and Buchholz was all they talked about the entire time. They interviewed the manager, Ron Johnson, the pitching coach, Mike Griffin, and just about anybody else they could find to talk about the kid. It's awesome for the kid how the entire Red Sox organization is so thoroughly excited about him. I can't help wondering if there will be a day in the near future when I see this matchup list: Friday: Chamberlain vs. Papelbon Saturday: Hughes vs. Lester Sunday: Kennedy vs. Buchholz The home-grown roster: what's old is new again.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 12:00 PM on September 05, 2007
I've been (quietly) pretty down on Lester this year, but Francona or Epstein recently pointed out he's lost a couple years of development. I hope he's a solid top-of-the-rotation starter for years, but the jury's definitely out (or, in my case, back in with a verdict of Too Many Baserunners and Not Enough Out Pitches*). And I don't know that Papelbon is ever coming back to the rotation. * Not that he needs another out pitch, but that he needs to throw whatever out pitch he's supposed to possess on a basis regular enough for me to consider said pitch an out pitch. "quietly down" because it would be the mark of my less sensitive local brethren to openly denigrate a guy coming back from cancer.
posted by yerfatma at 01:00 PM on September 05, 2007
Interestingly enough, Buchholz was passed over by plenty of teams due to his involvement in school of stealing and selling laptops. 29 of 'em. Makes Maurice Williams look like an amateur. He seems good. Hughes seems good. Chamberlain has moved to fast to be for real yet. Let's not start engraving their plaques just yet. I look at the game McGowan pitched two months ago against the Rockies and minus the one hit he gave up, his performance was shatteringly more dominant than Buchholz and against a better hitting team. It's amazing what the flukey nature of a no-hitter equates to. It's not really evidence of any degree of actual greatness (coughBudSmithcough). Not raining on anyone's parade, but, um, ..... I can't finish this sentence.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:38 PM on September 05, 2007
Funny, it didn't look like rain when I left this morning. Crafty, I can see how you'd think it would be great to be the center of Red Sox Nation's world; while I'm sure it's wicked cool, that sword cuts both ways, just like it does in your team's market. Just ask Johnny Damon or Roger Clemens. I was going to use J.D. Drew or Wily Mo Pena, but neither one of them were actually the apple of anybody's eye while they were here. What's that? Drew's still here? WTF?
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:12 PM on September 05, 2007
Weedy, see my link above. Sox fans aren't unaware of Clay's quick hands.
posted by yerfatma at 04:41 PM on September 05, 2007
No the Sox fans aren't unaware. I just wonder if they care. I personally don't - kid steals some laptops - but it is interesting the way this is a footnote to Buchholz' burgeoning career, whereas Williams is still answering questions. There are other factors to be sure (UConn, College, etc.), but it's worth noting. That is a helluva change up. Sucker moves.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:08 PM on September 05, 2007
Don't you get it: Clay is white, therefore when he says he's realized the error of his ways, it's true.
posted by yerfatma at 08:09 PM on September 05, 2007
Ahhhhhh..... But of course! I have been quite silly. I will now go slap myself upside the head with a can of creamed corn. No really - I've earned it.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:39 PM on September 05, 2007
Great job by Buchholz. Only the 3rd guy since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his 1st or 2nd start (according to the NYT) Earlier this season, Phil Hughes carried a no-hitter straight into a hamstring injury in his second big league start.
posted by edverb at 09:52 PM on September 05, 2007
I look at the game McGowan pitched two months ago against the Rockies and minus the one hit he gave up, his performance was shatteringly more dominant than Buchholz and against a better hitting team. I didn't see the Mcgowan game, so by what measure? A better hitting team, sure (.276 to .271), but neither is the yankees. McGowan gave up less walks, but that's not really a dominating stat. Buchholz gave up one less hit and had 2 more strike outs. I don't see more dominant, I definitely don't see "shatteringly" at all. No the Sox fans aren't unaware. I just wonder if they care. Well, that questions a little unfair. Sox fans? Would yankee fans care? Would blue jay fans care? Any team's fans? Nope. As far as paying for it, I'd say he has. He left school, teams passed over him despite his talent. It's 3 years later and almost every story about his no hitter also includes his theft of the laptops, this thread included. It's gonna follow him. Sure, the inequalities your referring to exist, but it's not Buchholz's job to correct them.
posted by justgary at 12:39 AM on September 06, 2007
That article you posted was awesome crafty. Too bad there are not more like that one. Buchholtz has one nasty ass change up, I definitely don't want to be the one trying to hit that pitch.
posted by jojomfd1 at 01:04 AM on September 06, 2007
Crafty, I just got around to reading the Gomez article you posted. It is excellent stuff, and should be read by anyone who would try to understand pitching. I disagree with a couple of things Gomez said. First of all, he says that it would be a good thing for both pitchers to speed up their respective deliveries to get a little more velocity on the fast ball. I feel that top speed is greatly overrated. It is far more important to properly locate the fast ball than it is to try to just blow it by a hitter. If location means sacrificing 3 or 4 mph, then so be it. Also, the difference in velocity between the fastball and changeup is paramount in determining the effectiveness of the off-speed pitch. Gomez says that Buchholz throws at around 90 - 92, with the change coming in at about 79. That is more than enough to cause a lot of hitters to be ill on the day Buchholz pitches. My second point of disagreement comes over the three-quarter vs overhand delivery. As Gomez says, the three-quarter pitcher has to work inside and out, while the overhand pitcher works top and bottom. The big difference in effectiveness here has to do with umpiring. It is very difficult for someone in a dugout to tell whether or not an umpire is squeezing the width of the strike zone, but the whole park can see when a pitch is within the vertical limits of the zone. Too, when a pitch is moving laterally toward a corner, it is a lot harder to judge, particularly toward the outside corner. Therefore, most umpires seem to be more consistent in their vertical calls than in their lateral, and a pitcher whose ball does not move laterally as much as another's is likely to get the benefit of a more consistent, and possibly slightly larger, strike zone.
posted by Howard_T at 12:04 PM on September 06, 2007
Howard, on your first point, I would say first that Gomez assumed all other things being equal -- that speeding up the delivery wouldn't cause a drop in their ability to locate the pitch. If the mechanics are right, speeding up the mechanics shouldn't do anything more than speed up the ball. I am totally on board with you that location and mixing speeds are more important than overall power, but if I have two pitchers with equally good location and stuff and one tops out at 94 and the other at 92, I'm going to take the 94 guy. It's not a huge difference, but it is a difference. On your second point, my experience has been that if you are a side-to-side pitcher the strike zone will naturally widen (and, more specifically, it will be generous on the side of the plate that is furthest from the shoulder of the catcher over which the umpire is planted) -- unless the pitcher or catcher grouse too much, and then it shrinks. I will meekly back this up with evidence from the oft-abused overhead camera that supposedly shows where the ball crosses the plate. Unless that camera lens is 17 inches wide there is no way that angle can be perfectly true, but even so I see many, many more pitches off the black that get called strikes than pitches on the black that get called balls (ask Chipper Jones how wide a strike zone is today). Up and down pitchers benefit from the ump that calls that bottom of the bottom of the knee strike, but (and I agree with you here) for the most part they're going to get the strike zone as it is. If they get a larger zone, it's probably because they're fooling the umpire, too.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 12:44 PM on September 06, 2007
Clay lost the no-hit streak tonight but did manage to pitch a Bill Lee perfect inning. Bases loaded with no one out, no runs scored.
posted by yerfatma at 08:25 PM on September 06, 2007
He still looks very impressive.
posted by justgary at 10:55 PM on September 06, 2007
I have rewatched every out about three times and all I can say is thanks Dustin.