Clay Buchholtz hasn't been able to pitch since June after going 9-0 this season while dealding with a shoulder injury and the Boston Red Sox made a move to help strengthen the rotation by adding Jake Peavy.
The former White Sox star will get the start on Saturday against the Diamondbacks at Fenway Park and as all this is going on, Buchholtz has come out to sday that he desperately wants to get back on the field and fired back at reports that he is "weak", saying that all he wants to do is pitch, as he was having a career year when he went down.
The Red Sox are dealing with pitching depth issues after the injury to Buchholz as well as mediocre performance from Ryan Dempster, putting Boston at the top of the list of teams that may deal at the deadline. Buchholtz was 9-0 with a 1.71 ERA when he got hurt and now he is working on getting back to the mound to start for the team.
"The opportunity I've been given, I can't ask for anything more to come to a team in first place with a realistic chance this year of being a world champion, which why we all play the game," Peavy said. "To compete in the postseason would be a dream come true. I know that's what a lot of guys here expect. I expect to do it, and be a contributing factor going forward."
Buchholz has been trying to get back on the mound for the Red Sox and after dealing with a few issues with his shoulder injury, the pitcher and the team decided to get a second opinion from renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews. Buchholz has not pitched since June 8 and has barely been on the mound since late May and he is hoping that a visit to the doctor will get him back to pitching sooner rather than later. Buchholz was set to return to the rotation before the All-Star break, but after feeling some discomfort in his shoulder while throwing in the bullpen, he was shut down again.
Buchholz has been going back and forth with his throwing routine and he has been frustrated with the progress so far and is hoping that a visit to Andrews can pinpoint what is keeping the discomfort in his arm. The Red Sox still aren't sure whether Andrews can give any actual help to Buchholz, but the staff is hoping that is can put the pitcher at ease as he comes back from the shoulder problems. Buchholz had some excellent stats with a sub-2.00 ERA over his first 80 innings, but since then it has been a struggle to stay on the mound.
The Red Sox lost to the Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda on last week and were 59-40 coming into the game on Sunday night. The team has been one of the best offensive teams in the league this season, ranking first in runs and on base percentage and ranking second in the league in batting average and slugging percentage. John Lackey is leading the team in ERA with a 2.95 number, while Buchholtz is still tops in wins with nine while Dempster is first in strikeouts with over 100.