Red Sox News & Notes – 9/2
In case you went to bed early or were underwater last night, you missed history at the Fens last night. You missed an absolute whale of a game as the Red Sox pounded the Baltimore Orioles 10-0 last night. Ok that wasn’t the real story of the game. The story of the game was a no-hitter by some guy named Clay Buchholz. Otherwise known as the future. While Buchholz wasn’t perfect (3 walks, 1 HBP), he was just downright filthy last night. He struck out Nick Markakis on the nastiest of nasty curveballs to complete the no-hitter. He was interviewed after the game by Tina Cervasio and was a boy of no words. You could tell it hadn’t sunk in. This was the same Buchholz, who just pumped his fist before Jason Varitek gave him a huge bear hug and was mugged by his teammates. It will be a night to remember for Buchholz and the Boston Red Sox. It will also be a night to remember for us, the fans as we will tell tales of this most amazing feat that happened at the Fens last night. Legend will have it that the entire Red Sox Nation was stuffed into Fenway to watch history.
Following a no-hitter will be no task to follow for Jon Lester today but before he steps on the mound , let’s take a look at the headlines from the Boston and Baltimore area media.
Second to none [Boston Globe]
Rookie No-Hits Orioles [Washington Post]
Clay Nation [Hartford Courant]
Rookie no-hits reeling O’s [Baltimore Sun]
Clay turns his second start into sublime art [Boston Herald]
Buchholz no-hits Orioles [Pro Jo]
Action at plate makes Millar good bet for ’08 [Baltimore Sun]
Sox won’t rush encore [Boston Globe]
Rays’ Pena nearly landed with Orioles [Baltimore Sun]
With an eye on future, team eludes developing situation [Boston Herald]
Team’s Pitch Count Plans Are Thrown Off [Hartford Courant]
Pedroia saved it for Buchholz [Pro Jo]
He’s a hit with teammates [Boston Globe]
For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Providence Journal, Hartford Courant, Baltimore Sun, and Washington Post websites.
Who The Hell Is Clay Buchholz
Who the hell is Clay Buchholz? Most Red Sox fans barely knew him before he tossed his no-hit gem Saturday night against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. It was just his second major league start making him the third pitcher to throw a no-hitter in first or second major league start.
He joins Bobo Holloman who did it in his major league debut on May 6, 1953 with the St. Louis Browns. He no-hit the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-0 in Sportsman’s Park. Wilson Alvarez did it in his second career start for the Chicago White Sox on August 11, 1991 when he no-hit the Baltimore Orioles 7-0, in Memorial Stadium. It was Alvarez’ first start with Chicago, his previous major league start came in 1989 with Texas. He was just 21 years old when he threw his no-hitter.
The Red Sox drafted Buchholz in the first round (42nd overall) of the 2005 draft out of Angelina Junior College. The 6’3″ right hander is from Lumberton TX and just turned 23 three days prior to his major league debut in August. Many people compare him as the right-handed version of Philadelphia Phillies starter Cole Hamels, who is also 23.
In 2006, his second season in pro ball, he was named the Boston Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year. In stops in Wilmington and Greenville, he made a combined 24 starts compiling an 11-4 record with a 2.42 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. This year in Portland and Pawtucket he had made 23 starts going 8-5 with a 2.80 ERA and 0.97 WHIP.
Sunday Stroll Around The Majors
Here is a look at the Red Sox no-hitters in their history.
Macier Izturis has filled in nicely for the Angels.
The Astros made Josh Anderson’s dreams come true by calling him up for September.
Dallas Braden hopes to fill Esteban Loiaza’s void left in the A’s rotation.
Injured Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan has started the road to recovery.
89-year old Julio Franco is back in the majors with the Braves.
Carlos Villanueva has rejoined the Brewers rotation.
Mark Mulder should return to the Cardinals this week.
The Cubs will go with a 6-man rotation the rest of the way.
Jay Witasick returned from the DL for the Devil Rays.
The Diamondbacks called up 6 reinforcements for the stretch run.
Dodgers pitcher David Wells dropped his appeal of a suspension he received with the Padres.
Giants pitcher Russ Ortiz will miss 2008 due to his upcoming Tommy John surgery.
Cliff Lee will pitch out of the bullpen for the Indians.
The Mariners bullpen has been getting a lot of work during their 8-game losing streak.
The Marlins added Logan Kensing to their bullpen.
Pedro Martinez will make his 2007 debut on Monday for the Mets.
Nationals slugger Dimitri Young hopes to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
The Orioles put their callups right to work on Saturday.
Brady Clark and Brian Myrow were the first players called up to the Padres.
The Phillies made a plethora of moves on Saturday.
Nyjer Morgan was thrilled to be called up to the Pirates.
The Rangers activated Hank Blalock from the DL on Saturday.
The Reds still have some questions to answer with their pitching.
Jeff Baker returned to the Rockies after missing 3 weeks with a concussion.
Royals 1B Ryan Shealy will miss the rest of the season with a bad hammy.
Tigers rookie Virgil Vasquez needs to work on the location of his pitches.
Francisco Liriano met with the Twins to determine his course of action for his rehab.
Despite playing on the suckass White Sox, Mark Buehrle hasn’t given up a lot of hits this year.
Doug Mientkiewicz was happy to be back with the Yankees.
In The Red Zone – Getting Down To The Final 53
We all know the big news out of Foxboro was the four game suspension of safety Rodney Harrison for admitting he bought HGH online through an Internet pharmaceutical ring out of New York State.
There was more bad news for the Patriots defense this weekend. Pro-Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. This means that Seymour can not play at all for the six weeks of the season.
Seymour, who had off season keen surgery, was bothered by knee problems all through training camp will be eligible to return to the team anytime between Week 7 and 9. Until that point he can not practice with the team but can attend rehab and meetings. After Week 7 they have three weeks to either activate him or place him on injured reserve for the season.
The Patriots also cut 21 players including veteran quarterback Vinnie Testaverde, linebacker Chad Brown, tight end Marcellus Rivers and cornerback Dante Wesley to get down to the league mandated 53 by 4 p.m. on September 1st (Saturday). Testaverde and Wesley were just signed within the last few weeks as insurance policies. The Patriots also released wide receiver Bam Childress who had a pretty good preseason but with the numbers at wide out he ended up being left out.
Quarterback Matt Gutierrez, an undrafted free agent competing in his first training camp, was the biggest surprise. The Patriot brass felt that if they kept Testaverde they would lose Gutierrez, who played very well earning himself the roster spot, to another team. Another factor into keeping Gutierrez over Testaverde is the obvious strides that Tom Brady’s backup Matt Cassel has made. This is Cassel’s third year and he showed that he knows the offense and has grown in his knowledge of the Patriots system. Feeling confident in Cassel’s ability made going with the rookie Gutierrez over the 21-year vet Testaverde an easier decision.
That’s not saying that this had to be an easy decision because Testaverde has long been a favorite of head coach Bill Belichick. This was evident as the two kept in touch all off-season leading to Testaverde signing a one-year deal just a short time ago. It is believed that Testaverde may be re-added to the roster later in the season as he was last year to add an extra quarterback for the stretch run and playoffs.
Anderson Makes 53-Man Roster for Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys announced their final cuts on Saturday and former UCONN Huskies fullback Deon Anderson has made the team. Anderson is second on the Cowboys depth chart at fullback and will primarily play on special teams for the Cowboys.
Anderson was drafted in the 6th round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Cowboys. Anderson was a special teams standout for the Huskies and was named their team MVP for the 2006 season.
Anderson joins former Huskies Dan Orlovsky (Lions) and Alfred Fincher (Saints) as the only Huskies to make 2007 rosters. Orlovsky will be the backup QB in Detroit while Fincher is listed second on the depth chart at strong-side linebacker.
Tyler King didn’t survive the final round of cuts in Jacksonville.
A Night To Remember For Clay Buchholz
September 1st, 2007 will be a day that Clay Buchholz will never forget. In just his second MLB start, Buchholz did what no Boston Red Sox rookie had ever done, throw a no-hitter. The Red Sox bats and gloves helped Buchholz out as they beat the Orioles 10-0 in front of another sellout crowd at the Fens. Buchholz walked 3, struck out 9 and hit one batter.
Buchholz should thank Dustin Pedroia for his amazing diving stop of a Miguel Tejada grounder in the 7th inning which was basically the toughest play for the Sox defense throughout the night.
The no-hitter by Buchholz was the 17th in Red Sox history and the first since Derek Lowe threw one against the Devil Rays on April 27, 2004. Buchholz is also the second pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in just his second start. Wilson Alvarez also had one in his second start back in 1991 for the White Sox against the Orioles. Only one pitcher, Bobo Hollomon, has thrown one in his first start. He did it for the St. Louis Browns back in 1953.
Buchholz didn’t even find out he was starting until the 3rd inning of the Pawsox game last night. The reason being is that Tim Wakefield was scratched from his start last night and Julian Tavarez was pushed up a day. It ended up being a blessing in disguise for the Boston Red Sox.
I want to show something that Steve sent me early in the game. He found this on soxprospects.com.
Scouting Report: Buchholz has a low-to-mid 90s four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball with decent movement, a slider, a hard 12-to-6 curveball, and a change-up. In 2006, Buchholz actually let loose towards the end of the season, when his fastball was sitting around 96 mph. However, over the course of the season his fastball typically sits around 91-94 and tops out at about 97 mph. His plus change-up is generally a straight change that sits around 78-82 mph; he also throws a circle change. His curveball, the best in the organization, sits between 76-81 mph with a knee-buckling bite. On any given night, Buchholz’s curve or change can be unhittable, and he tends to rely on whichever is on as his out pitch throughout the game. His slider, while average to above average, is a bit behind his other secondary pitches and sits in the low to mid 80s. Mixes in all of his pitches phenomenally. Good demeanor on the mound. Pitches well under pressure, pitching coaches have said he has ice water running through his veins. Nice pick-off move. Struggled with consistency early in his pro career, but otherwise has ace makeup.
As Steve said in the email to me, we saw all of that tonight. His fastball was about 94 mph tonight. His changeup and curveball were just flat out nasty tonight. His nice pick-off move caught Brian Roberts napping off of first base in the 6th after he had walked Roberts. And, he showed moxie out on the mound as he remained calm out there on the whole time.
Where does Buchholz go from here? A win in his first start and a no-hitter in his second. Maybe he should think about retiring. Just kidding Sox fans. The future is really bright for this 23-year old with the Boston Red Sox.
Video of the the no-hitter below.
Cowboys QB Coach Suspended 5 Games
Normally you hear that players are suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs not coaches.
Dallas Cowboys QB coach Wade Wilson was suspended 5 games and fined a $100,00 by the NFL for violating the drug policy. I didn’t know this pertains to coaches as well so color me surprised.
Wilson took HGH and steroids while he was a member of the Chicago Bears coaching staff from 2004-2006. He maintains that they were for personal use and he never distributed them. Wilson is a diabetic and hoped that the drugs would help improve his overall quality of life.
His name came up during the same investigation that caught the Patriots’ Rodney Harrison. He will be able to come back on October 9th.
What is surprising to me is that he said he only took them for a limited time. But if the investigation revealed that he received him for a period of 3 years, how can he say he only took them for a limited time. I understand his reasoning for taking them but it makes me wonder if he gave them to any players.
It will be interesting to see what the rest of this investigation brings out as 10 WWE wrestlers were suspended by the WWE, Harrison and now Wilson from this investigation so far.
Huskies Start Season With 45-14 Thrashing of Duke
Behind the arm of Tyler Lorenzen, UCONN rattled off 37 unanswered points on their way to a 45-14 spanking of the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, NC. Lorenzen was 22 of 30 for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran for 56 yards on the ground.
Terence Jeffers caught 8 of those Lorenzen passes for 92 yards. Former QB D.J. Hernandez and tight end Steve Brouse caught the touchdown passes for the Huskies. Donald Brown II ran for 99 yards and a touchdown. Lou Allen added a touchdown on the ground.
UCONN was dominating on the stat sheet. They had 493 yards of total offense compared to the Dukies 168 yards. UCONN held the Dukies to 54 yards of offense in the second half. Defensively the Huskies were led by Cody Brown who had 5 solo tackles.
Duke got on the Wallace Wade Stadium scoreboard first as their QB Thaddeus Lewis hit Brandon King for a 7-0 lead after the extra point. UCONN countered and came down to score on their first offensive possession as Tony Ciaravino hit a 30-yard field goal to complete a 56-yard drive. UCONN finished off the scoring in the first quarter with a safety as Lewis fumbled after a sack by Julius Williams. The ball was recovered by Duke in the end zone for a saftey and cut the Duke lead to 7-5.
UCONN took the lead in the second quarter when Ciaravino kicked a 27-yard field goal, putting the Huskies up 8-7. That lead didn’t last long as Jabari Marshall took the kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown giving Duke the lead back 14-8. Ciaravino’s third field goal of the day, a chip shot 18-yarder, came with 5 seconds left in the first half. The Huskies went into the locker room trailing 14-11.
Lorenzen came out firing on all cylinders in the second half as he hit Hernandez for a 57-yard touchdown pass just 90 seconds into quarter. Lorenzen picked up his second touchdown pass of the quarter as the Huskies went 68 yards in six plays, capped off by a touchdown pass to Brouse.
The Huskies went into the 4th quarter with a 25-14 lead and just kept scoring. Brown had a 25-yard TD run and Lou Allen added an 11-yard TD run as well. Darius Butler finished up the scoring for UCONN as he intercepted a Lewis pass and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.
A great start for the Huskies to the 2007 football campaign. They return home next Saturday, Sept. 8th to take on the Maine Black Bears at Rentschler Field. Game time is 7 PM and the gates open up at 3 for tailgating.