Coming off a three game sweep of the A's and a new found team chemistry, the Sox look to Clay Buchholz tonight to continue their recent winning ways against the Royals. For many reasons, this could be considered Buchholz's most important start of the year. There is no way around it, Clay has struggled to find his confidence this year, he has only gone over 6 innings once in his last 8 starts (a 6-2 loss where he gave up 5 runs in 6 and a third). In my opinion, it's time for Buchholz to start showing why he is still rated as our best prospect by baseball prospectus. I understand he is still only 23 and he will go through growing pains, but I'm starting to think his no hitter last year was a bad thing for him. His league visibility increased and fan expectations did as well. That kind of undue pressure can have a negative impact on such a young pitcher. Regardless, he has been given the time to work on his mechanics and now needs to prove himself in order to stay in our rotation (talk about pressure). With Bartolo Colon on a comeback trail, Buchholz may only receive a few more chances to earn that spot as our number 5 starter. A quality start tonight could go a long way in building his confidence down the stretch.(photo: flickr)
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