Mediocre, but encouraging


Clay Buchholz started last night for the Red Sox against the Pirates, and the actual performance was about as mediocre as it gets.

There were positives, to be sure, but in general it was kind of a mixed bag. He threw 51 pitches, 34 for strikes, in three innings of work. He struck out one batter, allowed two runs, gave up three hits and didn't walk a batter. For an early-March start, it could have been worse.

But as ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes reported, there was no hint of back problems. At the end of the day, as long as he's throwing strikes and leaving the mound pain-free, it has to be considered a success at this junction in the season.

Bobby V was pretty happy, overall, with how Clay looked:
"His stuff looked sharper than last time, I thought,'' Valentine said. "Changeup was sharp, two-seamer was sharp. He wasn't throwing a lot of curveballs but a couple tonight were in midseason form.'' 
Middle of the road, for sure, but encouraging nonetheless.