Have Fun in the Bullpen, Clay!

(May 25, 2016 - Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images North America)

Evan Marinofsky
Contributing Writer

Clay Buchholz's struggles have finally landed him where he belongs: the bullpen. In return, we get back Eduardo Rodriguez who will start against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

You could compare that to a trade, and a good one at that.

Nevertheless, Buchholz is out of the Red Sox starting rotation after posting a record of 2-5 with a 6.35 ERA through 10 starts. He's only achieved 3 quality starts out of the 10, which isn't too good either. He's allowed the second most earned runs in the American League (40) and his ERA is the highest in the AL as well. Also, don't forget about the 12 home runs he's given up thus far, which ranks second highest in the AL.

The Sox are 3-7 when Buchholz starts. On the other side of things, they're 26-11 when Clay does not take the rubber.

His most recent drubbing was one of his worst, when he retired the first nine Rockies he faced and then proceeded to be the real Clay and give up 7 hits (three of them homers) over the next two-plus innings. Now that sounds more like Clay.

The decision by Manager John Farrell is more than timely, although some could argue that this decision should have come down earlier. But as much as I like him out of the starting rotation, I'm still not satisfied.

(May 19, 2016 - Source: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images North America)

Call me spoiled or whatever you want, but I wanted him off the team in any way possible. Even though he won't be out there blowing leads and giving up insane amounts of runs every fifth day, he's still in the bullpen waiting to be used in a multiple-inning situation. He's the exact same pitcher, so be ready for leads to be given up every time he's out there.

Every. Single. Time.

And with the 2016 Red Sox being as good as they are, burdens like Buchholz can not be playing -- there's just too much positivity and energy surrounding this team. The last thing this group needs is for Buchholz to come in midway through a game and absolutely kill the vibe.

That reminds me: from now on, until I'm proven otherwise, I'm calling Clay the "vibe-killer" because that's what he does.

I'm glad that he's in the bullpen, and I'm happy Farrell and Dave Dombrowski stepped up and made the decision. But I'm just not satisfied.

I don't want him on the team.

Follow Evan Marinofsky on Twitter for all of his Red Sox thoughts and opinions. There may be some bias.