For the first time since colliding with Adrian Beltre on April 11 in Kansas City, Jacoby Ellsbury hit in a group during live batting practice on Tuesday at Fenway Park as the Red Sox left fielder attempts to clear another hurdle in his return from a bruised left side.

Ellsbury smacked a home run just inside the “Pesky Pole” in right in his session and hit the ball with authority, not showing any signs of weakness or soreness.

“We have talked about the progression,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said in announcing the plan before Tuesday’s game.

Meanwhile, Francona said Mike Cameron’s lower abdomen strain continues to feel better every day and the team could have a better idea of a timetable for a return by the end of the week. “Cam’s really doing well,” Francona said. “The intensity continues to build. We’ll continue to monitor how quickly he’s coming and we’ll start talking to him more toward the end of the week what we feel is in his best interest but he’s doing very well.”

Francona indicated Clay Buchholz was not seriously injured and should make his next side session and start after taking a line drive off the foot in Monday night’s win over the Angels. “He’s a little tender,” Francona said. “It’s not going to get in the way of anything but he got hit pretty good.”

Other notes from Tuesday’s pregame session with Francona included an update on the injured Boof Bonser.

The right-hander is scheduled for a side session on Wednesday and if all goes well, he will pitch for Triple A Pawtucket on Friday. Francona said he threw three simulated innings this week and reported no problems from a right groin strain that landed him on the disabled list on March 31.

Bonser is 0-1 with a 17.05 ERA in two starts for the Pawtucket but hasn’t pitched since April 13 when he allowed five hits and nine earned runs in two innings. He went on the disabled list immediately after the outing.

October 10, 2009

Clay Buchholz

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Workout Day

THE MODERATOR: First question for Clay today.

Q. As you were watching Josh and Jon work the other nights, were you taking some mental notes? What did you see from their work that you can apply to your job?

CLAY BUCHHOLZ: You know, just goes back to what these guys do. They hit and run. They run when they get on base. I think they did a pretty good job of holding the running game. There was a couple of stolen bases here and there.

But I think they varied their times pretty well to minimize the damage they could do on the bases and they’ll try to do the same thing, the first pitch strikes. They threw a lot of first-pitch strikes to get in some pitchers’ counts. Go out there and try to do the same thing. Read the rest of this entry »

Sure, the Red Sox have been slumping during the second-half of the season.

But finally the team from Boston is on a roll. The Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and Saturday night they’ll seek their fifth win in six games. Since August 16 Boston’s once-struggling offense has rebounded, averaging 7.7 runs and batting .300 with 24 homeruns.

As the Sox prepare to face Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero Friday night, the prospect of keeping their resurgent offense going looks good.

In three starts against Boston this season, the rookie pitcher is 0-2 with a 10.50 ERA. Not to mention in his last start against the Sox on August 18, Romero lasted only 3.2 innings en route to surrendering five earned runs and three walks. While Romero’s season has been fairly impressive for a rookie (11-5, 3.91 ERA), he hasn’t been able to silence the Boston bats in 2009.

David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis, specifically, have been a nightmare for Romero: Ortiz is 5-7 with a homerun against Romero, while Youkilis has gone 3-5 with two homeruns and three walks.

Pitching for the Red Sox tonight is young flamethrower Clay Buchholz.

Buchholz pitched against Toronto in his first game of the 2009 season, earning the win as he went 5.2 innings and gave up only one earned run. In fact, his only two wins this season have been at Toronto’s expense. But the young pitcher has struggled overall, going 2-3 with a 5.02 ERA in eight starts. In his most recent start against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, Buchholz gave up seven earned runs and lasted only 4.2 innings.

Boston currently trails the Yankees by six games in the AL East standings, but leads Texas by 2.5 games in the Wild Card.

BLUE JAYS VS. BUCHHOLZ

Aaron Hill (10 career plate appearances against Buchholz): 2-for-10, 3 strikeouts

Lyle Overbay (10): 5-for-9, walk, strikeout

Vernon Wells (9): 2-for-7, 2 walks

Adam Lind (8): 3-for-8, strikeout

Marco Scutaro (8): 0-for-5, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts

Kevin Millar (7): 0-for-5, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts

Rod Barajas (5): 1-for-4, walk, strikeout

Randy Ruiz (3): 1-for-3, strikeout

Jose Bautista (2): 0-for-2

Travis Snider (2): 0-for-2, 2 strikeouts

John McDonald (1): 1-for-1

RED SOX VS. ROMERO

J.D. Drew (9 career plate appearances against Romero): 2-for-7, walk, 3 strikeouts

Kevin Youkilis (8): 3-for-5, 2 homers, 3 walks, strikeout

Jason Bay (7): 1-for-4, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts

David Ortiz (7): 5-for-7, homer, strikeout

Nick Green (6): 0-for-5, walk, 4 strikeouts

Mike Lowell (6): 2-for-6, 2 strikeouts

Victor Martinez (6): 2-for-5, walk

Dustin Pedroia (6): 2-for-5, homer, walk

Jacoby Ellsbury (5): 2-for-3, strikeout

Jason Varitek (4): 0-for-1, 3 walks

Rocco Baldelli (2): 0-for-2, strikeout

Alex Gonzalez (2): 1-for-2

TIGERS VS. CLAY BUCHHOLZ

Squandered in three of the four losses to the Yankees last weekend were quality starts from Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester. Buchholz looks to build upon his six-inning effort as he takes on the Tigers in the final game of what the Sox hope will be a four-game sweep.

On the eve of his 25th birthday, Buchholz enters today’s game at 1-2 with an ERA of 5.33 and a WHIP of 1.97. He has only faced the Tigers once in his career, lasting just four innings and allowing five earned last May 7. Buchholz didn’t factor into the decision, but the Sox lost the game, 10-9, thanks in large part to a blown save by Jonathan Papelbon. Here are the numbers for Tigers hitters against him:

Miguel Cabrera (3 career plate appearances vs. Buchholz): 0-for-2, BB, SO
Curtis Granderson (3): 0-for-3, 3 SO
Carlos Guillen (3): 2-for-3, RBI, SO
Magglio Ordóñez (3): 2-for-3, RBI
Placido Polanco (3): 3-for-3, RBI
Adam Everett (2): 0-for-2
Gerald Laird (2): 1-for-2

RED SOX VS. JUSTIN VERLANDER

After an uncharacteristically disappointing 2008 campaign in which he lost an American League-worst 17 games, Verlander has re-established himself as one of the premier pitchers in all of the majors. In addition to being named an All-Star for the second time, the former second-overall pick leads the AL with 186 strikeouts– 19 more than the second-place Zack Greinke. Fortunately for Boston, the right-hander’s August hasn’t gotten off to an ideal start.

Though Verlander has gone six and eight innings in his last two starts, he’s also allowed five earned runs in each (0-1). On the season he’s 12-6 with a 3.45 ERA. Here’s how Sox hitter have done against him (it’s worth noting that, based on the numbers, the Sox might miss having Kevin Youkilis today):

Victor Martinez (40): .282 average / .300 OBP / .667 slugging, 4 HR, 9 RBI, BB, 7 SO
Kevin Youkilis (10): .400 / .400 / 1.000, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Mike Lowell (9): 3-for-7, 2 BB
David Ortiz (9): 3-for-7, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO
J.D. Drew (6): 2-for-6, RBI, 2 SO
Casey Kotchman (6): 3-for-6, HR, RBI
Jacoby Ellsbury (4): 1-for-3, RBI
Dustin Pedroia (3): 0-for-3, SO
Jason Varitek (3): 1-for-2, 2 RBI, BB, SO

What does a team wish for after a 15-inning loss that taxes their bullpen? Hint: it’s not a matchup of a guy who hasn’t had a six-inning major-league start in over a year against someone who’s tossed 155 innings on the season.

Unfortunately for the Sox, that’s the way things are slated to go down in the Bronx today at 4:10 p.m. when Clay Buchholz faces CC Sabathia.

The last time Sabathia faced the Sox was on June 11 at Fenway, his lone appearance against Boston in a Yankee uniform. Sabathia pitched seven-plus innings (he faced three batters in the eighth but was unable to record an out) and left the game with the lead, though Alfredo Aceves allowed a single and sacrifice fly to Jason Bay and Mike Lowell, respectively. Both plays led to runs charged to Sabathia and the lefty took the loss in the 4-3 Sox victory.

Buchholz, meanwhile, is coming off a start in Baltimore in which all the runs in the world couldn’t help him. The Sox won the game, 18-10, but the 24-year-old righty lasted only four innings and allowed seven earned, failing to get a victory when his team put up a series’ worth of runs.

RED SOX VS. CC SABATHIA

David Ortiz (22 plate appearances vs. Sabathia): .333 average / .364 on-base / .667 slugging, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB, 3 SO
Jason Varitek (15): .077 / .200 / .308, homer, 3 RBI, BB, 3 SO, HBP
Mike Lowell (10): .200 / .200 / .200, RBI, 4 SO
Kevin Youkilis (10): .333 / .400 / .333, BB, 2 SO
J.D. Drew (7): 2-for-7, RBI, 4 SO
Nick Green (7): 1-for-6, 3 SO
Dustin Pedroia (7): 0-for-6, BB, SO
Jason Bay (6): 0-for-6
Casey Kotchman (4): 1-for-4, RBI
Victor Martinez (4): 1-for-4, SO

YANKEES VS. CLAY BUCHHOLZ

Melky Cabrera (6): 0-for-5, BB, SO
Robinson Cano (5): 0-for-5, SO
Eric Hinske (5): 0-for-4, BB
Hideki Matsui (5): 3-for-4, BB
Jorge Posada (5): 0-for-4, BB
Alex Rodriguez (5): 2-for-5, homer, RBI, SO
Derek Jeter (3): 2-for-3, 2 RBI
Jose Molina (2): 1-for-2, RBI
Nick Swisher (2): 0-for-1, BB

RED SOX VS. RICKY ROMERO

The 44-46 Blue Jays, amidst rumors that they could be dealing their ace, apparently have a man who could anchor the rotation in the eventual absence of Roy Halladay. Just 24 years old, Ricky Romero has been stellar for the Blue Jays and could be AL Rookie of the Year despite battling a right oblique muscle strain.

In 13 starts this season, the left-handed Romero has gone 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA and has 69 strikeouts in 87 innings. One could say the young man has been dominant.

Just not against the Red Sox.

On May 31 at Fenway, Romero gave up five earned in his only start against Boston to date, an 8-2 loss. Dustin Pedroia did most of the damage, hitting a three-run dinger with two out in the fourth, which proved to be Romero’s last inning of the game. That loss dropped his record to 2-2, but he’s gone 5-1 and pitched at least 6 1/3 innings in all eight starts since then. He’s pitched at least seven in all but two of those and has gone eight in two of the last three.

Romero, drafted sixth overall by Toronto in 2005, uses a slider and a 12-6 curve to compliment a low-90′s fastball. Here’s how Red Sox hitters did against him back in May:

Jason Bay (3 career plate appearances vs. Romero): 1-for-1, double, 2 BB
J.D. Drew (3): 1-for-3, 2 SO
Dustin Pedroia (3): 1-for-3, homer, 3 RBI
Kevin Youkilis (3): 1-for-2, homer, RBI, BB
Jacoby Ellsbury (2): 1-for-1
Nick Green (2): 0-for-1, BB, SO
David Ortiz (2): 1-for-2, double
Jason Varitek (2): 0-for-1, BB

BLUE JAYS VS. CLAY BUCHHOLZ

If there’s a single baseball fan in the country (actually, make that Canada, too) who doesn’t know who is starting for the Red Sox tonight, I am astonished. After months of re-establishing himself as a pitcher in Pawtucket, Clay Buchholzis finally making his first start of the season for the Sox.

“It’s hard to sit here and try to do more than what I’ve been doing,” said Buchholz of his Pawtucket situation back in early June. “I don’t think I need to do any more. It’s just a matter of, when the time comes, for me to be ready whenever they do give me that call.”

The time has finally come, though it won’t last long at all. Terry Francona indicated on Sunday that it would simply be a spot-start to give the rotation an extra day of rest.

Buchholz’ situation is an interesting one. Everyone knows about his no-no in his second start in ’07, but Buchholz himself believes that he should not have been in the big-league rotation in 2008 because he still wasn’t ready. Buchholz was proven right, and the results weren’t pretty:  a 2-9 record with a 6.75 ERA.

In 16 games for Pawtucket this season (including a relief appearance for John Smoltz), Buchholz has posted a 2.36 ERA to go with a 7-2 record. He has 85 strikeouts in 93 innings and a WHIP of 0.95. Here’s how Blue Jays hitters have fared against him.

Kevin Millar (7 career plate appearances vs. Buchholz): 0-for-5, 2 BB, 4 SO
Vernon Wells (6): 0-for-4, 2 BB
Alex Rios (5): 1-for-5, double, SO
Aaron Hill (4): 1-for-4, 2 SO
Lyle Overbay (4): 2-for-4, RBI, SO
Adam Lind (2): 1-for-2, SO
Marco Scutaro (2): 0-for-1, SO, BB
Rod Barajas (1): walk
John McDonald (1): 1-for-1, double, RBI

Here’s a Full Count “Did You Know?”: The Red Sox were the only team in the majors who planned on drafting Buchholz as a pitcher in 2005. They stuck to their guns and took him with a sandwich pick (Pedro Martinez) and the rest is history.

The future of Clay Buchholz has been a hot topic the past couple of days because a recent New England Cable News interview with the pitcher left some wondering if Buchholz wants out.

“I’ve had talks with my agent the last month and a half, two months,” Buchholz told NECN. “There’s nowhere to go.”

On Wednesday, however, Buchholz waited until the cameras were off before elaborating on what exactly those talks were.

“It wasn’t anything specific about me calling [my agent] and telling him, ‘Hey, get me out of here,’” said Buchholz. “It was just more or less asking him, ‘Hey what’s going on? What can I do to change the situation?’ and his answer was, ‘Really nothing because there’s not really anywhere to go.’

“My goal is to pitch in Boston,” Buchholz added. “[The media] might have went a little out of context with it because I’m getting a little frustrated, but on the up and up that’s where I want to be. Fenway is the best place to pitch and the Red Sox are the best team to play for. I don’t see me being anywhere else except for Boston, so that’s where I want to be.”

The proclamation may sound like backtracking, but it came as a genuine admission from a kid who doesn’t want to get traded. After laughing at the notion that he was trying to “talk his way out of town,” Buchholz said that he’s been assured he’s safe by the Boston brass.

“If I do happen to get traded it’s going to be for the betterment of Boston,” said Buchholz. “If that’s what they’ve got to do, then that’s what they’ve got to do, but I’ve been told by a couple of people that are high up in the front office that I’m here and I don’t see myself going anywhere in the future unless it’s for somebody that they really think can help the team.”

Buchholz apologized for any ruckus that the interview caused, and showed the same enthusiasm towards his eventual return to the big leagues that he did in spring training.

“That was a little bitterness coming out of me, but I can’t be too bitter,” said Buchholz. “I’m still pitching healthy and I’ll get my shot sooner or later.”