Clay Buchholz Needs More Time In AAA

Buchholz once again proved he is not yet ready to be in the majors. Last night he left too many pitches up in the zone and let a weak hitting Japanese club get the best of him. His ERA for the spring is over 9 and if he starts out in the majors he is going to have a rough start. A few months in Pawtucket should be enough to get him ready to join the team for the second half. Here are Tito’s comments on last night’s outing: “He didn’t command as well as he probably needs to, or will. His velocity was probably 88, 89, 90 (mph). As he gets into the middle of the year and gets in a rhythm he will throw hard. A lot of it with him comes down to fastball command. As good as his offspeed is, and I didn’t think today that was his best offspeed, if he commands his fastball that’s what makes him so good and will make him better as he commands that fastball. I thought he was up with a lot of pitches today.”

In other news: Josh Beckett will pitch his first game since he experienced back spasms. He will pitch in a minor league game in Florida on Sunday.