September 2, 2007

Yet More Buchholz

Theo Epstein was quite clear. Clay Buchholz's pitch limit Saturday night was 120. And not one more.
That would have been a horrible position, to take him out with a no-hitter in the ninth, but he would not have started a hitter after 120 pitches.
And Buchholz knew it. That "was the so-called number I would have been coming out at. ... It would have been a bad deal."

So Buchholz's pickoff of Brian Roberts in the sixth was key, as was Jay Payton's first pitch groundout to end the eighth. Pitches by innings: 14-11-12 7-23-13 12-10-13 = 115.

Everyone was talking about Dustin Pedroia's dive and throw on Miguel Tejada's grounder up the middle to start the seventh inning.

Buchholz:
When I jumped up and missed that ball, I was thinking, 'Well, it's over,' and then [Pedroia] comes out of nowhere. I knew that something was meant to happen tonight.
Pedroia (and):
Miguel sometimes hits the ball in the 3-4 hole over by the first baseman, so I was kind of playing straight up. I kind of had a good jump on the ball and I was able to get to it. I took a deeper angle to it. ... Once I got there I just popped up as fast as I could and threw it as hard as I could. ... The ball was hit pretty hard and I lucked out there. ... Man that was the funnest thing I've ever been a part of.
Coco Crisp:
I thought he had no chance. No chance. The ball was hit up the middle and it looked like that ball was coming out to me. He dove for it - because you have to dive for it, give it an attempt. I thought he was going to flip it to Lugo. ... That was one of the most exciting parts of the game, with the obvious exception, you know, of the no-hitter part. ... I was fine until the last couple of outs and then my legs started shaking.
Epstein:
This was probably the most fun I've had in a regular-season game since I've been GM.
So the question now is: When do we get to start talking about Johnny Vander Meer?

Theo:
We have a plan We're not necessarily going to articulate it [publicly]. This can't change that. We've got to do what's right for the team and for Clay for the long term.
Gordon Edes notes that Buchholz had never pitched past the seventh inning this year until the no-no. In eight starts with Pawtucket, he threw as many as seven innings once, and threw more than 90 pitches only twice (his high was 98). In 15 starts for Portland, he threw as many as seven innings twice. He has thrown a total 140.1 innings this season.

Tito:
I'm sure [another start] will probably happen, but I don't know exactly when. There are some issues - escalating innings - we need to keep an eye on.
Bryan Corey warmed up in the eighth inning: "I'm glad he went [the distance]. That's not a game I want to come in to."

Roberts tried bunting for a hit in the third inning. Mike Lowell: "Late in the game I got to second and Roberts asked, 'What would you do if I laid down a bunt?' I said 'Nothing, because [the fans] would kill you.'"

After a restless night, Buchholz showed up at Fenway on Sunday at 8:00 AM! Did he sleep at all?
I did try. [I] laid down for maybe 10 minutes, [it] just didn't work out the way I thought it would. ... I attempted to go to sleep probably at 4 o'clock -- didn't happen; [so I] went and got something to eat and came here. There's no reason for me to try to fall asleep because it's not going to happen.
Buchholz's gem was the 17th Red Sox no-hitter, the most of any team.

Dan Lamothe at Red Sox Monster has links to footage shot by some fans at Fenway. Scroll down his main page for footage of the Joba-Yook AB, the New York squirrel and many more videos.

23 comments:

laura k said...

Man that was the funnest thing I've ever been a part of.

...

That was one of the most exciting parts of the game, with the obvious exception, you know, of the no-hitter part

Love it! Two gems.

laura k said...

Thanks for the tip on the videos. It's great to see one from in the crowd.

tim said...

Well, I'm back to Canada with my second 48 hour exemption in 2 weeks - therefore a case of Keith's tall cans has been added to the bottle of grey goose i picked up after the NYC trip last weekend :P

Looks like I'll be set until my trip to Fenway in <2 weeks for the MFY game, feat. another 48 hour exemption ;-)

haha, but seriously, i'm just fed up with paying over the top prices for alcohol in this province/country.

but in actual seriousness! keep feasting the east, red sox. i was hanging with family in Charlotte during clay's no-hitter and disappointed that i missed it - definitely going to watch the archived game, looks like a good'ern!

lead's back up to 6 - lets keep it going vs the jays and hope seattle can stop this ridiculous slide.

moving up to waterloo tomorrow (school starts on the 10th) so i'll be able to catch this series on ROGERS cable buffyvision while blogging on ROGERS internet (argh ;-) )

tim said...

WOW!

just learned that the jays are 5.5 back of yanks for wild card, and i was like "that sounds like such a big gap" - our fucking lead is even bigger. not sure if anyone is still concerned about how "close" mfy are, but if you are - stick it up your ass, fool!

anyway, it'd be simply amazing for the yankees to have an epic collapse, and the blue jays to tear it up down the stretch and sneak into the playoffs over seattle and cleveland. if the sox have the division in hand come september 17-19, i wouldn't mind the sox being swept by the jays if it got toronto the wild card and established an ALDS vs. boston in toronto. my first taste of october baseball in person, it will probably make some people cringe to hear this but - go jays!

Amy said...

Thanks for all those quotes. I also missed seeing the game live due to a damn social commitment. Turned on the radio in the car as we left and heard them interviewing Bucholz about the no hitter and cursed very loud about missing the game. I wish I had been there for the "funnest" game of the season. Must have been amazing, even just seeing it on TV.

laura k said...

if the sox have the division in hand come september 17-19, i wouldn't mind the sox being swept by the jays

We are going to all of those games and I would mind that very much!!! And besides, we should all want the Sox to win the division by as many games as possible!

Welcome back to the GWN. Enjoy your Buffvision.

Amy said...

Hmmm, tough call. Sox winning the division by fewer games and eliminating the Yankees from post-season seems attractive to me, though I always worry about late season losses even if not affecting the division title. I sure would love to avoid a Yankee-Red Sox ALDS. Just too much tension for our household.

laura k said...

There can't be a Yankee-Red Sox ALDS.

I definitely want there to be a Yankeeless post-season (go Seattle!). But the Sox should still win as many games as possible. For me, no question there.

Amy said...

If the Yankees win the wild card (heaven forbid), wouldn't they play the team with the best overall AL record, i.e., the Sox? Have I forgotten how they determine the matchups?

laura k said...

If the Yankees win the wild card (heaven forbid), wouldn't they play the team with the best overall AL record, i.e., the Sox?

Teams from the same division cannot meet in the first round of playoffs.

Amy said...

Never mind---just looked it up. OK, at least we avoid civil war through round one. But I would still rather end the MFY season in September!

laura k said...

But I would still rather end the MFY season in September!

We all would. But not at the expense of Sox Ws.

Rob said...

Besides one make-up game with Detroit on the 10th, the Blue Jays play the AL East the entire month:

6 vs. Boston
6 vs. Tampa Bay
7 vs. New York
6 vs. Baltimore

Unknown said...

Everyone was talking about Dustin Pedroia's dive and throw on Miguel Tejada's grounder up the middle to start the seventh inning.

Nobody's talking about Youk's stretch on that play, either. So I would like to do so.

Thanks for listening! ;-)

Anonymous said...

"the most of any team."

Actually...I think the Dodgers have 20.

allan said...

looks like a good'ern!

ya think?

if the sox have the division in hand come september 17-19, i wouldn't mind the sox being swept by the jays if it got toronto the wild card

i'm going to all three games and would like boston to win them. toronto will have to get its wins somewhere else.

allan said...

Actually...I think the Dodgers have 20.

You're right. The Red Sox have the most of any AL team (because Boston has always been about the pitching!). I must have read it wrong.

mugro said...

I was at the game. The first half of the game was exciting because the Sox scored buckets of runs. The second half of the game was unbelievable. Starting in the fifth inning the crowd began to sense that something magical was happening, and the electricity and excitement built from there, inning by inning. It was one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had feeling the surge of the crowd's excitement.

It was funny, but no one around me even mentioned the words "no hitter" or even referred to it. Everyone knew what was going on, but no one talked about it. We just sat or stood there and cheered each out recorded by the Sox.

From the 8th on, no one sat. No one really paid much attention to the Red Sox offense, because it was already 10-0. You could sense that the Sox were hurrying up their at bats so that there was not much of a delay in between innings for Clay.

At the top of the 9th, I watched Clay and thought about all the no-hit bids that I had seen on television. I remembered all the no-hitters spoiled in the 9th inning, including most recently Curt Schilling's. But, then I thought to myself "I think this kid is actually going to do it!"

By the time that third out came, we were all expecting it. We all kind of knew that this would be a special night.

I will tell you, it is always great to be in Fenway Park and hear "Dirty Water". Watching Big Papi, Josh Beckett and the rest of the team sprint out to greet Clay, though, made it feel like I was a kid again on Christmas morning.

Euphoria. That is what we all felt.

laura k said...

Yay Mugro! I am envious but really happy for you.

laura k said...

It was funny, but no one around me even mentioned the words "no hitter" or even referred to it.

Excellent!

tim said...

i'm going to all three games and would like boston to win them. toronto will have to get its wins somewhere else.

The way I see it...boston can lose those three games, and win every other game! I'll probably be going to one of them in T.O., and expect a Red Sox win - but after re-reading that post, i definitely worded it wrong. what I wanted to say was that if the jays end up beating the red sox (a hefty proposition), then i hope it's at least worth something in the fact that it will result in the yankees losing the wild card/finishing third in the division, in order for me to go to toronto and see boston clinch the ALDS in game 3.

and the "go jays!" was not in direct reference to the sep 17-19 series, but rather in regards to the rest of the month. clearly whenever the sox play anyone, april or september, october or december - it's always, always go SOX!

laura k said...

it's always, always go SOX!

especially, and selfishly, when our host and I are there :)

Unknown said...

I was at the no hitter game. AMAZING!

I am so thankful I was a part of it!