Buchholz is [strike]a clown[/strike] down! (Flexor pronator tear)

[Patchmk88]

Why exactly did we trade for this guy again? He is a batting practice pitcher.

(Edited title for humor...)--pc

[Slinging_Southpaw]

This is Clay Buchholz. He gets shelled, then he may run off 10 very good starts in a row(before getting injured).

[Patchmk88]

Nope already injured

[zambonir]

Having a garbage fifth starter is certainly nothing new, he's just a lot more expensive than Jerome Williams (or Morgan). I don't think they are in any hurry to bring Eflin or Thompson back (though maybe they should have kept Asher).

[Patchmk88]

Couple him with an awful long guy in Morgan and they may scored 20 runs on us tonight.

[Slinging_Southpaw]

[phillychuck]

Eflin with 5 scoreless in AAA tonight. Ready for the next start.

Buchholz was very good for last two months last year--it's not surprising, given his results, that he's been pitching hurt.

I'm not sure he deserves to be called a clown, regardless.

[zambonir]

Ryan Lawrence (ryanlawrence21)

(Since this was the closest we had to a game thread)

[bkeich]

Today's game has a bad statistically oddity. Phil's sent 4 pitchers to the mound, all 4 now have ERAs over 10.00.

[schooldoc]

Pete said Buchholz has a "flexor tendon issue," more tests tomorrow. Expect him to go on DL.

Phils have plenty of options to replace Buchholz in rotation. They don't need a 5th starter until 4/22, so they can choose anyone from AAA they want. Eflin could be given one more AAA tune-up, which he might need to get his pitch count from the 70 he threw tonight up toward 85-90. We'll see what they do.

[zambonir]

Well, I guess Luis Garcia will be up tomorrow.

[LoneStarPhan]

Clearly, BUchholz has not worked out. He was added to provide a veteran presence to the rotation and eat innings. His performance to date has been so bad that he is not even a sub-mediocre #5 starter. That may be because he has been injured. Perhaps the best thing for him and the Phillies will be a stint on the DL. Get his arm healthy and give him a couple rehab starts. Then we can see if he can pitch in the majors and succeed again. We will just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, I can see Garcia called up and if he is not awful between now and the time they need that fifth starter, I think he might stay and Morgan be optioned out. Of course, if Morgan looks good in the meantime, it could be someone else.

[donaldorc]

BUchholz has not worked out. He was added to provide a veteran presence to the rotation and eat innings. His performance to date has been so bad that he is not even a sub-mediocre #5 starter.

Phillies version of Guthrie.

[donaldorc]

I don't think they are in any hurry to bring Eflin or Thompson back.

I hope they are. I'd like to see Eflin again.

[David_Criss]

That was part of the reason they traded for Buccholtz after Hellickson re-signed, to give the youngsters a little mental relief at the MLB level and to give the other youngsters a couple more months of seasoning. Then you trade him for a lottery ticket. It was a good move at the time, for those reasons, but was he damaged goods at the time and therefore a grievence could make Boston pay? Just asking.

[Slinging_Southpaw]

This is Clay Buchholz. Fragile mentally and physically, but when he's right, he can be very good. That's why it took Boston so long to give up on him.

[bkeich]

It didnt take long into the season before Nola was the veteran presence (assuming Hellickson is hurt).

Buchholtz has a MRI today which they are already saying will likely be followed by a stint on the DL.

This is why you can't just say 5 starters per level as some where counting before the season. We could possibly have lost 2 starting pitchers in 2 days, now we may be scrambling just to send out a starter and not have one of the reliever games (which I actually dont mind, that is how I would do it and the direction the game is going).

If Hellickson and Buchholtz are both out for an extended period I wonder if they will find some teams AAAA guy. All those pitchers with the "must be on the roster by X date" will certainly come into play throughout the league.

The other bad part about this is injuries this early in the season seem to never work out well. Player misses most of April, part of May, then spends time trying to get back into game condition, never really gets there. Both of these are guys that I hoped would be traded, now they are starting to look like they are simply non-assets.

[VoteForKalas]

Buchholz had an established 10 yr track record of inconsistent performance and injury history the Phillies should have known before signing him.

Every move is a calculation of risk, but the Phillies still seem to have trouble evaluating the ones worth taking vs the ones to walk away from.

I get the concept of a vet place holder to give the young talent more time to develop and I realize $13.5M is not a huge burden for the Phillies to carry, but I think this was a fairly predictable outcome for signing Buchholz and one hopes the Phillies have a solid backup plan for such a reality.

[flyers19rw]

Going into the season, many phans were gleefully happy with the glut of arms at the top of the system. Now a week into the season, Hellickson and Buchholz are down and the attrition begins. The games eats pitchers. The Cardinals are also having to deal with pitchers going down. Lets just see how many other organizations get hit by the injury bug.

[LoneStarPhan]

I think most here are not surprised at all that the first five starters entering the season would not be the starting five by the end of April. I fully expect ten or more pitchers will start games for the Phillies this season. In fact, I believe that will be the case for many MLB teams.