Everyone has done it. I wake up multiple times a week, afraid I may have lost an arm. While sleeping, your arm gets caught underneath your body and the circulation gets cut off, you wake up in a daze, move positions and the feeling comes back. You fall back asleep and wake up good as new, although, when this happens to Josh Beckett and he pitches like shit it’s breaking news.

As Red Sox Nation collectively holds our breath, Beckett is not looking like the ace starting pitcher we all came to know and love from the past 2 years. In his last start (2 1/3 innings, 8 runs, 8 hits against Toronto) he felt a tingling feeling in his pinky and ring finger, and Tito had said that had something to do with his location, and we are all hoping the same.

Apparently this tingly feeling had come from Beckett sleeping on his arm the wrong way the night before, yet he told redsox.com writer Ian Browne that it is something he had been dealing with off and on this season but he had no idea what it was, or where it was coming from.

Now with his next start pushed back until Tuesday against the Yankees in New York, the Bronx Bombers are licking their lips hoping Beckett is not right and they can slip back into the playoff picture, as their window is getting more slim while the days pass.

The problem with his feeling seems to be minor, but with multi-million dollar investments, you can never be too cautious. However, with the Red Sox playoff berth far from a sure thing, we can be sure to all be biting our nails as the rest of the season and our starting pitching dilemma transpires.

Buchholz Looking to Right his Pitching Wrong

It is no secret that young phenom Clay Buchholz is not having the year that everyone expect. It is not his fault, however, that he is not living up to the hype given off of last year’s no-no in his second major league start. It’s tough to forget such a milestone for fans like us. But the season can still be saved for Buchholz.

Pitching coach John Farrell and Clay have seemed to find a flaw in the young guy’s mechanics which may be causing his pitches to drift over the plate and contributed to his 6.35 ERA and 90 hits in 73 and 2/3 innings, including 11 home runs over that time.

Texas Gal over in Center Field turned us on to the idea that Buchholz has been “drifting” in delivery, as show through the PitchFX diagrams in her post. Hopefully with this new light bulb over Clay’s head he will return to his form and help the Sox finished the sweep over the Orioles, more for the kid’s confidence than the team.

Wakefield Plays a Little Toss

After spending 10 days on the DL, Tim Wakefield has got the ball back in his hand and played catch with pitching coach John Farrell for the first time since going on the disabled list with tightness in the back of his right shoulder. The Sawx are hoping after a few more side sessions Wake will be ready to take back to the mound.

Colon to Pitch for Pawtucket this Week

After leaving his third rehab start for the PawSox after one inning with a case of the stomach bug, Bartolo Colon will continue his trail back to Fenway this week against Syracuse Chiefs. David Pauley is listed as the probable starter for tonight on the PawSox website, but Colon could end up getting the start.

Clay Buchholz almost managed to throw a quality start for the first time since the end of April, but a shaky third inning that lead to 3 runs was all that Gil Meche and the Kansas City Royals needed, as they defeated the Red Sox in a close-knit contest, 4-3.

Buchholz didn’t help his own cause in the third inning, allowing 2 walks and a hit batsman with the bases loaded. Clay didn’t have close to his best stuff, once again. The same reason he was sent to the minors (tinkering with the control of his fastball) was his ultimate downfall, as his fastball was erratic. He even surrendered a walk to Jose Guillen. Guillen has a grand total of 14 walks in 406 at bats in 2008. After the walk of Guillen, Buchholz grazed the jersey of catcher John Buck, the same John Buck who hits at .244 in 2008 with a robust .238 lifetime average. Buck’s HBP scored Alex Gordon and that’s all the scoring the Royals needed to suffice.

The Sox tried to make it close in the 9th, but fell short, allowing Joakim Soria to notch his 32nd save of the season. The Red Sox managed to get the bases loaded with two-out, but David Dejesus tracked down a scorching line drive off the bat of Sean Casey to end the game. When Casey ripped it I thought for sure it was going to be a double down the line.

Analysis: Clay Buchholz is looking more like the fireballer straight out of the California Penal League, Ricky Vaughn. Buchholz doesn’t have the same zip on the #1, but the wild ways with his heater isn’t complementing his plus breaking stuff including a 12-6 curveball and nasty changeup. The kid has the stuff, he just needs to put it all together. It’s a waiting game with the rookie, and we are all aboard for the ride.

Do you think he’s been tampering too much with the off-speed stuff? Is he in love with his breaking stuff? Let’s see what Harry Doyle has to say:

“As you know, Buchholz been working on a couple of new pitches, the Eliminator and the Humilator, to complement his fastball, the Terminator.

Alex Gordon hit’s a HR.

…that looked like the Terminator, only slower. Maybe it was his out-of-stater, or it could have been the Hibernator–that baby is definitely going away for the winter. Whatever for Clay, it might be see-ya-later. He’s probably gonna become a spectator”

Maybe he needs to don a pair or thick, black-skulled glasses in order to be effective. It would be quite a show to see.

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Although losing to the Royals can be considered somewhat embarrasing, no team in the AL East gained any ground. The Rays and the Yankees lost 5-2 and 9-6, respectively. We have some good news for the Red Sox & their fans tonight, as Yankee SP Joba Chamberlain left the game with what is considered to be a right shoulder injury.

Without Joba, the Yankees will be in way too deep, which by October we’ll be seeing A-Rod, Jeter, Pettitte, and Mussina on the golf course in Florida.

Clay Buchholz has been struggling as a starter for the Red Sox, but his ceiling is through the roof. He can become a valuable commodity once he gets his act together. It’s no wonder why the Rockies are asking for the highly-touted right-hander. The drop from the AL East to the NL West is huge. Buchholz would certainly excel in his role playing home games at Coors Field. He will be pitching against the likes of the Giants, Diamondbacks, and Padres.

The Denver Post has reported that the Rockies have asked for Buchholz in exchange for reliever Brian Fuentes:

“The Rockies are playing an intriguing game of poker with closer Brian Fuentes. The price is high, causing most interested teams — the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees and Mets, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins — to consider other options. Colorado wants a premium starting pitcher, a fair demand save for the fact the teams interested in Fuentes see him as a two-month rental, not a long-term solution. All already have closers, and Fuentes is determined to test the market before considering signing somewhere as a setup man.

A team source said the Rockies have asked for Rays Double-A starter Wade Hendrickson, the Yankees’ Ian Kennedy, the Red Sox’s Clay Buchholz or Mets minor-leaguer Jon Niese. Florida is monitoring Fuentes but is reluctant to part with a young starter. The price for Fuentes has left teams taking a longer look at Oakland’s Huston Street.” (Denver Post)

It’s obvious their asking price is way too high for Fuentes. I don’t see the point in trading away an uber-prospect for a decent reliever. The Sox should give Justin Masterson a shot at supplying effective relief-duty in the bullpen.

Settle the issue with your club, Red Sox. Don’t go out and trade for a reliever. Especially if the asking price is similar to this.

The brooms are being prepped, the smell of dominance is in the air, and the Boston Red Sox are one win away from their first sweep against a road opponent since a brief two-game series with the Cleveland Indians, April 14-15.

Everybody knows the story about the Red Sox’ road woes this year. The good guys currently stand at 23-32 on the road. The only reason they’ve been so competitive in the AL East is the sheer supremacy at home. With a record of 36-11, the Red Sox easily have been the best team in the Majors at home. Yawkey Way certainly treats them well.

Dice-K put the Red Sox in a great position to not only take the series, but bring plenty of momentum to a team that lost much of it after the All Star break. It wasn’t until the 8th inning of last night’s game when Matsuzaka surrendered two runs on three hits. Before then, Matsuzaka was crusing along, keeping his pitch count at a minumum, something that has falted Dice-K all year.

(Check out this stat. Dice-K is 11-1 now, and 5-0 ON THE ROAD.)

Drew provided the first run of last night’s game with a home run to right. Ichiro Suzuki made a great attempt to bring the ball back into the yard, but J.D. Drew wasn’t having any of that. (I’m telling you, if Ichiro was two-feet to his left, that ball would of been robbed.) Mike Lowell and Jed Lowrie each contributed with an RBI.

What was the best part about last night’s game? It had to be Hideki Okajima coming in with inherited runners in the 8th. Ian from Sox and Dawgs mentioned Okajima’s astounding stats with runners on base when he enters the game. Before last night’s game, Oki has let 12 of the 17 inherited runners to score when he takes the mound. An unbelievable percentage of 70.5.

Last night was different, as Okajima entered the game with 2 runners on and quickly got 2 outs to end the 8th inning. Shades of the ‘07 Okajima flashed television screens and when Papelbon came in to close the door, remnants of the 2007 World Champion team engulfed our heads.

How many times have we seen Oki close the door in the 8th, followed by Paps ending it in the 9th? Not so much.

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Tonight’s game is sure to be up in the air, as Seattle ace Felix Hernandez takes the mound against Clay Buchholz. Hernandez has always pitched well against the Red Sox. Remember early last year when he threw a complete game, 1-hit shutout at Fenway Park?

Speaking of Clay, we’re still not sure whether or not this guy is here to stay and become a Cy Young pitcher in the next several years, or if he’ll drop off the radar in the next year or two. His inconsistency has befuddled Red Sox management. Buchholz still needs to work on his command, and if he can figure it out, look for things to turn around with the young pitcher.

Tomorrow night the phenom, Clay “don’t call me Taylor” Buchholz takes the mound for the Red Sox, over a month after being sent down to AAA to work on his command. In his brief stay in Pawtucket, Buchholz showed flashes of brilliance, dominating every team that stepped up to the dish. It wasn’t until his last start for the PawSox that he was roughed up a little bit. Buchholz surrendered 5 earned runs in 5 innings against Lehigh Valley, the last place team in the International North division.

Overall, however, Buchholz brings a 1.63 ERA and 1.16 WHIP to go with 38 K’s in 38 innings to Fenway since being sent down. Buchholz will try to solidify his spot in the lineup against the Baltimore Orioles — the same Baltimore Orioles team that was no-hit by one Mr. Buchholz.

Buchholz has pitched twice in opposition of the Orioles and they have yet to cross the plate with a run in 12 innings.

If Clay can mix up his pitches and continue his strong command from the minors, he should be a fixture in the big leagues. Either way, expect big things from the rookie phenom.

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It’s a shame the Sox have an off day Thursday, one day after pounding the Minnesota Twins with a hitting onslaught. Let’s hope the hitting ways continue tomorrow night, even without David Ortiz, who, by the way, says he is feeling no pain while or after taking batting practice.

It looks like things might be finally starting to come together, this Orioles team seem ripe for the picking — maybe the Sox can make it 2 sweeps in a row, inching closer to the top spot in the AL East before the All Star break.

We’ll have to watch and see…

Just float that curveball, Clay, float it…much like Henry Rowengartner throwing that eephus to Heddo of the New York Mets — “I haven’t seen the floater pitch since Stuffy McGee!” - Brickman