Buchholz: The Stud

[Dobro]

Nasty, nasty stuff today.  Watching this kid blossom is going to be fun.  Nice job by Lamb, too.

[Zan]

I agree, but I'm waiting for his career ERA to get below 5 before I deem him "The Stud."

[otterj]

The way he pitched Saturday, Buchholz could claim the 5 spot from Wandy once Backe comes back. Wandy in the pen wouldn't be bad at all...

[JimR]

quit looking at numbers and watch him throw.

[Astros Fan in Big D]

Went to the game saturday with another Astro buddy.  The 'stros were well represented along the 3rd base side with lots of fans sporting Astros gear and making noise.

I couldn't tell pitch location other than high/low from my vantage, but TB seemed calmed/collected and kept the Rangers off balance nicely.

[Golden Sombrero]

Quote:
Went to the game saturday with another Astro buddy.  The 'stros were well represented along the 3rd base side with lots of fans sporting Astros gear and making noise.

I couldn't tell pitch location other than high/low from my vantage, but TB seemed calmed/collected and kept the Rangers off balance nicely.

JD and BB kept remarking how many Stros fans there were in the crowd for Sunday's game.  They kept showing some behind the dugout who were attempting to dance as Wheels was trying to record the final out.  They looked a lot like Elaine of Seinfeld fame.  

Consumption looked good (I forget who on here suggested that as a nickname, but being partial to the 19th Century, I like it).  He's got the talent--it's just a question of finding consistency.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
quit looking at numbers and watch him throw.

The Rangers couldn't pick up the ball off his hand at all!  If you've ever faced a guy who hides his pitches well, it is a scary proposition.  If you gear up for a fastball and he throws a breaking ball, you're going to look very foolish swinging the bat.  The scary part is picking up the fastball when you can't tell if it's going to be a breaking pitch (because you think you know what's coming).  Your heart skips a beat and if you live to go sit down again, you consider it a good day.

[jasonact]

Quote:
JD and BB kept remarking how many Stros fans there were in the crowd for Sunday's game.

I completely agree. I listened to the game on XM, which had the Rangers' feed. If I hadn't known that they were in Arlington, I might have thought it was in Houston. The crowd noise was just as loud for the Astros as for the Rangers over the radio. Very nice.

And Buchholz is a stud. He's had a couple of rough outings this season, thereby inflating the ERA, but the outings where he was on, he looked phenomenal. He's definitely a stud, only a rookie stud who's had a few growing pains.

[Reuben]

Quote:
I agree, but I'm waiting for his career ERA to get below 5 before I deem him "The Stud."

Even if you do want to look at numbers- he's got a 1.18 WHIP, which is about 6th-best in the NL.

[Zan]

I don't dispute that he's good. It's just a difference in the usage of the phrase "The Stud," I think. I would use that label on, at most, a handful of MLB players. Perhaps I was being too nitpicky.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

That's interesting.  I was watching a game with my father that Buchholtz started, against SF if I recall correctly.  Anyway, it was one of Buchholtz's tougher outings and the first thing my father said was, he's got talent but he's showing them the ball too early.  We watched another game Buchholtz was pitching and this time, my father pointed out he was keeping the ball behind him better and not letting them pick up the ball so early.

[BizidyDizidy]

He had three meltdowns - 8 runs twice, and 9 runs once. In his other 11 starts he has a 3.33 era.