Poor Clay Buchholz

A year ago Clay Buchholz was on top of the world.

On September 1, 2007, in only his second major league appearance, Buchholz was welcomed into the hearts of Red Sox Nation when he tossed a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles.

Instant celebrity. Got a World Series ring. Dated a Penthouse playmate.

Well, 2008 has not gone so well for Buchholz. Expected to be a fixture in the starting rotation, Buchholz has struggled. He went on the 15 day disabled list after he tore his fingernail and then rehabbed at Pawtucket. Since returning from Pawtucket, Buchholz has gone 0-6 with an 8.47 ERA. If that doesn't mean anything to you I can tell you that's very, very bad. Overall, he's 2-9 with a 6.75 ERA. He looks unfocused and very unsure of himself. Buchholz has a bad habit of throwing over to first base when the runner hasn't even taken a lead off the bag. He doesn't want to throw the ball to the plate.

Last night, he faced the Orioles and unlike his masterpiece from a year ago, Buchholz lasted only two and a third innings giving up five runs on three hits, three walks, a hit batsmen and no strikeouts. After the game Buchholz was demoted to Double-A Portland to get his head on straight.

Hopefully he will make a greater contribution to the Sox in 2009. But it just goes to show you that baseball can make you humble just as quickly as it can make you immortal.