I was going to try and do a write up every week on the Red Sox and how they panned out over the last seven days of play. However, after Clay Buchholz’s start last night I couldn’t wait that long to write out my angst. Could this just have been one bad start to begin the 2016 season for Clay Buchholz, or is this a potential ongoing pattern to worry about for the upcoming season?

Clay Buchholz’s stat line for his loss last night against Cleveland looks like this:

4 IP, 6 Hits, 5 Runs, 5 Earned Runs, 3 BB’s, 2.250 WHIP, and an 11.25 ERA.

There are two very different paths Buchholz can take, let’s hope it’s the better one.

There are several good and elite pitchers who have struggled before and found their groove and found a way to put together a solid season. As a matter of fact, Clay did just that last year. In 2015, he pitched well against the Phillies in his first start, but his second was a much different story. His second start was against the Yankees. He surrendered 10 runs in 3.1 innings, which makes his 5 runs in 4 innings look like a solid outing… However, after the beat down the Yankee’s put on Clay, over his next sixteen starts his stat line was much different with a 2.80 ERA, 95 k’s and 20 BB’s. He finished his season strong and generally gave us a chance to win through the remainder of his starts. What type of response are we going to see from Clay after last night?

If you are superstitious, like I am to an extent, there is a reason to be worried. Clay’s stat line from every even year reads as 4.41 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 3.3 BB/9; every odd year his stat line is 3.03 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9.

I am worried there might be some type of pattern present. Is it the infamous Josh Beckett even year curse, where he only found success during his odd years with the Sox? Being a Red Sox fan, curses and superstitions play an integral part of our loyalty to our beloved team. It is only one start out of many to come, however with Buchholz’s history of finding himself on the DL, how many starts can we truly expect? There are many questions surrounding Buchholz right about now.

How will Clay Buchholz respond to his first start? How will his 2016 season go? Did he inherit the Josh Beckett even year doomed legacy? Only time will tell.