Buchholz to pitch for the Red Sox on Friday!

I am a happy happy camper. Wanna know why?

Is it because I went to my first game at Fenway Park on Saturday? Possibly. (I'll post a more in depth post on this soon).

Is it because Josh Beckett just pitched a 94 pitch complete game shutout and recorded his 100th career win? Possibly.

Or...

Could it be because at the post game interview Terry Francona made an announcement that has me doing cartwheels and jumping for joy?

What did Tito say? Well, he said that on Friday, the first game after the All Star Game, the starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox will be.....



CLAY BUCHHOLZ.

Cannot contain excitement. I have waited to see him on the mound for the Sox all season long. I don't have more info on the details...how they are dealing with the roster to make this happen...if this is a one time start or if Clay is going to hang with the rotation for a while. It's hot off the presses...and something that makes Shelley aka HUGE CLAY FAN very happy.

Of course, it also makes me suspicious. I know that there were Toronto scouts at the PawSox game today when Buch was pitching. I do fear that they are bringing Clay up to showcase him pitching on the major league level to whoever out there might be watching.

I'll say it once. I'll say it again. NO TRADE CLAY.

But, for right now...I am just going to bask in the excitement that I am going to see Clay pitching with the Red Sox in less than a week. WOOT! WOOT!

EDITED TO ADD:

The Globe has an article with a little more info on Clay and the decision to have him pitch on Friday. Tito said they were concerned about rest of their starters who are participating in the All Star Game. They did not want to change the rotation for their starters, so they are bringing Clay up on Friday and then will send him back down to the minors and return to their regularly scheduled rotation of Penny, Lester, Smoltz, Beckett and Wakefield.

Francona said Buchholz was selected for a variety of reasons, but part of that is rewarding him for his fantastic performance in the minor leagues so far.

“That’s part of it,” Francona said. “He’s very important to what we’re doing, obviously, in the future. I don’t that we would just do that. It lines up real well. It should benefit him and us.”