FORT MYERS, Fla. - In an announcement that completely lacked drama, the Red Sox confirmed that Clay Buchholz would be the team's starting pitcher on Opening Day in Philadelphia, with manager John Farrell claiming "this is his time.''
It had been widely assumed all winter and spring that Buchholz would get the assignment and the way the rotation was laid out from the first week of Grapefruit League games, Buchholz has been lined up for the start.
But until Sunday morning, Farrell had avoided making that official.
"He came into camp in a good place, both mentally and physically,'' Farrell said of Buchholz. "Each bullpen to game outing in which he pitched, his delivery has been on-line. He feels good physically, he's confident. We've seen when Clay has been in that place, he's one of the better pitchers in baseball and we fully expect that, when we begin the season, he'll be in that form.''
After the trades that sent Jon Lester and John Lackey away last July 31, Buchholz became the de facto leader of the rotation.
"He's embraced it,' said Farrell of the leadership mantle. "He understands and lives the changes that have gone on around him. He's fully aware of everything that's Boston and all that goes into being a starting pitcher. He doesn't back away from it. He may go about it in his own way. He's not the most vocal guy in the world, but he's been here a number of years.
"To me, he's in a position to embrace that and assume it.''
Boston Red Sox
Farrell acknowledged that he came into spring training with the idea that Buchholz would be his choice for the opener.
"I think you come in with a plan,'' he said, "and you want to see how your initial thoughts match up (with what you see). It's important to have that plan in place and that's been in place since last winter.''
Farrell added that Rick Porcello would start the second game of the season, with the rest of the rotation still somewhat in flux due to some uncertainty surrounding Joe Kelly.
"There are a number of moving parts yet,'' said Farrell.