Rob Bradford, Red Sox Pregame

Rob let's start with the last night and we'll start with Clay Buchholz who. Slowly but surely has become a dependable third starter for this team in again his performance last night was on -- night when he really didn't have his best stuff.

Yeah I I think there's different challenges that clay buckles of -- along the way here last night present a little bit different one in the sense that. -- have three of -- four pitches as he describes it. -- the only is he thought this slider was his best pitch slider really the pitch that he used doesn't use nearly as much as the other pitches so. It's all part of the process for clay is in the thing is is that last year that talked a lot about him having to overcome adversity. And showed that when something goes wrong or something goes unexpected. That he is able to bounce back from it and this was the case of that where he -- he clearly didn't wanna go into the start without the good stuff for these other pitches. But he had to -- adjusted you've revised and he came out with a pretty good outing.

Clearly you can see his confidence building on the mound start to start. But also when you listen to his teammates talked they seemed to be -- very impressed with what he's been able to do and they have a lot more confidence in him as well.

The is no question about it they were -- all of a stud use him. And yet Dustin Pedroia is saying that he is number one starter stuff in and -- they feel like that they're playing behind a guy who's gonna give the chance to win. Night and night out -- wasn't the case last year and it probably was even the case what is called up for that first start in July in Toronto is that you don't know what you're gonna get from even though he's been great spring training. Great in my -- still be -- to prove that not only can he do it for one or two starts but when times get tough. Are you going to be able to overcome them are you going to be able move on it's from some failure and he's passed all these tests and I think the players also -- they also note that. The dedicate quicker bats can get a lot more ground balls we did before. The whole package is something that I think -- a lot of guys like played behind.

Most people realize that Jon Lester had the entire package last season and for the most part he has picked up right where he left off a year ago if you look at his recent run I think it's a stretch of nineteen starts or so. He's pitched to any area of essentially to having those are unheard of type numbers certainly ace type numbers and at times is blowing guys away.

Yeah in and we so I guess week is so I don't say it's gone under the radar here Brit certainly. He's been a dominant dominant pitcher for the Red Sox for most of this year. And also the fact is that he has the kind of stuff that you just don't seem baseball nowadays as -- Billy Wagner before the game today and he says that. Jon Lester of the best stuff of any pitcher he's ever pitched with now you have to understand he's fifty Johan Santana is -- was -- to name just a couple guys. And to say that Jon Leicester a guy who's only been around for about a month here. That's pretty high praise it but it shows you type of stuff that that basically it's jumps out at you. And I also talked to Wagner about listen this is that perfect. Test case in terms of a guy evolving as a pitcher that we think back -- on the way he was a guy who struggled was -- his pitch count took a long time between pitches. There where he is now is just a pretty impressive transformation.

Josh Beckett and the entire rotation we'll get an extra day of rest coming up this week assuming everything is on course for Tim Wakefield he had another checking in today it looks good parade Monday starts. This time a year especially for a guy like Beckett an extra day can do him a lot of good I would imagine.

Well I talked to -- today and basically what he was saying reminding me is the facts that you go back 2007. And how important missing those couple starts because of valuables in the going on the DL -- And he's references many times he doesn't feel like he could have been act good in October if not without rest back then. And he really hasn't had that -- try to rest this he -- the only time was around the All-Star break. He's get an extra day here he might get an extra another extra days somewhere down line before the regular season ends. And a few good look at his numbers in terms of having that extra day of rest they really jump Bowden used so I think that. It's one of these cases where he's really kind of got to embrace the strategy that it taking. And he's also able to do it because he's gotten back on the right track here and that he's not trying to work stuff out. There was one time when he was going through struggles he even threw two bullpen and so that kind of shows you that he you have to work on things extra hard. Now that he's he feels like he's back on the right track -- reeled in a little. Get the rest that he needed and get in the right place -- in the post season high rough thank you will talk -- tomorrow. --