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Say what you will about Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz, but he’s heard it all before: he’s too immature, he’s too skinny, he’s not ready for this level of play, he’s not worth the hype.

This past Wednesday, having taken the mound for just the 7th time in 2009, he faced off against Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in baseball. This was a game that mattered very much, and the Blue Jays were favored to win it.

But Buchholz continued to be unfazed by all of it and put up his third-straight solid start, going six innings and allowing just one run on six hits on 94 pitches for the win while Halladay looked like the inexperienced one (five innings, eight hits, four earned runs, 103 pitches). He’s learning on the job and despite going up against the other team’s best, Buchholz continues to send a message to anyone that will listen that he has earned his spot.

In the two starts leading up to Wednesday, Buchholz had been matched up against two other aces in Detroit’s Justin Verlander and New York’s CC Sabathia. Here’s how he fared: Vs. Verlander: 7.0 IP, one earned run, five hits, three K’s, three walks, 100 pitches. He took the hard luck loss as Verlander didn’t allow a run in eight innings of work and Detroit won 2-0. Vs. Sabathia: 6.0 IP, two earned runs, six hits, three K’s, five walks, 105 pitches. Again, he took the loss as Sabathia allowed just two hits in 7.2 innings as again, Boston couldn’t manage a single run in a 5-0 loss in the Bronx.

The beginning of his season tells a different story. Buchholz struggled greatly on the mound during a game against the Orioles, but he’s been more than reliable these past few starts. It seems like the void left by John Smoltz may be in decent hands.

This may have something to do with the fact that the trade deadline has now passed. Leading up to the July 30th deadline, Buchholz was the talk of many potential deals that would have sent him to another team.

Now, Buccholz is firm in his role with the Red Sox and happy to be a part of a team in a chase. He’s growing up some more with each start and may finally be reaching the potential that so many Red Sox faithful always knew he possessed.

The Red Sox are sorely in need of a reliable starting pitcher. With Matsuzaka and Wakefield sidelined, and Smoltz back down in the minors, there couldn’t be a better time for Buchholz to establish himself as a steady hand in Boston’s rotation.

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