Theo Epstein Is A Robot And Will Eventually Enslave Us All

In another chapter in our repeated quest to understand the quixotic planet of Red Sox Nation, we delve down the rabbit hole of the saga of Clay Buchholz.

As you know by now, the Red Sox do not plan on starting Buchholz again this season, even though he threw a no-hitter in his last start. (We know they claimed they would take him out the minute he hit his 120th pitch, even if he still had a no-hitter. We still refuse to believe this.) This kind of blows our mind a little bit. We understand he is a young pitcher, and you have to protect him. We do remember Bud Smith, after all.

But here's a question: When Buchholz throws in the bullpen, he'll surely give up a hit or two. But what if he throws a no-hitter in his next start, presumably next season? Does that tie him with Johnny Vander Meer's no-hit record? Does it still count? It's an odd question to even consider asking; we never thought we'd face it before.

The major point, though, is that Theo Epstein is as disciplined a human being as we have ever encountered. The guy has a plan and will not diverge from it. We suspect this is only good for the Red Sox, even if it does prove him bionic.

The Buchholz Dilemma [Vegas Watch]