By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET – Clay Buchholz has demonstrated he has the physical tools to pitch in the majors. Still, what is will be, and right now, the 24-year-old Buchholz is stationed with the Pawtucket Red Sox.
At least for the moment. Delivering perhaps the line of Tuesday afternoon’s Media Day festivities at McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson quipped, “For this week these are your 2009 PawSox.”
Buchholz was approachable and amicable, patiently answering every question steered his way. He did not show a hint of remorse that he would be starting off in Triple-A. For someone with a hearty dose of big league service time, Buchholz is at peace with his current baseball port of call.
“I’m glad to be here, I could have been released or looking for a job,” Buchholz kidded. “I’ll bide my time (with the PawSox), hopefully pitch well, and go from there. Hopefully that phone call will come soon.”
Multiple Cy Youngs, All-Star appearances and strikeout crowns were deemed in Buchholz’s future after one magical night in September of 2007. That’s what authoring a no-hitter in just his second MLB start did for him: it raised the bar considerably.
Everything changed, however, when Buchholz struggled in 2008, a season that saw him start out as Boston’s fifth starter and wind up in Double-A Portland. Buchholz’s “lost” year consisted of a 2-9 record with a 6.75 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) with the Red Sox.
Fastball command was deemed the root of his troubles, which was one of the issues the Boston brass hoped he would iron out during a nine-game stint with Pawtucket. Ultimately Buchholz ran out of chances and left Red Sox Nation wondering if he was a flash in the pan.
“I didn’t have the year anybody had hoped,” Buchholz admitted.
In reality, starting over was just what Buchholz, a sandwich pick (No. 42 overall) in 2005, needed. Last season was the first time he encountered adversity, something that wasn’t on the menu while he breezed through the Red Sox’ farm system. His failures were on the highest possible stage, but they also served as a reminder that the stringbean righty was still a novice in need of more polishing.   
To his credit, Buchholz gleaned plenty of positives from the rebuilding road his travails placed him on. Getting reunited with Mike Cather, Buchholz’s pitching coach in Portland and before then Single-A Wilmington, was beneficial. So too was heading out to the Arizona Fall League, an assignment Buchholz admitted he was originally skeptical about.
“(Cather) helped me get back to the roots. I was devastated about going down (to Class AA), but we got back to the roots of everything,” Buchholz. “Everything felt refined; I got back to the way I used to pitch and had a better feel for everything.”
Just as the sour taste of ’08 was about to leave Buchholz, Boston bolstered its pitching depth by signing veteran starters Brad Penny and John Smoltz. Though neither deal was done with long-range planning in mind, the acquisitions helped Buchholz realize that nothing would be handed his way. Last spring training saw him compile a 10.03 ERA and still break camp with the parent club.
“If last year goes well, I’m up in Boston and they don’t do any off-season signings,” Buchholz suggested. “They went out and got some insurance.”
The theme of this spring was for Buchholz to place heat on Boston’s brass and lay to rest that last year was a fluke. By putting up stellar Grapefruit League numbers (2-0 in six starts, 2.52 ERA), the hope was that the Red Sox would strongly consider him for the rotation.
Ultimately, the decision went the other way. “They reassured me that I did make it hard on them,” Buchholz said. “We’ll all live with it and go from there.”
If recent history is any indication, a team will not solely depend on the five starting arms it starts the year with. There’s a distinct chance Buchholz will be back pitching in Fenway Park, providing he gets outs at McCoy.
“You have to have more than five starters and know that they’ll be on their best game every time out,” Buchholz said. “I’m still young and hopefully by mid-season I’ll be up in the big leagues for good.”
Johnson says the biggest adjustment he’s seen from Buchholz, who has one option remaining, is that of a more mature pitcher.
“We always knew he had great stuff. Unfortunately, Clay had his peaks and valleys in the bigs,” Johnson said. “Here’s what he’s got: every five days you’ve got the ball. If you pitch good, here’s a pat on the back. If you pitch (lousy), I’ll see you in four days. I think that’s what he wants, so we’re going to take it and go that way.”