When you are looking for a replacement for an injured starter, you obviously want to find someone comparable. If numbers mean anything, the Red Sox hit the nail on the head when they brought in Erik Bedard to fill in for Clay Buchholz.
"You look at [Bedard's] stats, his numbers are eerily similar to Buchholz's this year," manager Terry Francona said. "I mean like right there. It's amazing."
Throw out the win-loss record. Buchholz, at 6-3, has pitched for one of the better teams in baseball. Bedard, 4-7, has not.
From there, it is rather eerie:
Starts: Buchholz 14, Bedard 16
ERA: Buchholz 3.48, Bedard 3.45
Innings pitched: Buchholz 82 2/3, Bedard 91 1/3
Hits allowed: Buchholz 76, Bedard 77
Home runs allowed: Buchholz 10, Bedard 11
Walks allowed: Buchholz 31, Bedard 30
Interestingly enough, the similarities extend to their career numbers. Buchholz owns a .593 winning percentage and an ERA of 3.64 in his lifetime. Bedard's winning percentage is .534 (not a huge disparity when you consider the difference in the teams for which they've played) and his ERA is 3.69.
The Red Sox never wanted to lose Buchholz. Nobody would. However, if statistics offer any guide, they might not even notice.
