So far, so very good for Clay Buchholz

Clay Buchholz may have been 3-1 last April, but he certainly wasn't a good pitcher. 

Buchholz had an 8.69 ERA and a 1.897 WHIP. Batters hit .331 against him and he allowed seven homers in five games.

Take a look at why advanced fans of analytics discount the value of wins by pitchers

As you can see, there are way too many hotspots reflecting where batters had success against Clay.

But with the return of his mentor, John Farrell, Buchholz is off to a terrific start in 2013.

In his first three starts in 2013, Buchholz is 3-0 with a microscopic 0.41 ERA and a 0.955 WHIP. Batters have hit .149 against him going 11-for-74 and he has  allowed just one double and one homer in 22 IP.

His heat chart is a thing of beauty

If you are looking for one pitch that is the difference maker

How's this? 

• In April 2012, Buchholz threw 112 cutters and batters hit .407.
• In April 2013, Buchholz has thrown 62 cutters and batters have hit .071. 

It may be too early to judge the efficacy of Farrell as a manager of this team, but there is no question, he and pitching Juan Nieves are making a huge impact on the Boston staff.

Jose Bautista's June Swoon

The Blue Jays' Jose Bautista has not had too many bad months over the last couple of seasons, but he's scuffling this month. As reported by Mark Rutsey of the Toronto Sun, Jays manager John Farrell was asked if he thinks it’s a sign of frustration over the fact that he often gets pitched around?

“No, I wouldn’t say it’s from frustration,” Farrell said. “The one thing that Jose is very clear on is that when he’s gotten loaded with the proper swing mechanics it allows him to get ready earlier, which enables him to see the ball earlier in the flight to home plate. When he’s a little bit late, he doesn’t have the same clarity and I think that’s why we’re seeing some of the swings that you’re referring to.”

When you take a look at his overall swing rate this month, you can see he's swinging at pitches all over the zone:

Bautista is hitting .214 this monthBut it is against righties that Bautista is really reaching to the outer portion of the plate and not producing well:

Bautista is only hitting .129 versus righties this monthin 24 at bats against righties this month, Bautista only has four singles and no extra-base hits. For the season, Bautista is 53-for-163 against righties for a .325 avaerage and 16 homers.