Bad Luck Buckley
by Mike Ashmore
August 10, 2006 - Hunterdon County Democrat

Today, Jim Buckley sits in front of his locker at Bridgewater's Commerce Bank Ballpark, cleaning his spikes. Just as easily, he could be having someone clean his shoes for him as he sits in a spacious locker in Boston's Fenway Park.

Drafted in the 25th round by the Red Sox in 2002, the defensive specialist worked his way through Boston's minor league system and started 2006 as a member of their Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket.

But, just nine games into the season, the Marlton native strained his right calf and was placed on the disabled list. He never got off of it.

Released on the last day of June, Buckley's watched both Red Sox catchers go down with injuries, leading to both Pawtucket catchers -- Corky Miller and Ken Huckaby -- getting called up, as well as a trade that sent All-Star backstop Javy Lopez to Beantown. But the 26-year-old isn't letting himself think about the past.

"I understood what my role was in Pawtucket," Buckley said. "Everybody knew that if something happened to one of those guys up there, Huckaby was going to be the guy to go up."

A career .192 hitter entering the season, Buckley's defense is what got him to the highest level of minor league baseball, a fact his pitchers can certainly attest to.

"Buck calls a great game," said Patriots pitcher Ben Crockett. "It's tough to come into a new situation like this, not knowing what guys throw. He's done a good job with us; he sat down with me to see what I throw in what counts. He's been great out there."

But Crockett and the rest of the Patriots pitching staff aren't the only pitchers that Buckley's helped out. The Siena College grad has caught all the young guns the Red Sox have used to keep them in the thick of the playoff race.

"I've caught (Jonathan) Papelbon since he signed, I've had him every year," Buckley said. "(Jon) Lester was my roommate, and I caught him for three years, I had (Manny) Delcarmen for three years. It's fun to see those guys that you've caught have success at the big league level."

With base stealers a perfect 10-for-10 off of him, it's come as a surprise that a player brought in for his defense has his offense keeping him in the lineup since he was signed on July 27th.

"He's been really good," said Patriots manager Sparky Lyle. "He's come in here and helped us win a few games right off the bat. He's done everything and more than what we thought he was going to do."

Hitting .261 with one home run and four RBI in 23 at-bats through Saturday, Buckley seems to be enjoying his first taste of life outside of affiliated baseball. But, make no mistake about it, he's itching to get back to the minors.

"This is the premiere independent league to play in," he said. "I think everybody's goal here is to get back to affiliated ball, but Somerset won the championship last year and they're always in the thick of the playoff hunt, so I couldn't think of a better team to come to."

With Somerset's other catchers only hitting a combined .203 this season, Buckley and his bat look to give the Patriots the boost they need to keep them in the thick of this year's playoff race as well.

SomerStuff: After nearly two months of rumors he'd be coming to Somerset, former big league pitcher Kane Davis was officially signed on Saturday. Davis most recently pitched for Milwaukee last year, where he went 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 15 games. He also pitched for the Mets in 2002.

Around the Atlantic League: Continuing the Boston theme, the Long Island Ducks had four former Red Sox pitchers on their team, but lost one of them when Pat Mahomes was signed by the Kansas City Royals and assigned to Triple-A Omaha. The remaining three are Cory Bailey, Bill Pulsipher and Kevin Tolar.

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