What if Wakefield Pitches Well?

Suppose Tim Wakefield pitches a gem tonight and he does not suffer any pain afterwards.  Where does he fit in for the post-season?  Wake was the best pitcher for the Red Sox in the first half; he made the All-Star game remember?  If he can stay healthy and pitch well for the remainder of the season he needs to be considered for the #3 spot in the post-season rotation.  A little competition is a good thing for Buchholz and Dice-K as we near October but one of them may be left out of the ALDS roster.  Tim Wakefield will always do anything for the good of the team so he might be the odd man out, but he could be the 3rd best pitcher on the team once the ALDS begins.  Wake, Dice-K, and Buchholz will most likely have 2 more starts apeice in the regular season, one bad outing could find anyone of them off the roster or in the pen for the first round of the playoffs.

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Can The Red Sox Get There Without Wake?

If the Red Sox are going to the promised land again in '09 they may have to do it without Tim Wakefield. He will miss his next start and possibly more according to Terry Francona:

"We have him penciled in down in Baltimore but having said that we’re going to talk to Tom (Dr. Tom Gill) and figure out whether he can pitch every 10 days or whether that’s doing him a disservice. We’re kind of stuck in the middle, and he is, too. There’s a lot of gray area here and we really don’t know.”

If Dice-K makes another rehab start then the rotation would be Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Byrd, and Tazawa or possibly Bowden. With an off day this week they can skip the 5th spot and go back to Lester but after that it means Dice-K and Byrd will need to be in the rotation; not something that sits well with this corner of Red Sox Nation.

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That one didn't go well, either

Wake pitched today after missing a start, and pitched well, just not well enough. He allowed 3 runs in the 1st inning, but settled down to throw 4 scoreless frames before allowing 1 more in the 6th. He struck out 4 and 3 walked. No WP's or PB's, either. Martinez seems to be handling the knuckleball. Not a bad performance given that he was just injured again, but the big news was Chicago's Gavin Floyd had not just a no-no, but a perfecto through 5 innings. Nick Green broke that up with a single in the 6th. None of this perfect game BS against the Red Sox. They've never suffered through a perfect game and weren't about to let one in the books today. Floyd struck out 11 and didn't walk a single batter. Jason Bay hit a home run for the lonesome Red Sox run, and second of only 3 hits they could manage.

The damn Yankees are on a roll, beating Toronto today (grrrrr...........) The only good news today is that the Rangers lost and remain 2 GB the Red Sox in the wild card race.

Red Sox lose 1-5 BOX SCORE

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Wake to Start Saturday

Tim Wakefield is on track to start Saturday against the White Sox according to Rob Bradford from WEEI.com:

Tim Wakefield, who threw 25 pitches in a side session Thursday, has been told that he will be the Red Sox' scheduled starter Saturday in Chicago against the White Sox if he experiences no setbacks Friday. Junichi Tazawa was originally slated to start Saturday, but after Wakefield's bullpen session at Tropicana Field prior to the Red Sox' 6-3 win over the Rays, it was determined that, barring any worsening of his back or calf, he was fit to make the Saturday start.

Last time Wake faced Chicago he went 7 innings and gave up just 1 earned run. The game will be televised on Fox.

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Decision Time For Wake

Tim Wakefield will try to throw off of the mound today and see what level of back pain he experiences. He had a cortisone shot on Monday and played catch yesterday. If he still has a high level of pain he could opt for surgery and be back in time for the playoffs:

"Medically speaking, there's more fluid in there now and it's pressing against the nerve, which is causing weakness and numbness."

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Wake is not the only knuckleballer out there

Charlie Haeger of the LA Dodgers is 1-1, 1.93 ERA after recently being called up from AAA. He has pitched 14 innings in 2 the two games he has started since getting the call, allowing 8 H’s, 3 ER’s, 4 BB’s, while notching 9 K’s. He has only 48 major league innings spread out over 4 seasons with the White Sox, Padres, and now the Dodgers. Haeger also throws a change up, an occasional curveball and even a fastball on occasion.

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Wakefield To Miss More Time

Tim Wakefield will miss his next start because of back problems. Jon Lester or Clay Buchholz will pitch on Tuesday in Wake's spot. Paul Byrd could be the starter tomorrow. Suddenly it is looking like last season all over again with Beckett struggling and Wake having back issues.

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Bob Ryan (Boston Globe) on Tim Wakefield

This from Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe on Tim Wakefield:

"Dan Duquette’s long-ago gift to the Red Sox that keeps on giving."

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Wake's back! Papi, two!

Tim Wakefield pitched a great game tonight, his first since July 8th, but unfortunately did not get the win. Wake went 7 strong innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 run, walking 1 and striking 3 White Sox out. This was the first time Martinez had ever caught a knuckleballer in a game. He had caught a couple of Wake’s bullpen sessions under the supervision of Gary Tuck, the bullpen coach. There were no wild pitches in tonight’s game, and while Martinez did have an error, it was on a throw, not a passed ball.

Wake allowed a run in the 1st, but David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz homered in the bottom of the 2nd to even things up. Alex Gonzalez, of slight power and average, hit his 5th HR of the season to give the Sox the go ahead run in the 5th. He went 2/3 for the night, raising his average to .219. Ramon Ramirez gave up a HR in the top of the 8th for only his 3rd BS of the season. Enter Big Papi in the bottom of the 9th as we hark back to 2004 and the days of seemingly endless Big Papi walk-off HR’s and other greatest hits. He launched his 2nd HR of the night around the Pesky Pole, giving him 22 HR’s and 77 RBI’s so far in the 2009 campaign.

Sox Win 3-2 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
White Sox	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	7	0
Red Sox	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	7	1

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The Lost Penny

Brad Penny is out of the rotation. With Wake returning on Wednesday, Penny is now out of the starting rotation. RedSox.com has TBA for the starting pitcher for Thursday, but I'm picking Tazawa for the start. I’m calling it right now.

Beckett
Lester
Wakefield
Buchholz
Tazawa

(JIC you were scratchin’ yer noggin.)

And then Dice-K will be along momentarily.

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Wakefield Will Pitch Sox into the Playoffs

Josh Beckett will do his part. Jon Lester will keep the Red Sox in the hunt and Buchholz looks like he can pitch well in the bigs. When you add Wakefield back into the rotation the Red Sox will have a staff capable of getting them into the playoffs no matter who the 5th starter is. Tazawa or Penny could be that placeholder until Dice-K comes back and the team will be OK. Wakefield's rehab is done and he should make a start with the team next week. Here is what he told Pawtucket broadcaster Dan Hoard aftert his last night's game:

"I felt great physically," Wakefield told me after the game. "Compared to last week, I think my strength has increased a tremendous amount from last week to tonight. I was able to obviously throw more pitches, I had to cover first base - there's still a little limp there - but nothing's really bothering me to pitch."

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Wake and Dice-K

As reported on redsox.com, Tim Wakefield will make a start in Pawtucket on Wednesday, while Dice-K will throw a side session on Friday. Wakefield's return is imminent, provided he has a good outing. Dice-K will pitch in the Gulf Coast League and then return to Boston next week. After the medical staff clears him, he will make 2 starts for Portland before moving on to Pawtucket.

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But who will catch Wakefield?

With Tim Wakefield’s return looming on the horizon, what will become of the Sox’s catching situation? George Kottaras has done an admirable job of catching that fluttering ball that comes out of Wake’s hand. When Kottaras and Wakefield both come off the DL, what will happen to Kotteras? Who will catch Wake? Will the Sox carry 3 catchers? Victor Martinez can play 1B, but he’s also been working with Wake catching his bullpen sessions. Martinez has never caught a knuckleball before.

“I thought it was O.K.,” said Martinez, who wore a bigger catcher’s mitt during the session. “I dropped some balls, obviously, but we’ll see. I’ll get another bullpen session to try it again. I’m going to do my best and see what happens.”

If Martinez can figure out that screwy pitch, it will not bode well for Kottaras. The Sox sorely need Wake back in the rotation. Let’s hope that V-Mart can handle that pitch. If he succeeds, then Tito will have the luxury of shuffling him to 1B, Youk to 3B, and giving Mike Lowell another day off, before returning to the dish and giving ‘Tek a break.

Now I know some will be calling for Wake to retire, but if he can stay healthy, he’s a steal at $4M/year. Given his longevity, he could be asking for a lot more, but this just gives the Sox the luxury of being able to spend that $$$ on others, knowing full well what they can expect from Wake each year: 10-15 wins, 150+ innings.

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Wake's Recovery is Not Going Well

Tim Wakefield will not be rejoining the Red Sox anytime soon after facing a setback in his rehab:

“I’m just depressed that this isn’t progressing the way I want it to progress,” Wakefield said yesterday, his 43rd birthday. “I’m throwing, playing catch. There are different symptoms now. I’ve got zero strength in my left calf due to the nerve. I’m just waiting for it to get better.”

With Buchholz and Penny both struggling on the mound the team needs Wake back ASAP.

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Wake to DL, Buchholz Called Up

Tim Wakefield has a "lower back strain" and is said to have suffered the injury during a side session Saturday. He is going on the DL retroactive to July 18 and Buchholz will take his spot on the roster. Seems like Wake is taking one for the team here so the Red Sox can get one more start out of Penny, Smoltz, and Buchholz before the deadline to see what they should do for the second half.

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One More Post on Wake

My last one, I promise (yeah, right, Dave.) There's another great story on Wake's 1st ASG selection on MLB.COM, with a great video of an interview with him. Check it out.

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The Heavy

It's no secret that Tim Wakefield has been my favorite Sox player for a long time (followed by Pesky, DiMaggio, Pedroia, Yaz, Tony C, and yes Manny, too.) I thought Wake should have been on the All Star Team last year, as he had a formidable stretch in his last 7 games before the ASG (7+ innings each game, 1.98 ERA), but since Tito was the manager, and there were several Sox already on the team, he had to pass on Wake. (He had to pass on Lester, too, who was also having a monster year.)

In today's Boston Globe, Adam Kilgore tells the great story of Wake's success and difficulties in Pittsburgh back in '92 and '93. Pittsburgh released him after going 6-11, with a 5.61 ERA in '93. Dan Duquette, as GM of the old Montreal Expos, had seen him pitch in his rookie year of '92, when he went 8-1, 2.15 ERA, and snatched him up on opening day '94. He firmly believed that Wake was the difference in Pittsburgh making it to the post-season that year and not the Expos. Wake has been with the Sox ever since, quietly going about his business. Kilgore tells of Wake learning from Charlie Hough, his friendship with another well respected Sox, Mike Timlin, his team leading community appearances, and his charitable work for The Franciscan Hospital for Children.

Wake has had some up years and some down years along the way, and while his numbers may not get him into the MLB HoF, he most certainly be will be in the Red Sox HoF. He is bearing down on a couple of notable milestones: he has 189 career wins right now, 2910+ IP, and 1968 K's. Knuckleballers historically have pitched well into their mid and late 40's, so here's hoping that we still see Wake in a Sox uni for a few more years to come.

As an aside, my brother in RI, yard sale and flea market wiz that he is, gave me a Wakefield Pittsburgh shirt years ago, but my ex-wife.....

Ah, what are exes for anyhow? Who knew? Who could have known?

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A Tip of the Cap to Joe Maddon

In a very classy gesture, Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, used one of his picks to name Tim Wakefield to the American League All Star Game Team. Whether perceived or real, a budding rivalry between the Sox and the Rays could have cast a shadow over the possibility of any Sox being picked by Maddon with his allotted manager's picks. Joe Maddon rose above this with his choice of Wakefield in what could be considered a lifetime achievement award as much as it reflects his performance this season.

Despite his 4.30 ERA this year, Wake has a 10-3 record, which ties him for most victories by any pitcher in the AL, and puts him 2nd in W-L pct. He has 10 quality starts this season, which is 2nd on the Sox staff behind Beckett. In the month of June, he was 4-0, with a 3.45 ERA. Outstanding individual game performances this year include a 7 inning 1 H, 0 ER, no decision at Cleveland, an 8 inning, 5 H, 1 ER win against Toronto, and a 6 inning 3 H, 0 ER win at Atlanta just last week.

Of all his games this year, the one game that stands out the most is his April 15th gem at Oakland (which I was extremely fortunate to be in attendance to witness) when he carried a no-no into the 8th inning (perfect into the 5th, broken up by an error.) He pitched a CG that day tossing 111 pitches, while allowing only 4 H and 2 ER.

I called for Wakefield to be named to last year's ASG by Tito, as his ERA over the 7 games preceding the nominations was only 1.72. He pitched at least 7 innings in all of those games. Unfortunately for Wake last year, several of his teammates had been chosen by the fans. Had Tito chosen one of his own starters, I'm sure cries of favoritism would have been heard across the land no matter how brilliant his stats were at the time of manager's picks. Joe Maddon did not have that influence to worry about this year.

RedSox.com has a great story about how Tito informed Wake of his achievement, the announcement of the achievement during the game, and the video of his NESN in-game interview, including a big ol' bear hug that Papi gave him. I got all tingly with pride watching the video and reading the story, as Wake has been my favorite Sox for several years now.

Joe Maddon did the right thing!

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You Can't Tell Me Wake Doesn't Deserve To Be In The ASG!

Wake tossed 6 innings of 3 hit shutout ball against the Braves today for his 10th win of the season, lowering his ERA to 4.18, as the Sox beat Atlanta 1-o in a great pitcher's duel. Papelbon got his 18th save.

I'm still in the middle of moving, Fenway West is headed to CO for some RnR, so details in this post will be few, but check back soon. Fenway West (Matt) will soon have a special interview treat coming in a couple of days.

Sox WIN 1-0 Box Score

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Tim Wakefield Has Baseball Field Named After Him

Tim Wakefield throws out the first pitch at a baseball field named after him by Franciscan Hospital. Notice how he throws a knuckler.

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