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.
3 comments:
I don't think Wake...if he pitches well or not, is in consideration to be the #3 pitcher in the post season. Given that his back issues are only going to be solved by surgery, that isn't a chance the Sox can take with him...and he is such a liability fielding wise. A team that can play small ball...like the LAA can..will be bunting all over the place on someone like Wake.
Wake might be a great addition as a long man in the bull pen though...instead of someone like Paul Byrd. We'll see, but I can't see any scenario where Wake takes a permanent #3 spot...that's left for Clay and Dice-K to battle out.
Wake, Dice-K, and Clay all probably have 2 more starts each. Their performances down the stretch will dictate Tito's choice for #3 and #4. Then there are also the matchups, stadia, and weather to factor in.
I seriously doubt Byrd will start, unless the Sox have some freak last minute injuries and he pitches 2 complete game shutouts.
Well, we know for sure Byrd won't be one of the starters- down 0-5 in the 1st against KCR! Yikes!
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