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Wakefield Not Deserving


I'm hearing a lot people lobbying for Wakefield to be an all star.  Maybe there have been sentimental picks in the past, but sentimental to baseball not a particular team.  The rest of the country does not have a sore spot for Tim Wakefield just because he's done a decent job as a number 5 for a dozen years. He doesn't even factor in to the October plans of his own team. As far as the numbers go it's laughable.

Rankings/ 13 plus starts

ERA  28th

IP      19th

K's     38th

WHIP   27th

BAA    21st

The only offensive category he cracks the top ten in is a negative category  with  BB's against where he's 10th

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All-Star rules also require one player from every team to make the squad.

And fans vote the starters. Sentimentality is a huge part of the roster.

There have been other years where Wakefield’s first half (including ERA) should have been good enough to make the All-Star team (2003 comes immediately to mind), but the managers responsible for picking the pitching staff have overlooked him.

For once, this is a year where Wakefield’s pitched well enough to make the conversation realistic, and there’s a manager who thinks unconventionally enough that he might take a chance on a knuckleballer.

If the fans can vote Derek Jeter to be the starting SS every damn year, Wakefield can make it to an All-Star game once in his career.

by lone1c on Jun 30, 2009 4:33 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

WoW

Tim Wakefield vs Jeter. The comparison makes zero sense and there is no hope in debating you.

by 5percenter on Jun 30, 2009 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

The point is that Jeter does not deserve it every year (though often he does), but he makes it anyway.

"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw

by BTLove on Jun 30, 2009 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Exactly.

It’s a popularity contest for the starting batters/fielders. The pitchers are generally chosen based on meeting requirements, great performance, or the manager’s appreciation.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jun 30, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I agree

Jeter doesn’t deserve it every year, neither does Varitek, but those positions are thin and that has something to do with it as well. Plus the reason why Jeter makes it is because the fans choose. Now we have the manager choosing and we want him to listen to the fans.

I see things you don't see.

by LouieTheLip on Jul 1, 2009 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Fans only get to choose 10 guys.

Offensive starters + last guy on the roster. Everything else is player and manager votes.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 11:02 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wakefield is going to be on the All star team

bc Joe Maddon or the players are going to pick him. Joe Maddon is an old school guy, see Wake more than anyone and I would be BIG TIME money Wake is already on.

Not that I dont think Wake is deserving, I do, but since when does “deserving” figure into All Star picks?

Manny Ramirez? Jimmy Rollins?

Stat geeks just don’t understand, this is entertainment more than a real game. If the people want Wake, he will be in the game bc Fox/ESPN or ABC or whomever will have the best time spicing up a boring game with Wake going against Pujols, Wright, Fielder, Braun, AG, Hanley, etc. for one inning.

Trust me, the Joe Buck and McCarver cannot wait to talk about Wake v. the NL power hitters and they will hype it up.

Also, please explain how Wake does not fit into the Red Sox post season plans?

by SoxAcumen on Jun 30, 2009 4:47 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

??

He wasn’t on the roster last year was he?? Or was he in the bull pen??

by 5percenter on Jun 30, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Because the knuckleball isn't a reliable pitch.

They don’t want to lose a game because the knuckler has one bad inning (reliever) or he starts a game off badly.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jun 30, 2009 9:21 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah he was in the bull pen waiting for the them to open the gates so he could run at the matador.

by Gnick on Jun 30, 2009 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wake won't be a starter in the postseason

But as long as he’s healthy, he’d be a devastating change of pace between Beckett/Lester/Smoltz/Penny and the cannons in the bullpen.

All this “sentimentality” stuff, though, is the reason why the All-Star Game shouldn’t count for anything. I don’t want home field advantage in the World Series for the Sox coming down to Jeter’s ability to reach a grounder in the hole, nor would I want whatever random Nationals player makes the roster having any effect if I rooted for a National League team.

In any case, if I were to pick the best 15 or so pitchers in the AL, I wouldn’t pick Wake — he’s had a very good year and he’s the best 5th starter in the league, but he’s not one of the 15 best pitchers. But if I’m picking who I really want to see, he’s the second pitcher in the game for the AL, right after the first Royal to actually deserve a roster spot in years.

by RSNexile on Jun 30, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

as far as McCarver and Buck

You are right it is entertainment. The picture you paint about Wakefield vs Pujols seems more like a goof . I agree it would be entertaining in a funny kind of way.

by 5percenter on Jun 30, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I really could not give a shit whether Wake makes it or not.

If he does, it will be because of all of our least favorite pitching stat: Wins. He obviously is not one of the best pitchers in the AL: Greinke, Holliday, Verlander, Cliff Lee, Edwin Jackson, Josh Beckett, Felix Hernandez have all been clearly better and then there are others that you could argue have been better than Wake.

"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw

by BTLove on Jun 30, 2009 5:34 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Not many people think he deserves it outside of a lifetime achievement sort of appearance.

But they do recognize the possibility and are happy it might happen to the guy.

by USG on Jun 30, 2009 5:49 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

True.

If the Sox only got to have one pitcher in the All-Star Game, I know it should be Beckett, but at the same time I hope Wakefield gets a nod.

I would think MLB and Fox would like that, too. As you said above—it makes for a good storyline.

by lone1c on Jun 30, 2009 6:48 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

So

Let the Red Sox have a Wakefield day. The rest of the country doesn’t feel sentiment from a guy that isn’t even reliable enough to start in the post season.

I see things you don't see.

by LouieTheLip on Jul 1, 2009 10:09 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

It's not him thats unreliable, it's a pitch that no one could ever possibly have full control over.

That he’s managed to have a long, productive, successful career while also being a model citizen and teammate is what we want him to be recognized for.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Not our choice. It's up to the managers.

But don’t expect us not to lobby.

by USG on Jul 2, 2009 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

On a COMPLETELY unrelated subject.

I’d like to take this time to remind everyone that all Fanposts should be above replacement-post value. If your Fanpost has no or negative value, reconsider posting it.

Thank you.

Again, completely unrelated.

"Are you a real doctor, or a doctor like Dr. Pepper is a doctor?"

by Allen Chace on Jun 30, 2009 10:06 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Ha.

We need some pinata material every once in a while – like now.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jun 30, 2009 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wear a clothespin on your nose?

Which would be akin to sarcastic replies when they become overly-irrational.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Well Allen

Seems to be a pretty good thread to me. This is why you ban people because you don’t want to debate.

I see things you don't see.

by LouieTheLip on Jul 1, 2009 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Banter =\= debate.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Really?

Could you tell because this thread is on your fantasy baseball team?

Rock me, sexy Jesus...

by nuthinboutnuthin on Jul 1, 2009 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

As the banner, let me explain WHY you were banned:

Past record: There is no constructive reason to post “GO COLTS!!!” on Pats Pulpit. Nor to launch into an unrestrained diatribe of hate towards Wes Welker on said site. Now, if you had come here and laid out a good argument as to why Kevin Youkilis should not be an all-star (the FanPost for which you were given the boot), I wouldn’t have even been suspicious enough to check into your posting history.

Instead, we got “Youkilis is not even top-10”, talk about your fantasy league—and here was the real kicker:

“So I ask,…..how does a player who is not even one of the 10 best at his position get to be an all star. The so called knowledgeable fans of Boston is how. Your sports opinion can’t be taken seriously with such homerish antics.

For someone who asks for debate, you certainly offer little more than abuse. Even your replies in the other topic are largely dismissive of the counterarguments given to you. You instead simply restate “He’s not top-10, LOL stats” and then wait for one Sox fan to slip up (in this case, Brad West) and pounce with your “Typical Sox fan” comment.

I’d like to say you’re a typical Yankees fan, because as you know it’s oh-so-fun to demonize the opposition. Unfortunately, I know for a fact that there are smarter, more rational Yankee fans in the world with far better social skills. Some of them even come by here, as one did in your other post, and like to engage in actual conversation.

You are not a typical Yankee fan. What you are is a typical troll. And for as many accounts as you have you can keep bringing them until you stop trolling or until someone higher-up decides to step in with an IP ban. For now, I’ll take your invitation

("you can ban me

I have 15 screen names" )

and do just that.

Fair warning, though, is that an IP ban procludes you from ALL SBN sites across the map. Perhaps you should look into enjoying yourself amongst fellow Yankees fans instead of needlessly antagonizing the people who you claim are obsessed with doing just that.

by USG on Jul 2, 2009 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Okay.

I thought you were making the immediate jump.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 2, 2009 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'd say I missed you.

But I didn’t.

"Are you a real doctor, or a doctor like Dr. Pepper is a doctor?"

by Allen Chace on Jul 2, 2009 2:03 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

TC?

Too bad we’re in the AL – but Duke will have plenty of other chances in his career (plus, he’s already been to one, right?).

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Ah.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Boston HOMER

That’s all he is.

I see things you don't see.

by LouieTheLip on Jul 1, 2009 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

He works in the media, not a surprise.

He wants to get readers/listeners/viewers (IDK, I don’t really know who he is), so he appeals to his audience.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

The Big Problem With All Stars

is that the fans have a HUGE part in choosing. Which leads to ballot stuffing and sentimental favorites. That’s what is wrong and why deserving players get snubbed. In the case of pitchinh we have baseball people choosing and we have Boston fans doing what?? Begging Madden for the sentimental pick. What a joke!!!

I see things you don't see.

by LouieTheLip on Jul 1, 2009 10:05 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Begging?

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Jul 1, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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