The End of the Wakefield Era in Boston?
by Ben Buchanan on Jul 16, 2010 10:00 AM EDT
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PrintWatching Tim Wakefield allow seven earned runs last night without getting out of the third inning was one of the more depressing baseball experiences of my life. It wasn't simply a matter of losing the first game of the second half when we very much could have used a win, or that the game was over so soon after it started, but because it seemed entirely possible that what I was watching was the end of Tim Wakefield's career.
That is not to say that Wakefield won't pitch again. The Red Sox won't have Beckett or Buchholz back soon enough to avoid giving Wake another go on the mound. But it's hard to imagine even a perfect game would be enough to keep Wakefield on the team for much longer when the division race is so tight. Wakefield is currently having the worst season of his career relatively speaking, with a 79 ERA+. Usually, the greatness of Tim Wakefield's deal is that he goes out there, eats innings, is slightly better than league average, and is cheap. Eliminate any one of those elements, though, and the roster spot starts becoming a prohibitive cost.
Even in long relief there are better options. Scott Atchison has showed a few times this year that he's more than capable of going three innings without blowing the game wide open. The last thing you need out of a long man is to have to choose in a relatively close game between preserving the pen and preserving your chance to win, as might be the case with Wakefield on any given night or, indeed, in any given inning.
So if this is, indeed, the end of Tim Wakefield's career in Boston, where does that leave him? Third in wins, second in games, first in starts, first in innings pitched, second in strikeouts, and perhaps most importantly, first in loyalty. Despite never being one of the best pitchers on any particular team, he has entered the ranks of the Red Sox greats. He may never have his number retired, but I expect it will be a long time before someone sees fit to wear #49 again.
Perhaps my eulogy for Tim Wakefield is premature or presumptuous. For years, he's been the guy who could, would, and did for the Red Sox. Picking up the ball when he wasn't expected to be able to (he is, after all, a failed shortstop), others wouldn't, and perhaps in some cases he even shouldn't have. There aren't that many other players, after all, who can make even failure seem both heroic and, in its own way, great. Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS? Game 4 of the 2007 World Series? I would not be the first person to incorrectly count Wakefield out. But if Wake is finally done, it's the end of a long and successful career, and the end of an era in Boston.
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I thought this guy had a lifelong contract?
Wakefield has been spectacular over his career for you guys. Always frustrated me when he fooled the Yankees with that knuckleball. It can be a toss-up though… he’s either brilliant or fairly awful. You guys know that better than I, though.
"Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next." -George Michael Steinbrenner III
That Changed this Offseason
They signed a 2 year deal. Now that will prove to be a mistake.
"simul justus et peccator"
As this is the first, and only, bad outing in Wakefield's career
I guess we have to agree with you. He’s done.
Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway
Uh, what?
He’s got an ERA of 5.65….
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jul 16, 2010 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions
I think
he was being sarcastic
Wait 'til next/this year?
"Laser show. So relax."
by nuthinboutnuthin on Jul 16, 2010 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Eh, I'm not sure it will be viewed as a mistake
They were going to exercise his option for this year anyway, and his new deal is pretty damn cheap for a back-up starter. Yeah, he may suck now, but with Buch and Beckett still rehabbing, they’ll keep putting him out there and he CAN be effective, at times, sometimes, occasionally.
DFA Beckett
by South Coast Ghost on Jul 16, 2010 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions
can hardly prove to be a mistake.
He’s guaranteed practically nothing for 2011. He further discounted his hometown discount for this deal.
He'll throw 7 IP, 2 hits next outing
And we’ll be saying he’s good for another 5 years.
Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway
If Tim Wakefield were to throw 7 scoreless
His ERA would still be well over 5.
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jul 16, 2010 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions
And we don't have him to be our ace
We have him to be our 6th starter. But, you see, Wakefield isn’t on the DL like our supposed ace Meathead, or making insane money to pull a 4.78 ERA like Lackey. He’s a 47 year old meant to be a spot-starter making $2m a season.
This is what Wakefield does.
Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway
but he isn't spot starting, is he?
He’s been in the rotation since Beckett went on the DL, I think.
"If I was being paid $30,000 dollars a year, the very least I could do was hit .400."- Ted Williams
"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
Twitter: @BoldandBrash
by BoldandBrash on Jul 16, 2010 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions
He was brought in to be the spot starter
Because we had:
1). Meathead
2). Lester
3). Buchholz
4). Lackey
5). Zaka
ahead of him. The fact that Beckett and Matsuzaka suck doesn’t change the fact that he was meant to be a spot starter.
Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway
I know
I’m saying we need to get him out of the rotation because he shouldn’t be there if he’s a “spot starter”. The problem is that we don’t have any options until Beckett is back.
"If I was being paid $30,000 dollars a year, the very least I could do was hit .400."- Ted Williams
"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
Twitter: @BoldandBrash
by BoldandBrash on Jul 16, 2010 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
A 5.65 ERA is not really acceptable for a long man or a spot starter on this team.
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jul 16, 2010 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions
A 4.78 ERA isn't acceptable for $14m a year
And yet, here we are. We get what we get from Wakefield; if we have to rely on his contributions, it means someone else F’d up worse.
Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway
Totally agree.
It’s like complaining that your spare tire looks ugly and you are embarrassed to drive around on it but you have to because the regular tire is still in the shop getting fixed. The problem isn’t the spare tire – the problem is the regular tire is in the shop.
We'll be saying
he’s an inning eater, is inconsistent, and the overall end result is maybe acceptable for a 5th starter.
"If I was being paid $30,000 dollars a year, the very least I could do was hit .400."- Ted Williams
"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
Twitter: @BoldandBrash
by BoldandBrash on Jul 16, 2010 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions
This is his deal
This is what he has been forever. He gets shelled, everyone says this must be the end, then he comes back out again and mows people down. I didn’t get to see the game but I can’t imagine there was anything in it that would make this “end of Wake’s career” any more final than the other dozens of other “ends.”
It's not a matter of one game.
This has been an awful season for Wakefield.
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jul 16, 2010 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
A few thoughts
(1) Wakefield was a converted 1B, not an SS.
(2) He’s gotten knocked around a few times by Texas, even in the last few years.
(3) It’s entirely possible that Wakefield isn’t at 100 percent, but as depleted as they are, they don’t really have a choice but to keep sending him out there. (Watch if they make a DL move for Wakefield when Beckett or Buchholz comes back.)
(4) On a completely random note—Theo may be very nervous about releasing Wakefield after watching what happened to PIT. They went from being one game away from the WS to umpteen straight losing seasons.
Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell
Julio Lugo is a master of voodoo.
Does that change your mind?
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jul 16, 2010 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Wake has always been either lights out or Home Run Derby
No news there…
by Ivan Monteiro Prado on Jul 16, 2010 11:17 AM EDT reply actions
It’s too bad.
If Wake went on one of his great stretches, that could have been usefull.
That place was for diehard sports fans. I only follow my team when they're in the playoffs" - Homer Simpson
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by bestbostonsports on Jul 16, 2010 11:21 AM EDT reply actions
Wake if this is the end of your career I just would like to say thank you for all you have given to the Red Sox organization...
I hope this isn’t the end though and that Wake can get it figured out for the rest of the second half of the season.
Oh and those comments I saw last night where utterly disgusting that were being made about the guy...
Ik he was having a bad game, but for what he’s given to this organization and how I saw people were talking about Wake it was disgusting!
by Mike-Dub on Jul 16, 2010 12:52 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I kept it in last night, but I'm not now...
Those comments I saw last night were disgusting, jumping ship, saying that Wake is your least favorite Red Sox after all he’s given to this franchise. Seriously WTF!
When I checked GameDay last night after the first inning
The first thing that popped into my head was, “Oy…maybe he is done.”
I guess it has to happen at some point. Maybe it’s now. I hope not, because I love watching him pitch.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
He's really had a bad year
But c’mon, it’s the knuckleball, it’s pretty ageless.
Maybe he needs to retire and pass his knuckleballing skills onto someone else. Where’s that Japanese girl who came over during ST to talk to him? He could be the Mr. Miyagi to her Daniel-son.
DFA Beckett
by South Coast Ghost on Jul 16, 2010 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions
It's not, though.
Consider Niekro. He pitched a long time, but four of his six worst seasons came at ages 44, 46, 47, and 48.
Age reduces the effectiveness of all pitchers, regardless of what they throw. Candiotti too. It extends careers, but nobody is immortal.
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jul 16, 2010 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Tim Wakefield does not want to be a spot starter.
The new contract that he signed is all about being a starter and going every five days and eating up the innings. His birthday is August 2, 1966. He’s 43 years old, not 47. He doesn’t make $2 mil a year. His base salary in 2010 is $3.5 mil and his 2010 bonuses are based on games started. His salary next year will more than double if he continues to pitch every five days. If he planned to be in the bullpen or a spot starter, do you think he would have written his contract this way and come to sping training saying he was here to earn a starting job?
Every day he’s on the hill, my hope he that he keeps the ball down in the zone. See you Tuesday in Oakland, Tim. We need your help right now.
Thank you Cot’s.
2 years/$5M (2010-11)
signed extension with Boston 11/9/09
10:$3.5M, 11:$1.5M
2011 base salary increases based on innings in 2010:
$2M salary with 130 IP in 2010
$3.5M salary with 160 IP in 2010
performance bonuses based on starts:
2010: $50,000 each for 11-15 GS; $75,000 each for 16-25 GS; $100,000 each for 26-30 GS
2011 bonuses vary, depending on 2011 base salary:
$1.5M base: $0.1M each for 11-15 GS; $0.2M each for 16-25 GS; $0.25M each for 26-30 GS
$2M base: $75,000 each for 11-15 GS; $0.15M each for 16-20 GS; $0.2M each for 21-30 GS
$3.5M base: same bonuses as 2010
It doesn't matter what he wants.
He shouldn’t be in the rotation and won’t when Beckett comes back. I don’t know when he signed the contract, but with Lackey, I don’t know how he thinks he can be a starter.
"If I was being paid $30,000 dollars a year, the very least I could do was hit .400."- Ted Williams
"man, this team they just suck so bad"- gizmosandy
Twitter: @BoldandBrash
by BoldandBrash on Jul 16, 2010 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Wake went under the knife for a herniated disc
and nerve root decompression on 10/21/09. He signed his two year deal 18 days later on 11/09/09, five weeks before Lackey signed. Wake has had 15 starts and 8 of those were so called quality starts and 5 were terrible. His five bombs have killed his ERA (5.65) and his xFIP (5.09) but he really hasn’t been as bad as it feels after yesterdays loss. That was painful to watch.
If ever he needs a quality start, it’s Tuesday on the road. I’m still pulling for him.
Also, his 15 starts to date add $250,000 to his $3.5 mil 2010 salary. Wake’s next five starts are worth $75,000 each in bonus money.
The End of the _(Fill in the blank) Era in Boston?
Who’s next :?
Just keep him in as a longer reliever. Knuckle baller to Daniel Bard’s heat sounds very delightful.
I hope not but it will come at some point
Ben and others on this site (myself included) see his value for all the reasons mentioned in the article. His career with the Sox epitomizes loyalty and a great team player. The age factor could be an issue – maybe not as Jamie Moyer comes to mind. The concern is legitimate that he may not have it anymore. Sure, many have predicted his end for the past several years, but he comes back. At some point all athletes step down and they cannot make the last comeback.
Wakefield is to the Red Sox/baseball what Gen MacArthur was to the Army (allow me a little leeway with the qoute):
“Old players never die – they just fade away.”
-Maybe we are seeing the fading away of Timmy.
"Man that ball got outta here in a hurry, you know anything that travels that far oughta have a damn stewardess on it, don't you think?" - Crash Davis
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