Tim Wakefield - he’s at it again
It’s early. I know that. But outside of Zack Greinke (a great story, btw) in KC, Tim Wakefield has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball this April. The numbers: 4G, 2CG, 2-1 W/L, 29.0 IP, 0.966 WHIP, 1.86 ERA, 272 ERA+. Inside the numbers: Pitched a complete game in Oakland on a day when the Sox bullpen had nothing to offer, after being overused the previous couple of days; pitched the rain-shortened complete game against the Twins, allowing Francona full use of his bullpen for the nightcap; and most recently, dualed with the reigning CYA winner Cliff Lee last night, throwing 7 shutout innings of 1-hit ball, in a game the Sox ended up winning thanks to a 3-run Jason Bay HR in the top of the 9th off Kerry Wood (sorry, Neumann). This was coming off a weekend where the Sox bullpen was taxed (as per usual) at the hands… er, at-bats of the ever-patient, ever-dangerous Yankees.
Now, Wakefield is notoriously hot and cold. Right now, he’s red-hot. Next month, he could go ice-cold. I get that. But when you look up at the end of the season, he’ll likely have made 30+ starts, for 180-200 innings, at (or above) league-average ERA, which will be good enough for double-digit wins. He got hurt in 2006, so he only started 23 games, went 140 IP, went 7-11, but still finished with a 103 ERA+. Take out that 2006 aberration, and since 2003 (i.e. five seasons, thru 2008), he’s started 30-33 games (in 2003, 35G/33GS), thrown 181-202 IP, provided 100-114 ERA+, and won between 10-17 games. Oh, and since 2006, he’s basically been on a series of one-year, team-option contracts for $4 million per year. That’s right… basically at the end of each season, the team tells him if he’ll back next season - and if so, it’s for $4 million. Now if the team declines the option, he goes on the market - but how much would he have to suck for the Sox to decline a $4 million option? Fair to say he hasn’t approached that point, to this point - and if April is any sign, 2009 won’t be his last year in Boston either.
I’m hoping it’s not his last year, cuz he has a chance at getting the Sox all-time record for wins - currently shared by two guys you may have heard of: Cy Young and Roger Clemens, 192 wins each.
In 15 seasons with Boston (including 2009), the longest-tenured player currently on the team, he’s won 166 games. (He’s also contribued 22 saves, but that’s besides the point.) He’ll be 43 this August… but he throws that knuckleball, baby. Knuckleballers like Niekro and Hough pitched into their mid-40s. Can Wakefield continue another couple years? Why not? He’s 26 wins away. He should hit that late 2010, early 2011.
And I’m really, really hoping he does. Cy Young and Roger Clemens (with or without the steroids) are in the discussions of best pitchers ever… Wakefield never will be, nor should he be (duh). But that’s the beauty of it for me. For a guy like him, plugging away year after year, consistently helping the team out while never being close to the staff ace… for a quiet, team guy to own the team record in pitching wins? I think that would be out-standing.
As an aside, since most of you likely wouldn’t know it (indeed many in New England are unaware), he’s huge in the community. He doesn’t get a lot of PR for his work, cuz he doesn’t want it - and that just makes me like the guy that much more, and root for him that much more. It’s sappy and goofy, yes - but it’s very easy to root for Tim Wakefield, and it would be a great day in New England if/when he gets career Red Sox win #193.
Two other Wakefield stories: First, from the 2004 ALCS. Francona tells anyone who will listen about Game 3, when the Sox were blown out 19-8. The game was a blowout early, and rather than Francona burn the bullpen, Wakefield came to him and told him he’d take the hit. He went 3-1/3 in the game, thereby saving the Sox bullpen for what would become the rest of the series. Francona insists Wakefield’s contribution to that series win, for his efforts in a game where the Sox got blown out, has always been underrated - and indeed Francona insists that without Wakefield, the Sox don’t win that series.
Second, the 2007 postseason. Wakefield was hurt, and missed the ALDS. He appeared healthy enough that Francona put him on the ALCS roster, but when he realized that he couldn’t go - and thus would be hurting the team, he went to Francona and told him to take him off the WS roster. He’s not the only guy to ever do that, but how many guys would ask the manager to take them off the WS roster? Seriously. Perhaps Francona would’ve done it himself… it’s possible - but Wakefield didn’t leave it in Francona’s hands, he stepped up.
Tim Wakefield will never get a HOF vote - nor should he. But he’ll go into the Red Sox HoF - and he should. He has accomplished (and will continue to accomplish) a lot for the Red Sox, but beyond that, his character and personality make him a guy who is *very* easy to root for. I assure you that I’m far from the only Sox fan waiting and hoping he’ll get that Red Sox Pitching Wins record.
Damn… I really need to get a Wakefield jersey… what’s taken me so long?!?!
May 1st, 2009 at 9:34 am
Buried in this post is the contract status of Wakefield. $4 M might be realistic this year due to the depressed market, but that is a deeply discounted salary for this type of pitcher. He has thrown an average 188 innings the last 6 years. Those types of pitchers made $10 M from 2005-2008. Outside of JD Drew, and the failed negotiations with Papelbon, the Red Sox have done a tremendous job attacting free agents at a reasonable price, and signing their own for below market value.
Jon Lester probably left 10-15 M on the table. Same with Youk and Pedroia.
Thanks for the HOF reference… needed a good laugh this morning
May 1st, 2009 at 11:56 am
In fairness to the Sox, Papelbon wasn’t going to sign a long-term deal unless the Sox overpaid. It’s pretty clear that he is intent on hitting FA to maximize his income. Absolutely nothing wrong that, that’s his choice. I think that given the general life expectancy of a closer, Papelbon would be well served to get a guaranteed deal now in the tens of millions and know he’s set himself and his ancestors up for life… but that doesn’t mean he *has* to. He expects to be one of the few to have a long and successful career… at least long enough to hit FA (at least once).
On the Sox side, they’re not going to overpay for a closer. They’re just not. The interesting thing will be the development of Daniel Bard. If he flops and they don’t feel they have any else organizationally to turn to, they’ll be more inclined to pay market price to keep Papelbon (though I personally still doubt they would, fwiw). If Bard (and/or another organizational prospect develops), then there’s no way they’ll pay Papelbon.
Now, I am tantalized with Drew’s potential like Theo, et al, clearly were/are - but no surprise, he gets hurt… like he did before they signed him. Still, the Drew contract (5yr/$70 mil) is still *far* superior to the Julio Lugo FA deal (4yr/$36 mil). At least Drew will occasionally play like a guy “worth” $14 mil/yr… Lugo has never, and IMHO, will never play like a guy even remotely close to worth $9 mil/yr.
Extend that further, as well as the Sox have done with pitcher contracts (Danny points out Wakefield and Lester - but don’t forget they extended Beckett at $10 mil per back in 2006, at a time when he was pitching poorly i.e. he was more likely to take a “lower” deal.. based on his 2007 postseason alone, never mind his 2007 regular season, that’s a steal)… as well as they’ve done with pitchers, they’ve sucked with SSs. Lugo is by far the worst of the lot - but they gave up on Renteria a year after giving him a 4yr/$40 million contract (indeed, they were still paying a portion of that contract through last season, just to get rid of him when they did).
I loved Alex Gonzalez - easily the best defensive SS I’ve ever seen in a Sox uniform, and maybe the best defensive SS the Sox have ever had in their history… and he would chip in offensively from time to time as well. Rather than sign him for 2 or 3 years at roughly $2-3 mil/yr, they went after Lugo. I never, ever undersood it - and never will.
And of course Renteria replaced Cabrera… didn’t understand that one either. Cabrera famously came in the summer of 2004, replacing the beloved Nomah. He clearly thrived in the environment (and not everyone can - see Renteria, Edgar), and I’m not sure was that much lesser an option going forward then Renteria. But like Rich Semiraro with other guy’s girlfriends, Theo continuously fell in love with other team’s shortstops. I don’t get it.
Now Lugo is back - and I’d rather they played Nick Green. Yes, that’s right… Nick… Green… is better than Julio Lugo. I was upset when the Sox dropped Cora and kept Green. I loved Cora in his role, and didn’t expect Green to do as well (or better). Green has done the job since Lugo and Lowrie went down to injury. Now, I don’t think Nick Green is the long-term answer… indeed, I *know* he’s not. But in the short term, until Lowrie’s back, Green is better than Lugo. Trust me.
But I digress…. I’ve really gotta get a Tim Wakefield jersey at some point.