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Spring Training Memory, 1995: The Tim Wakefield era begins
Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 6:00 AM
By Garry Brown
FORT MYERS, Fla., 1995 – After two weeks of “replacement players” cluttering up training camp, a truce is achieved between club owners and the Major League Players Association, ending a work stoppage that had begun in August 1994.
Now comes a series of whirlwind signings by teams all over baseball. Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, the pride of Dalton, Mass., and Amherst College, puts together a pretty good roster, but needs one more pitcher.
“Today we signed Tim Wakefield,” he announces in the press box at City of Palms Park.
The cynical Red Sox press corps – present company included – snickers at the decision to sign a knuckleball pitcher who had been cast aside by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The snickering stops when Wakefield becomes the team’s ace, going 16-8 as the Sox win the American League East.
Those replacement players are long since forgotten. Wakefield? He’s heading into his 17th Red Sox training camp.
Spring Training Memory, 1995: The Tim Wakefield era begins
Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 6:00 AM
By Garry Brown
FORT MYERS, Fla., 1995 – After two weeks of “replacement players” cluttering up training camp, a truce is achieved between club owners and the Major League Players Association, ending a work stoppage that had begun in August 1994.
Now comes a series of whirlwind signings by teams all over baseball. Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, the pride of Dalton, Mass., and Amherst College, puts together a pretty good roster, but needs one more pitcher.
“Today we signed Tim Wakefield,” he announces in the press box at City of Palms Park.
The cynical Red Sox press corps – present company included – snickers at the decision to sign a knuckleball pitcher who had been cast aside by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The snickering stops when Wakefield becomes the team’s ace, going 16-8 as the Sox win the American League East.
Those replacement players are long since forgotten. Wakefield? He’s heading into his 17th Red Sox training camp.
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Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield is once again on center stage
Ron Chimelis, The Republican
Posted: 06/06/2011 4:26 PM
Before the season began, one question with the Boston Red Sox involved where -or if - Tim Wakefield would fit in.
To the analysts, he looked like a man without a role, but the 44-year-old veteran knew better, and he was right.
Two months into his 17th season with Boston, Wakefield's role is not much different than it has always been. Having opened the season in the bullpen, ultimate pitching handyman is now in the rotation, where his biggest start of the season comes on Wednesday night in New York.
The Red Sox expected to send Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett to the mound for their three-game series against the Yankees. An ailing back has pushed Buchholz back two days, and Wakefield will face A.J. Bunnett in the middle game of the series.
The unsettled nature of Boston's rotation makes Wakefield's presence useful and significant. Daisuke Matsuzaka is done for the year with elbow problems, John Lackey returned from elbow woes Sunday and Buchholz is delayed until Friday's series opener at Toronto.
In Wakefield, they have an experienced hand to handle a pressure situation He is 2-1 with a 4.25 ERA in five starts this season.
In the last 10 years, he is 7-13 with a 4.58 ERA against the Yankees.
In theory, Wakefield is jockeying for position with Alfredo Aceves for the No. 5 rotation spot. In reality, his longstanding reputation and past success likely gives him the edge over Aceves, who showed what long relief is all about on Saturday.
In Boston's 14-inning win over Oakland, Aceves got the win with four innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He held the A's off the scoreboard for his last three innings.
Aceves was brought to Boston with the idea of long relief and the option of being a starter. As long as Wakefield is competitive in the No. 5 rotation spot, it's hard to see Aceves replacing him in the rotation.
Manager Terry Francona has spoken of possibly giving each pitcher spot starts, depending on the opponent, but that is a decision for the future.
Before Wakefield takes the mound, the Red Sox will see if an eight-day break helps Lester's performance. The left-hander has had only one really strong start in his last five.
Francona said Lester has been relying too much on his cutter. The pitcher said that was only because he had lost command of his other pitches.
There has been no such concern about Beckett, whose ERA crept over 2.00 for the first time in a month.
His 2.01 ERA leads the American League and makes Thursday's game a prime-time matchup against CC Sabathia ((7-3, 2.80), who has already lost twice to Beckett this year.
In two starts against the Yankees, Beckett has yet to allow a run in 14 innings. In those games, Beckett has allowed six hits with 19 strikeouts.
Beckett has been a big reason for Boston's 5-1 edge over the Yankees this season. They swept a three-game series at Yankee Stadium in May, their first such sweep in New York in 25 years.
David Ortiz was named American League player of the week for the May 30-June 5 period. Ortiz went 12-for-22 with four doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and five runs.
He is the third Red Sox player in four weeks to win the honor, following Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.
Despite their head-to-head success against New York, the Red Sox enter the series with one-game deficit against the Yankees in the American League East.
Activating Lackey caused the Red Sox to sent outfielder Josh Reddick to Pawtucket. That created a 13-man pitching staff, one higher than the norm, but they may keep all those arms for an opponent known to wear out pitching staffs.
Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield is once again on center stage
Ron Chimelis, The Republican
Posted: 06/06/2011 4:26 PM
Before the season began, one question with the Boston Red Sox involved where -or if - Tim Wakefield would fit in.
To the analysts, he looked like a man without a role, but the 44-year-old veteran knew better, and he was right.
Two months into his 17th season with Boston, Wakefield's role is not much different than it has always been. Having opened the season in the bullpen, ultimate pitching handyman is now in the rotation, where his biggest start of the season comes on Wednesday night in New York.
The Red Sox expected to send Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett to the mound for their three-game series against the Yankees. An ailing back has pushed Buchholz back two days, and Wakefield will face A.J. Bunnett in the middle game of the series.
The unsettled nature of Boston's rotation makes Wakefield's presence useful and significant. Daisuke Matsuzaka is done for the year with elbow problems, John Lackey returned from elbow woes Sunday and Buchholz is delayed until Friday's series opener at Toronto.
In Wakefield, they have an experienced hand to handle a pressure situation He is 2-1 with a 4.25 ERA in five starts this season.
In the last 10 years, he is 7-13 with a 4.58 ERA against the Yankees.
In theory, Wakefield is jockeying for position with Alfredo Aceves for the No. 5 rotation spot. In reality, his longstanding reputation and past success likely gives him the edge over Aceves, who showed what long relief is all about on Saturday.
In Boston's 14-inning win over Oakland, Aceves got the win with four innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He held the A's off the scoreboard for his last three innings.
Aceves was brought to Boston with the idea of long relief and the option of being a starter. As long as Wakefield is competitive in the No. 5 rotation spot, it's hard to see Aceves replacing him in the rotation.
Manager Terry Francona has spoken of possibly giving each pitcher spot starts, depending on the opponent, but that is a decision for the future.
Before Wakefield takes the mound, the Red Sox will see if an eight-day break helps Lester's performance. The left-hander has had only one really strong start in his last five.
Francona said Lester has been relying too much on his cutter. The pitcher said that was only because he had lost command of his other pitches.
There has been no such concern about Beckett, whose ERA crept over 2.00 for the first time in a month.
His 2.01 ERA leads the American League and makes Thursday's game a prime-time matchup against CC Sabathia ((7-3, 2.80), who has already lost twice to Beckett this year.
In two starts against the Yankees, Beckett has yet to allow a run in 14 innings. In those games, Beckett has allowed six hits with 19 strikeouts.
Beckett has been a big reason for Boston's 5-1 edge over the Yankees this season. They swept a three-game series at Yankee Stadium in May, their first such sweep in New York in 25 years.
David Ortiz was named American League player of the week for the May 30-June 5 period. Ortiz went 12-for-22 with four doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and five runs.
He is the third Red Sox player in four weeks to win the honor, following Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.
Despite their head-to-head success against New York, the Red Sox enter the series with one-game deficit against the Yankees in the American League East.
Activating Lackey caused the Red Sox to sent outfielder Josh Reddick to Pawtucket. That created a 13-man pitching staff, one higher than the norm, but they may keep all those arms for an opponent known to wear out pitching staffs.
