Why you shouldn't underestimate the value of Tim Wakefield to the Red Sox..
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- It would be easy to use Friday's events to paint the picture that is Tim Wakefield's future.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona says in the morning that the construction of the bullpen will involve some "interesting decisions." Then, 10 hours later, Wakefield walks off the mound having allowed six runs -- including four home runs -- in his three innings of work against the Rays.
But if we've learned anything from Wakefield's 19 seasons as a major-league baseball player it is that he should never, ever be judged by one day. Twelve times in his career he has allowed six or more runs in three or fewer innings (including three times in a pretty respectable 2008 season), and here he still is.
"Nothing," said Wakefield regarding what the spring training start against Tampa Bay meant. "I'm just trying to get my pitch count up. I would have liked to do it in more than three innings, but it didn't happen."
And he's right.
With or without the last 24 hours, Wakefield remains the same -- a potentially very valuable piece of the Red Sox' 2011 puzzle.
To help clarify the reality that is the 44-year-old's current lot in life, we turn to Evan Longoria, one of the four Rays' players to launch long balls against Wakefield in the Sox' 7-3 loss.
Longoria's solo homer (which was immediately followed by Manny Ramirez' moon-shot to left) came in his second at-bat. It was the first go-round between the pitcher and the batter which offered the most important message.
"My first at-bat all you can really do is laugh," Longoria said. "He threw three of the best ones I had seen from him. And the one that I hit was a good pitch, too. I just swung the bat in the right spot."
Later, the Tampa Bay third baseman (who, by the way, is a 6-for-13 in his career against Wakefield) continued his marvel at those initial three offerings from the Red Sox' starter.
"The three today were probably the best I've seen, for strikes," Longoria said of the knuckleballs. "And all three did something different. You just can't prepare for it."
The point? Forget age. Forget role. You have a hitter saying that the pitcher he had faced numerous times was at his absolute best. Of course, the perception changed from inning to inning. But that downward spiral didn't have anything to do with age, but rather the fickleness of the pitcher's primary weapon.
For the first time in forever Wakefield's presence may appear different because the regular season will begin without his name in the starting rotation, but, let's be honest, has anything else changed?
Is there any evidence that Wakefield is significantly less of a pitcher than he was while marching toward his first All-Star Game appearance, in '09? (And, again, don't bother using Friday's outing in your argument.)
"I feel like I've been throwing the ball very, very well," Wakefield said. "Better than some springs in the past, with the exception of today."
More times than not, Wakefield can get outs better than 50 percent of the starters in majors. That is hard to dispute. Where the next round of debate comes from is how exactly he fits on this Red Sox team.
Barring a late-spring training injury to one of the Red Sox' scheduled five starters, Wakefield will have to start his season in the bullpen. The plan right now, according to Francona, is to have the knuckleballer throw as a starter one more time -- in a minor-league game Thursday -- before scaling back into reliever mode.
This isn't any surprise to Wakefield. He knew this was a possibility, having filled the role of a reliever 13 times in '10. And while some of the appearances seemed square-peg-in-round-hole-ish, it should be noted that his numbers out of the bullpen weren't all that bad. In 25 relief innings he finished with a 3.60 ERA, while limiting hitters to a .253 batting average and .281 on-base percentage.
Comparisons? Bobby Jenks: 4.44 ERA, .260 BAA, .322 OBP; Jonathan Papelbon: 3.90 ERA, .226 BAA, .309 OBP; Scott Atchison: 4.50 ERA, .252 BAA, .310 OBP; Matt Albers: 4.52, .269 BAA, .360 OBP.
So, despite some lines of thinking, Wakefield could actually serve a purpose in the bullpen, especially now that the catching corps, from top to bottom, seems at least somewhat comfortable handling the knuckleball.
But even if Wakefield is viewed as sitting in the last seat in the Sox' pen, it should be understood that his ability to start for weeks at a time should be valued more than the least-used member of the bullpen.
Why would you want to sacrifice not having Wakefield's presence? The naysayers will suggest that somebody like Alfredo Aceves is a better option on the Red Sox' roster than Wakefield, pointing to the former Yankee hurler's proven effectiveness out of the bullpen. But there a few things those folks might want to consider.
First, Aceves has options. The Red Sox' can send him to the minors, keep monitoring his health and effectiveness, while watching their roster go through the normal early-season evolution.
Then there is the scenario which leads the Red Sox to needing a pitcher to start for an extended period of time. While more than a few point to Aceves as that sort of fill-in, understand that the righty hasn't started more than 23 games in any of his professional seasons, and that number was reached mostly as a minor-leaguer in '08. In the majors Aceves has started a grand total of five games.
And the other alternatives currently residing in the Sox' camp simply don't approach Wakefield's viability when it comes to being part of a big league rotation.
Any one of the five Red Sox starters get hurt tomorrow and Wakefield could step in and win more games than he would lose. That is the kind of sixth-starter option most teams would never sacrifice for the sake of bullpen depth.
"I don't think past tomorrow, to be honest with you," Wakefield said. "Whenever I'm called upon I try and get outs. Whether it's in relief or as a starter, I'll do my best when I'm asked. I can't think about, 'I'm going to get 20 starts, this year, for sure.' There are no guarantees. I'm just trying to get prepared for Opening Day and we'll see what happens after that."
The only thing that is predictable is that at some point Wakefield should find himself in a familiar spot -- coming to the rescue of the Red Sox.
Rob Bradford
WEEI Radio.com
