Six innings. No runs. Three hits. Sounds like an All-Star caliber start from All-Star worthy pitcher.
That pitcher – Tim Wakefield.
Wakefield improved to 10-3 on the season tying Roger Clemens for the most starts in a Boston uniform – 382 to be exact – as the Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0.
Mark Kotsay drove in the only run of the game in the top of the sixth on a single to left field.
Boston’s bullpen composed of Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson pitched two innings of scoreless relief allowing no hits, one walk and one strikeout.
Jonathan Papelbon shut the door in the ninth yielding a hit for his 18th save of the season.
Star of the Game – Wakefield
If Wakefield doesn’t get selected as an All-Star then the whole selection process is a waste of time. He has been phenomenal all season and carried Boston’s pitching staff until Josh Beckett turned it around.
Next Game – 6/28 vs. Atlanta Braves – Brad Penny/Tommy Hanson
It’s pretty simple. Complete the sweep.
Loading ...
Just got the internet hooked up in my new place, I got out to the game last night and it was great to finally see the Sox down here in Atlanta, although I have to say I find myself looking at all the other people down here wearing Sox gear and wondering how many of them are bandwagon jumpers although there are a lot of New England transplants here (like myself). It’s really been remarkable, the whole place has been overrun, a couple of bars in my neighborhood have signs on the doors welcoming Red Sox fans.
Nice. Remember those bars for future visits, as they celebrate RSN.
We had planned on driving to Atlanta this weekend for the series, but family matters intervened. Looks like we wouldn’t have gotten tickets anyway.
I don’t mind bandwagon jumpers at all. They are all fans, they are all trying to get it, and they all contribute to 500 sellouts, sellouts on the road, and seeing more Red Sox hats than any other team across America. Not everyone was born with a silver baseball glove in their mouth.
My kids became soccer stars, and i had to learn the game to coach them for 20 years, but I am a Revolution fan only when they are winning. That’s OK. They don’t mind. The “Rule of Paretto” states that 80% of the people in ANY organization do only 20% of the work and 20% do 80% of the work. I think this rule also applies to fandom in any sport. If you like baseball, and the Sox, it’s good to be part of the 20%.
Neglected to agree that there is every reason, professional and sentimental, to have Wake pitch an inning in the All Star game. A 10 -3 record on the 1st place team, another dominant performance with a 3 hit shutout for 6, carrying the team when Beckett, Lester, Daisuke and Penny were struggling. His ERA is irrelevant to this discussion.
Every reason except one: no Kottaras at the All-Star Game.
I believe that Kottaras’s ability to corral the knuckleball has been an important factor in Wakefield’s success this year. Because Kottaras has been able to grab just about every errant knuckleball Wakefield’s thrown this year, I don’t think he has any concerns about what his catcher will be able to do. This may not be the case if he’s pitching to someone with no experience catching the knuckleball.
I suspect that if Wakefield does not make it to the All-Star Game (and believe me, I really, really want to see him get the opportunity), that will most likely be the reason why.
Kottaras has done a superb job handling the knuckleball and Tim Wakefield. I would think an allstar berth for Wakefield would mean more to him ,at age 42,than anyone else.Maybe Francona should make a call to Joe Maddon, what an honor it would be for Wake at this point in his career.
Love Wakefield. Don’t understand his candidacy.
He is not in the Top 25 among American League starters in any meaningful, pitcher-dependent category.
His win total is independent of his performance. Wakefield won two games in May where he gave up five runs. The Red Sox offense bailed him out with 22. With the identical performance, he could be 8-5 and out of the discussion.
*sigh*
Wakefield is…
…18th in IP
…4th in CG
…15th in QS
…5th in P/IP
For the record, Wakefield has had ONE (1) cheap win and ONE (1) tough loss. Go ahead: Try to argue that these are neither meaningful nor pitcher-dependent statistics. I haven’t had a good laugh yet today.
Wakefield leads the AL in wins:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching?sort=wins&league=al&season=2009&seasonType=2
Coincidence?
If the All-Star roster is the usual mix — 5-6 starters, 6-7 relievers — then it’s hard to argue, based on stats alone, that Wake really deserves inclusion. Start looking around the AL, and see where you have to cut off the starting pitchers. Here’s a conservative list, based partly on 2009 performance and partly on established level of excellence: Greinke, Sabathia, Beckett, Felix Hernandez, Kevin Millwood, Verlander, Buehrle. That’s 7 very strong candidates, not including Wake.
Yes, he has 10 wins, but his other numbers aren’t all that great. Most Firebranders are big on stats, and not fond of the traditional “counting” categories like wins, saves, and RBI. By our usual standards, Wake comes up short.
That said, I think there is a place for a little bit of sentiment in the ASG. It’s basically a sentimental occasion, after all. And if anyone deserves extra consideration, it’s Tim Wakefield. I’d put him on the team even though I really can’t make a statistical argument for him.
Including Wakefield on the All-Star roster will in part be a “sentimental” move, but also a long-overdue one. There have been other seasons where he has been similarly dominant in the early going (2003 springs immediately to mind). However, to date, he has never been on an All-Star roster. I believe that there are only two players with more MLB service time who have never made it on to an All-Star team. That’s insane.
I think that given only 5-6 starters will go to the all star game and the fact that a rays manager will not choose 2 red soxs (assuming beckett is a lock, it’s nuts to choose wake over beckett), if sentimentality is to be considered, he would choose a rays pitcher (like matt garza, a sox killer). But yeah I mean: I agree with JVwalt roy halladay (old-timer), beckett, cc sabathia, newcomer (zack greinke), the king, mark buehrle. Guys I would trade wake for in a second (except for CC) when given the chance albeit the 4M a season ongoing deal is pretty sweet. I am a sox fan and hope for wake to get into the all star team but I think saying that it’s an all star lock based off his 10Ws might be too bias. Among those in my list, I only hope that they don’t include CC. I hate greedy fat pigs who takes yankee money. Not sure but was he also represented by Boras (absolutely hated the guy after the MT nego).
I left Halladay off my list because he’s been on the DL — but he’s returning this week, so he’s eligible for the All-Star Team. He’s another lock, so the list of starters is that much longer.
Also heard Rob Bradford on the pregame show today saying that he didn’t think Wakefield would make the team, unless he wins the fan balloting for the last roster spot.