I doubt that there is any bigger fan of Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox in the Southern Ontario area. I think he's one of the most valuable pitchers in the American League, and has been for some time.
Doesn't make sense to call a fifth starter an MVP (Most Valuable Pitcher) candidate, but I think I can make a case for it.
A lot of good teams scramble to find a fifth starter who won't lose twice as much as he wins. Wakefield is a 14-11 kind of guy, year in, year out. That plus-three wins stat often translates into a six to ten game bulge over the equivalent spot in a lot of other teams' rotations. That's the difference between playoffs and not playoffs. Take it from a Toronto Blue Jays fan.
But there is more to Wakefield than the record. Wakefield's been pretty durable over the years, getting the benefit of the knuckleball throwing style. Easy on the arm. He's answered the bell an awful lot of times over the years. He's been a bullpen saver, even pitching between turns on the rotation. His ability to keep pitching means occasionally taking his lumps when the knuckleball isn't acting like a punch-drunk butterfly. But balancing that, are the times when the bullpen's exhausted and the manager doesn't want to or can't throw somebody out there for another consecutive day. Wakefield is right there to solve the problem.
Then there is the 'day after' effect. Regardless of how Wakefield does, the fact is that the opposition batters see knuckleballs in their nightmares after the game. Often takes them a couple of games to recalibrate their batting stroke after looking like a fool the night of Wakefield's start. Check out the winning record of the Bosox AFTER a Wakefield game. Well above .600. It's NOT a co-incidence.
And isn't it great to have a guy who can switch back AND forth between starting and oh, say CLOSING. I know Jason Varitek wasn't thrilled during Wakefield's closing days, but he was quite successful in the role. No one wishes ill on Jon Papelbon, but Boston knows, if worse came to worse (say like it did already with Seattle's JJ Putz), the team has an experienced closer on staff already. That has to be comforting.
Finally, watching Wakefield pitch is fun for fans, of which I am one. Baseball is SUPPOSED to be entertaining. Wakefield makes every pitch an adventure. He isn't particularly adept at holding runners on, so there's lots of base-stealing ... or at least attempts. It's about as close to run-and-gun basketball as baseball gets.
That's why I am a big fan. With Wakefield, entertainment doesn't take a back seat.
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