Tag Archives: Tim Wakefield

October 1, 2023

Wakefield Passes

Former pitcher Tim Wakefield died of brain cancer at the all too young age of 57:

“Tim’s kindness and indomitable spirit were as legendary as his knuckleball,” said Red Sox owner John Henry in a statement. “He not only captivated us on the field but was the rare athlete whose legacy extended beyond the record books to the countless lives he touched with his warmth and genuine spirit. He had a remarkable ability to uplift, inspire, and connect with others in a way that showed us the true definition of greatness. He embodied the very best of what it means to be a member of the Boston Red Sox and his loss is felt deeply by all of us.”
ESPN.com

My thoughts go out to his family, friends, and fans.

Wakefield exploded on the scene in 1992, going 8-1 for the Pirates with a 2.15 ERA in 13 starts. He was not able to follow up with a good year, went back to the minors, and reemerged with the Red Sox in 1995, and pitched for them for the rest of his career. That 1995 season would be his best, 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA. His best stretch, however, came from 2001 to 2005 where he went 59-46 in 190 games, 128 starts, with a 4.01 ERA. He walked just 3.1 per 9 IP, in that stretch, averaging over three WAR a season. He was one of the few knuckleballers who could reliably throw the pitch for strikes.

February 26, 2013

The Knuckle Whisperer

Tim Wakefield worked his magic with Steven Wright:

After watching Wright warm up Monday, Wakefield suggested he move a little to the first base side of the rubber. That would line up his arm with the middle of the plate. Wakefield also had Wright lead more with his front foot to maintain better balance.

“Those two small adjustments I felt made a huge impact on my feel for the pitch and I was able to keep it in the strike zone,” Wright said.

I’m not sure Tim could be a conventional pitching coach. He could, however, be the Johnny Appleseed of the knuckleball. How about MLB paying Tim to travel the country, giving clinics on how to throw the pitch? Or maybe running a camp for young pitchers who want to learn the floater. Good knuckleball pitchers can be quite effective, and their longevity means stability in the rotation or the bullpen for a team. Wakefield strikes me as the kind of person who could pull this off, and in ten years we might see someone throwing the pitch on every team.

August 24, 2012

The Floater

Here’s the trailer for Knuckleball!

I understand Tim Wakefield will attend the Boston premier at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Former Red Sox knuckleball pitcher, Tim Wakefield, will appear in person for a special opening night screening.

Wednesday, September 19 at 7:30pm

February 17, 2012

Floating into Retirement

1 Reply

Tim Wakefield decided to call it quits:

After 19 seasons, including the past 17 with the Red Sox [team stats], the veteran knuckleballer will call it quits in a 5 p.m. press conference tonight at JetBlue [JBLU] Park. As recently as December, he had expressed a desire to play one more season, preferably with the Red Sox. But the team didn’t reciprocate with a major-league offer, and last week, agent Barry Meister told the Herald that Wakefield was mulling his options, including retirement.

Wakefield — at 45, the oldest player in the majors last season — finishes with a 200-180 record and 4.41 ERA in 627 appearances (463 starts) for the Pirates and Red Sox. With the Sox, he notched 186 wins, six shy of matching Roger Clemens and Cy Young for the all-time club record, a mark he admitted would have had great significance to him.

It was sad to watch Tim struggle to win his 200th game last season. His strikeout and walk rates were pretty good, but batters tagged him for a high home run rate.

Tim’s control was the most remarkable aspect of his career. Throwing a pitch with no known flight path, he walked just 3.4 per nine innings while allowing less than a hit per inning. He was unselfish, starting when the team needed a starter, relieving when that was the best option for the Red Sox.

He suffered through plenty of down years. With the Red Sox, his ERA was under 4.00 in just three seasons, but over 5.00 in six years. He was easy to keep around, as he signed a perpetual contract at a low cost. He got to play the game he loved in the city he loved, and goes down as a Fenway favorite.

September 25, 2011

Games of the Day

The Red Sox try to hold on to the AL Wild Card lead as they play a split admission double header against the Yankees. Tim Wakefield faced A.J. Burnett in game one, John Lackey faces Ivan Nova in game two. The Red Sox used the back end of their bullpen Saturday afternoon, so they might be a little shorthanded if both pitchers get lit up. Given Wakefield’s ability to go deep in games, I suspect Terry Francona will let him “take one for the team if he gets into trouble early, saving Alfredo Aceves if Lackey runs into trouble in the night cap. If Boston wins one of these games, they stay in first place in the WC race. If they lose two, the Rays can catch them with a win.

Atlanta’s lead in the NL Wild Card race stands at two games as they send Mike Minor against Ross Detwiler in Washington. The two pitchers saw their luck go in opposite directions this season as Minor is 5-2 with a 4.27 ERA, and Detwiler brings a 3-5 make into the game despite a 3.30 ERA.

Brett Cecil and Wade Davis battle in St. Petersburg as the Blue Jays and Rays play the rubber game of their series. Cecil has not won a game since July, with an 0-6 mark in his last nine starts and a 4.82 ERA. He allowed ten home runs in his last 56 innings. Davis pitched poorly against Toronto this season, with 13 walks and just 12 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings.

Randy Wells of the Cubs takes on Edwin Jackson of the Cardinals as St. Louis tries to gain the Braves. Jackson is 5-2 since coming over to the Cardinals with a 3.73 ERA, giving St. Louis another solid starter. Wells got pounded by the Cardinals this season, giving up three home runs and eight runs in 12 2/3 innings.

Finally, the Angels try to beat the Athletics again as Rich Harden visits Joel Pineiro. Both pitchers hold ERAs over 5.00. This could be another slugfest as Pineiro is 0-3 in four starts against Oakland with a 10.26 ERA and Harden allowed 13 runs in 13 1/3 innings this September.

Enjoy!

September 18, 2011

Games of the Day

Jered Weaver tries to keep the Angels in the playoff race as he faces the Orioles and Alfredo Simon. Weaver goes for his 18th win and tries to catch Justin Verlander in the ERA race, Jered trailing by 0.04 runs. Simon comes off a strong performance against Tampa Bay in which he struck out nine in seven innings. I understand Scott McGregor has been working with pitchers since the series against the Yankees in New York and the last turn through the rotation showed some good results.

The Rays have come a long way to get back in the AL Wild Card race, and today stands as extremely important game to them. A win against Boston puts them two games back with 10 to play, a loss four games back. The pitching matchup favors the Tampa Bay as David Price takes on Tim Wakefield. Price pitched as well if not better than his 2010 season in which he competed for the Cy Young award. He simply allowed a few more hits and a few more home runs, bringing his ERA up about 0.6 runs. He deserves much better than a 12-12 record. He owns a 2.70 ERA against Boston in four starts. Wakefield needs a ton of run support win at this point in his career. That will be difficult against Price.

Matt Cain takes on Esmil Rogers as the Giants go for a sweep in Colorado. Cain owns a 2.32 ERA since the start of June, fifth best in the majors. He allowed just three home runs in 139 2/3 innings during that time. Rogers gave up eight runs in three innings in his only start against the Giants this season. That one start accounts for about 1/6 of the runs he allowed this season.

Justin Verlander goes for his 24th win as the Tigers take on the Athletics. Randy Johnson was the last pitcher to win 24 games, doing so in 2002. One of Justin’s few losses this season came at the Coliseum in April.

Finally, the Mariners send Felix Hernandez against Matt Harrison as the Mariners try to spoil the Rnagers’ playoff run. Harrison handled the Mariners well this season, 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA. He walked just one batter in 14 2/3 innings. Hernandez struck out 12 Rangers in 14 2/3 innings against the Rangers this season, but has an 0-2 record and 3.68 ERA to show for the effort.

Enjoy!

September 14, 2011

Milestone Night

In addition to Tim Wakefield earning his 200th win, Justin Verlander became the first pitcher since 2002 to win 23 games in a season and Mariano Rivera recorded his 600th save.

Verlander pitched seven shutout innings as the Tigers continued to pound the competition, beating Chicago 5-0. Justin walked two and struck out six as he lowered his ERA to 2.36 with a .192 BA allowed. He may very well win the Cy Young award unanimously. The Tigers winning streak goes to 11, and they’ve lost just one game in September.

In Seattle, the Yankees received a good start from A.J. Burnett. He was effectively wild, as he only walked two batters, but he hit two and uncorked two wild pitches. He struck out 11, however, and handed the bullpen a 3-2 lead after six innings. DavE. Robertson almost gave that lead away in the eighth. He loaded the bases, but struck out a batter after each of the prior ones reached.

That set up Rivera for the ninth. He allowed a one-out single to Ichiro Suzuki between two Ks, then Ichiro was caught stealing for the 600th save. It wasn’t the classic way for Rivera to earn a save. 🙂 The Yankees win 3-2, and Mo needs one more to tie Trevor Hoffman‘s record.

September 13, 2011

All or Nothing Red Sox

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Boston spanks Toronto 18-6 as Tim Wakefield finally earns his 200th win. Tim allowed five runs in six innings of work, but the Red Sox offense made sure he wasn’t going to lose this one. The victory extends Boston’s lead over the Rays to four games.

Boston has scored 72 runs in 12 September games, a 6.0 run average. Fifty four of those runs, however, came in four games, which is why they are 3-9 on the month.

September 13, 2011

Games of the Day

David Price tries to keep the Rays winning ways going as he faces Alfredo Simon and the Baltimore Orioles. Price had a little trouble with his timing against Baltimore this season. In three starts, he’s 0-2 with a 4.95 ERA despite five walks and 24 strikeouts in 20 IP. The Orioles, however, are hitting .357 against him with runners in scoring position, and three of the six extra-base hits he allowed came with men on base. With a 5.18 career ERA, Fredo may be off to Las Vegas to learn a new business.

The Cardinals try to stay in the wild card race and the Pirates try to stay at 90 losses as Chris Carpenter battles Jeff Karstens. Carpenter doesn’t have much to show for pitching well this season, a 9-9 record and a 3.75 ERA. Somehow, more balls in play found holes this season, as his batting average allowed rose from .244 to .270 this year. Karstens makes his first start of September after a sore arm sidelined him after a strange August. He walked six and struck out 22 in 25 1/3 innings, but allowed 38 hits for a 7.46 ERA.

Tim Wakefield makes his ninth appearance since winning his 199th game as the Red Sox host Brandon Morrow and the Blue Jays. This could be quite a slugfest. Wakefield allowed seven home runs in his last eight games, good for a 4.79 ERA. On top of his 200th win, he’s also trying to stop the Red Sox epic collapse. Morrow isn’t pitching badly in terms of his three true outcomes, but 32 of his 52 extra base hits allowed have come with men on base.

The Indians are down to playing spoilers as they send Justin Masterson against Texas and Matt Harrison. Justin pitches well on the road with a 7-4 record and a 2.83 ERA. Harrison owns a reverse platoon split this season as lefties hit .299/.348/.461 against him while righties are .245/.305/.353. Remember that for your Strat-o-Matic team next year.

Justin Verlander tries for his 23rd win of the season as the Tigers attempt to go to 11; wins in a row, that is. The 2002 was the last season to feature 23-game winners as there were three of them, as Randy Johnson won 24 games, while Curt Schilling and Barry Zito each won 23.

Jerome Williams takes on Guillermo Moscoso as the Angels attempt to get back on the winning track. Williams pitched well in three starts for LAnaheim, walking three and striking out 17 in 22 innings. Moscoso is off to a good start in September, with two runs allowed in 15 2/3 innings, walking just two batters.

Finally, Ian Kennedy goes for his 20th win of the season as the Diamondbacks continue their series with the Dodgers. Ian dominated the Dodgers so far this season, with a 2.70 ERA in three starts, five walks and 18 strikeouts in 20 innings. Los Angeles batters are 4 for 22 against him in Dodger Stadium this season with a double and a walk.

Enjoy!

September 7, 2011

Games of the Day

There’s a lunchtime treat in Cleveland as Justin’s battle on the mound. The Tigers send Justin Verlander against Justin Masterson. Verlander looks for his 22nd win of the season, and is already 2-0 against the Tribe with a 1.69 ERA. Cleveland managed just five hits against Verlander in 16 innings while striking out 22 times. Masterson already set a new season high in innings pitched with 194 1/3, and by cutting his home run rate by more than half over last season, reduced his ERA below three.

Brandon Beachy and Roy Oswalt meet in Philadelphia as the Braves continue their series with the Phillies. A Philadelphia wins reduces their magic number to win the division to 12. Beachy showed great control in his rookie year, walking just 35 batters in 120 1/3 innings. His only weakness is the home run ball. Oswalt no longer strikes out batters at a high rate, which is why is ERA is up over a run from last season.

Finally, Tim Wakefield makes another attempt at 200 wins as the Red Sox face Brandon Morrow and the Blue Jays. Wakefield is 0-3 in six starts and one relief appearance since his last win. He owns a 4.50 ERA in that stretch despite showing great control, eight walks in 42 innings. Opponents have hit six home runs, however. Morrow leads in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.41. He’s allowed a .308 BA with runners in scoring position, so his 4.00 ERA is out of whack with his power and control numbers.

Enjoy!

August 20, 2011

Wakefield Continues to Wait

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Tim Wakefield won’t get his 200th win tonight as the Royals tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning. He gave up three hits in the inning, then Matt Albers allowed the tying run to score, and gave up three more of his own as the Royals now lead 7-4. Tim gave up a total of nine hits in his 5 1/3 innings, walking none and striking out three.

Update: The Royals score eight times in the bottom of the sixth and lead the Red Sox 9-4. Eric Hosmer started the rally with an infield single, and ended it with a two-run triple.

August 20, 2011

Games of the Day

The Indians try to gain a game back from the Tigers as David Huff faces Doug Fister in Detroit. Huff pitched lights out so far, with 15 K and just four walks in 17 2/3 innings. That includes five shutout innings against the Red Sox. Fister has been a disappointment so far for the Tigers. With his low K rate and the Tigers poor defense, Doug allowed 24 hits in 14 2/3 innings so far for Detroit.

Roy Oswalt takes on John Lannan in a nice pitching matchup as the Phillies face the Nationals. The season will be the first that Oswalt fails to reach 30 games since 2003. His strike out rate suffered this season, and tha allowed his BA against to rise. Lannan allowed just 3 of his 11 home runs at home this season leading to an ERA about one and a half runs lower than on the road.

Tim Wakefield takes another shot at 200 wins as the Red Sox battle Felipe Paulino and the Royals. Given the Red Sox offense, Wakefield pitched well enough to win the first four starts he made to try to reach the milestone. A 4.08 ERA over that time should have produced one win. Paulino pitched well since coming over from the Rockies. With 75 K and 28 BB in 83 2/3 innings, the Royals have to be happy with his performance. He just hasn’t gotten the support, as he is 1-5 with the team.

Enjoy!

August 14, 2011

Wakefield Still Waiting

Tim Wakefield pitches an eight inning complete game, losing to the Mariners 5-3. He’s posted a 4.08 ERA in his last four starts, and given the Red Sox offense, that should have been enough for a win. Instead, he’s stuck on 199 for another trip through the rotation.

Charlie Furbush got his strikeouts working today as he K’d six in seven innings of work. Casper Wells, who also came over from Detroit, hit his third home run in ten games for the Mariners. Boston’s lead over the Yankees is down to 1/2 game.

August 14, 2011

Games of the Day

Both the Rays/Yankees and Nationals/Phillies lost their games today due to rain. No makeup date was set for the Yankees, but the Phillies will play the game on Sept. 20th.

Matt Garza faces off against Brandon Beachy as the Cubs and Braves play the rubber game of their series. All eyes will be on Dan Uggla as he tries to extend his hit streak to 34 games. Uggla’s probability of hitting in 23 straight games to tie the record is 5.2*10E-05, or about 1 in 19,000. That’s down from about 1 in 30,000 yesterday. Uggla is 3 for 9 against Garza in his career, all singles, with a walk and a hit by pitch.

The Brewers try to go 8-0 against the Pirates this season as Charlie Morton takes on Shaun Marcum. The Brewers pitching staff held the Pirates to 13 runs in 63 innings for a 1.86 ERA. Pittsburgh hitters struck out 63 times with just 23 walks and three home runs. The Milwaukee lineup scored 40 runs, with 27 of their 65 hits going for extra bases.

Finally, Tim Wakefield makes another run at 200 wins as he battles Charlie Furbush in the Boston/Seattle game. Wakefield never won a game at Safeco Field despite a 3.20 ERA at the ballpark. He’s 0-3, losing his last three starts there. Furbush hasn’t struck out batters since joining the Mariners. He k’d 26 in 32 1/3 innings with the Tigers, only 3 in 10 innings with Seattle, walking five along the way.

Enjoy!

August 8, 2011

Games of the Day

Tim Wakefield

Tim Wakefield and the knuckle ball grip that brought him one short of 200 victories for this career. Photo: Icom SMI

Tim Wakefield makes his third try for 200 wins as the Red Sox face the Twins and Scott Baker. Wakefield pitched well in the first two attempts at the milestone, but was hurt by a lack of offense, as Boston scored just five runs in the two games. They had scored 27 runs in his previous two starts. Baker dropped his home run rate this season, and that led to his best year in terms of ERA.

Roy Halladay takes on Hiroki Kuroda as the Phillies battle the Dodgers. Roy pitches relatively worse on the road, where his ERA stands at 2.93 versus 2.26 in Philadelphia. Seven of his nine home runs allowed come while traveling, and 13 of his 20 walks. Of course, most teams would love a pitcher with a 2.93 road ERA. Kuroda allowed just one run in his only start against the Phillies this year, but Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson combined for a shutout.

Finally, the Pirates try to end their ten-game losing streak as they send Charlie Morton against the Giants and Ryan Vogelsong. Morton contributed to the greater Pirates fall (their last 18 games), with two poor starts, but Charlie came back to pitch seven shutout innings his last start, regaining his control. Vogelsong is nearly unhittable at home, and what few hits he allows are mostly singles as the opposition owns a .228/.290/.312 slash line against him in San Francisco. The Giants sit 11 games over .500 and most of that comes from Ryan’s 9-1 record.

Enjoy!

July 29, 2011

Wakefield vs. Wang

3 Replies

Rob Neyer writes that Tim Wakefield going for his 200th win is a bigger deal than Chien-Ming Wang returning to the majors after two years away. I respectfully disagree. Wakefield had a magical 1992 season, helping Pittsburgh to the playoffs. He had a magical 1995 season, after he was out of baseball for a season, possibly never to play again. Since then, however, there’s really nothing outstanding about his pitching line. He’s 169-155 with a 4.52 ERA for a very good offensive team. I love Wakefield as much as any fan, but it’s not really based on his pitching. He’s a good teammate and a good organization man. His public image is clean. He agreed to a great contract that will keep him on the mound until his arm falls off. He’s taken any role the Red Sox requested with little complaint. Two hundred wins is nice, but at the same age Phil Niekro had 268.

Wang’s return, however, could be extremely important to the Nationals. If Chien’s sinker has returned, then the Nationals can go into 2012 with Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann John Lannan and Wang in the rotation. I would certainly take my chances with that group.

Wakefield is a nice story, but Wang’s return is important.

June 14, 2011

Games of the Day

Cleveland and Detroit go head to head for first place in the AL Central as Justin Masterson faces Justin Verlander. Masterson pitched an excellent game against the Tigers on May 1st, walking two and striking out seven. He’s walked 27 batters on the season, but he’s also hit six, including two Tigers. Verlander faces Cleveland for the first time in 2011, and for his caeer holds a 5.11 ERA against the Tribe in 24 starts.

The Yankees host the first place Rangers as Alexi Ogando battles CC Sabathia. The undefeated Ogando is blowing away batters with 60 strikeouts and 18 walks, and an amazing .210 BABIP. Sabathia is one of four AL pitchers with 100 innings pitched so far in 2011. He’s doing a much better job of keeping the ball in the park this season with four home runs allowed, after giving up 20 in 327 2/3 innings in 2010.

Jonathon Niese takes on NL ERA leader Jair Jurrjens as the Mets visit the Braves. Niese had some trouble on the road this season, where his ERA stands at 4.46. It’s not clear why, as most of his home and road statistics are very similar. Jurrjens walks about 1 batter every seven innings, which helps keep batters off base, and it’s really tough to score when you can’t get on base.

Tampa Bay trails Boston by 4 1/2 games as Carl Crawford goes back to his old stomping grounds to face James Shields. Tim Wakefield gets the call for the Red Sox. Tim no longer strikes out many batters, a bit reason is ERA is close to five this season. Shields sports great strikeout and walk numbers, but he does give up the long ball, and Boston has hit 15 home runs in their last nine games. In fact, the team is hitting like a league MVP.

Finally, one-half game separates the Giants and the Diamondbacks as they meet in Arizona. Matt Cain visits Josh Collmenter. It’s a typical year for Cain, as he’s pitching better than his won-loss record. He does give up more hits on the road, despite very similar strikeout numbers compare to what he does in San Francisco. Collmenter is off to a great start with a 1.12 ERA. Opposing batters are just 2 for 20 against him with runners in scoring position.

Enjoy!

May 23, 2011

Wakefield’s Control

At Baseball Analytics, I look at Tim Wakefield‘s remarkable control of his knuckleball.

August 25, 2010

Trade Offs

2 Replies

The Red Sox fall in the night cap of their double header to the Mariners 4-2. Tim Wakefield got the start as a back injury to Daisuke Matsuzaka caused Boston to move Jon Lester to Friday to start against David Price and the Rays. Tim Wakefield took the mound against Felix Hernandez and lost.

Since the Red Sox won this afternoon and the Rays lost, Boston was guaranteed to gain at least 1/2 game today. So they decided that Wakefield might have a good chance against the weak hitting Mariners, while they were able to move the better pitcher against the Rays ace, and the team they need to beat.

Felix Hernandez pitched great, allowing four hits and one walk in 7 1/3 innings of work, as he goes deep into a game once more. He struck out nine and allowed a home run, but only one of the two runs against him was earned as he lowers his ERA to 2.47.

July 15, 2010

No Country for Old Men

Tim Wakefield and Jamie Moyer get knocked out early tonight as their teams find themselves down big early. The Rangers scored six runs off Wakefield in the first inning, and then knocked him out of the game when the first three Rangers reached in the third, plating their seventh run of the game. They lead Boston 7-1 in the top of the sixth inning.

Meanwhile, Jamie Moyer allows six runs through three innings, giving up two home runs. David Herndon started the fourth for Philadelphia as the Cubs lead 6-2 in the top of the fifth inning.

July 15, 2010

Games of the Day

The Rangers and Red Sox get the second half started with Tommy Hunter facing Tim Wakefield at Fenway Park. The Rangers limped into the All-Star break with four losses to the Orioles, while the Red Sox suffered a sweep by Tampa Bay in their penultimate series before the break. Hunter brought his home run rate in line with his low walk rate to reduce his ERA this season to 2.34. A low walk, low home run pitcher goes right at the strengths of the Red Sox batters. Wakefield improved his walk rate this season, but is seeing more balls fly out of the park. Wakefield’s age may finally be catching up with him, as his opposition batting stats deteriorate after 45 pitches.

The Twins try to climb back into the AL Central race as they host the first-place White Sox. John Danks gets the call against Minnesota’s Kevin Slowey. Danks’s 8-7 record with a 3.29 ERA is mostly a result of five starts in which the White Sox scored two runs or less. He’s hot in July, allowing just six hits in 15 innings of work. Slowey pitches much better at home this season, with a .295 OBP at Target Field versus a .351 mark on the road. He also allows much less power.

The Dodgers and Cardinals are both fighting for a playoff spot as Clayton Kershaw takes on Chris Carpenter. Kershaw is giving up more home runs this season than last year, and five of the seven he allowed came with men on base, but that only nudged up his ERA as he still does a great job overall limiting batters on base and power. Carpenter’s home run and walk rates are much more visibly higher, as is his ERA, up a run.

Finally, the Mets visit San Francisco, New York one game behind Colorado and Los Angeles in the wild card standings and one game ahead of San Francisco. R.A. Dickey faces Tim Lincecum. Dickey is at the same number of innings pitched as in 2009 with 2/3 the walks and half the home runs allowed. That brought his ERA down almost two runs. Lincecum is coming off his best start since the middle of May. During the rough patch, Tim went 3-4 with a 4.89 ERA with a very un-Lincecum like 5.2 walks per nine.

Enjoy!

July 7, 2010

Games of the Day

The Braves and Phillies play the rubber game of their series with Kris Medlen taking on Jamie Moyer. Both pitchers exhibit fantastic control, each walking less than a batter every five innings. Medlen, a right-hander, is equally good against left and right handed batters, while Moyer, a lefty, gives up a lower BA buy more power to lefties.

The Rays go for a sweep of the Red Sox as Tim Wakefield faces David Price. Left-handed batters are hitting Wakefield hard this season with a .302 BA and a .509 slugging percentage. I would think there would be less of a platoon split with knuckleball pitchers, but he’s getting righties out well, as they own a .284 OBP against him. Price sits second on the AL ERA leader board with a 2.42 mark, exactly two runs lower than in 2009. He’s cut down on his home runs allowed to reach that level. He’s 5-1 with a 1.99 ERA at home, where his OPS against is an impressive .556.

Slugfest of the night goes to Pittsburgh at Houston where Daniel McCutchen and his 8.87 ERA battle Brian Moehler and his 5.20 ERA. Expect the bullpens in this one early. McCutchen did post a good start against Philadelphia his last time out, so we’ll see if he can make it two in a row. All five home runs allowed by Moehler this year came in his 35 1/3 innings as a starter.

Finally, Josh Johnson and the Marlins visit the Dodgers and Hiroki Kuroda. Johnson leads the majors in ERA after three set backs by Ubaldo Jimenez. For the first time in his career, Johnson is striking out more batters than innings he’s pitched, and reduced his home run rate to 7.0 per 200 innings. Kuroda owns a 2.60 career ERA against the Marlins, walking three and striking out 25 in 27 2/3 innings.

Enjoy!

May 28, 2010

Don’t Bet against Betancourt

1 Reply

Yuniesky Betancourt, a hitter who neither gets on base nor hits for power, smacks a grand slam off Tim Wakefield, part of a seven run fourth inning for the Royals. It’s the second slam of Betancourt’s career. The Royals overcome a 5-2 deficit to take a 9-5 lead in what is starting out as a slugfest at Fenway.

May 23, 2010

Games of the Day

1 Reply

The Red Sox finish their series with the Phillies by facing an old friend, Roy Halladay. The Red Sox have been very successful against Roy, as he holds a 4.28 ERA against them with a 14-14 record in 41 games, 38 of those as starts. Boston sends Tim Wakefield to the mound. He’s struggled away from Boston, allowing five home runs in 17 innings on the road this season.

Jered Weaver and Chris Carpenter face off in St. Louis as the Angels and Cardinals play the rubber game of their series. Weaver is pitching his best season in terms of strikeouts, but his worst in terms of home runs. His pace would put him over 200 K for the seasons, but also over 30 HR. Carpenter holds a 2.80 ERA despite both his walks and home runs going up from last year. He’s already equaled the number of dingers he gave up in 2009, and is almost half-way to his walk total.

Finally, former AL Central rivals clash in New York as CC Sabathia battles Johan Santana. CC is making his seventh start on the road this year, where is ERA is three runs higher than at Yankee Stadium. Santana is more lights out at home, where he’s allowed just one of his six home runs, despite pitching 5 1/3 more innings than on the road.

Both pitchers are showing a drop in their strikeout rates, which may be a sign of the two of them aging. Both have good control, so that will help them survive this, but at some point they may need to slip into the role of crafty lefty.

Enjoy!

May 12, 2010

Marcum Mows Them Down

1 Reply

Shaun Marcum pitches seven strong innings for the Blue Jays, giving up just two hits and one walk as he gets credit for a short shutout of the Red Sox. He lowers his ERA to 2.78 in eight starts. He’s struck out 42 on the season while walking just 12. The Blue Jays win 3-2, however, as the Red Sox comeback with two runs in the ninth to fall just short.

Tim Wakefield recorded his 2000th strikeout in the game as well.

April 25, 2010

Wakefield to the Pen

5 Replies

The Red Sox sent Tim Wakefield to the bullpen today after he finished his start. The move makes room for Daisuke Matsuzaka to return to the rotation. Wakefield had little to say about it.

His thoughts about going to the bullpen: “I don’t have any.”

Peter Abraham makes a very good point at the end of the article:

In Wakefield, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek, Francona also has four older players on the downside of their careers who believe they should be playing every day and aren’t. Having two such players on the roster would be a lot to handle. He has four.

If a team is winning, nobody can complain. But if 8-11 turns into 16-22, disgruntled players will find a forum in the clubhouse and Francona will have fires to put out.

I suspect if it gets to that point, Theo Epstein will defend Francona by releasing or trading some of those players.

April 15, 2010

Games of the Day

The Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians play a noon start this afternoon, featuring two young pitchers working on the same flaw. Matt Harrison and David Huff both have a short major league history of allowing too many home runs. Neither gave up a dinger in their first start of the season, so we’ll see if they can continue that trend this afternoon.

Francisco Liriano faces a big test today of his control as he goes up against a very selective Red Sox team in Minnesota. David Ortiz won’t be in the lineup for the Red Sox, but Francona explains it as keeping his bench fresh by getting Mike Lowell into the lineup against a lefty. Tim Wakefield takes the mound for Boston. He handled the Royals easily in his first start, walking one and striking out six. For a knuckleballer, Tim showed great control throughout his career.

There’s a double debut in New York as Scott Kazmir comes off the disabled list for the Angels and Phil Hughes comes up from getting work in the minors. Scott is only 6-5 against the Yankees in his career, but posted an excellent 2.67 ERA. Most of those losses happened early when the Rays were a poor team. Since the middle of 2007, Scott has been fantastic against New York. Phil will try to show that the power and control he brought to relief pitching last season can translate to his starting role.

Finally, Dan Haren and Hiroki Kuroda meet in Los Angeles with two tired bullpens backing them. Haren went into the seventh in each of his first two starts, so he should be able to give the pen a night off. Kuroda went eight innings in his first start, with one walk and seven strikeouts. Both teams have the right man on the mound to follow an extra inning marathon.

Enjoy!

March 4, 2010

Yoshida and Wakefield

Here’s video of Eri Yoshida throwing under the watchful eye of Tim Wakefield. It would have been nice if they included an angle from behind home plate so we could see the break on her pitches.

Hat tip, Big League Stew.

March 3, 2010

Knuckle Uncle

Tim Wakefield tutored Eri Yoshida on Tuesday:

“It’s an honor to have somebody carry on a knuckleball tradition,” he said. “And somebody that’s doing it because she likes what I do. It’s pretty cool to have someone come over to the States from Japan. I heard about her last year. I know she’s pitching in independent leagues now. But for her to come all the way to Fort Myers and watch me throw, it was an honor for me to just talk to her and give her some tips.”

Wakefield’s tutoring was the first direct coaching Yoshida has received on the fluttering pitch.

“I kind of know where she’s at, because I was there when I first started throwing. Nobody knew what to do,” he said. “It’s pretty cool that I’m able to give back to somebody that wants to carry on the tradition of throwing a knuckleball.”

Wakefield liked the movement on her pitches. I’d love to see her break the gender barrier in baseball someday, either here or in Japan.

March 1, 2010

Knuckle East Meets Knuckle West

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Eri Yoshida made a trip to Florida to meet her video mentor, Tim Wakefield:

“He was exactly the same as I imagined. But even playing catch, he gets so much more movement than I imagined. So I was very amazed by that,” Yoshida said through a translator.

She thrilled at the chance to shake hands with Wakefield, and was delighted to hear that the 43-year-old knuckleballer had seen video of her pitching in Japan.

“I watched practice here, and I was so amazed by that, I was really happy about that,” Yoshida said.

Yoshida began playing baseball at seven years old, but at barely five feet tall, she was just another athletic girl. She wanted to pitch, but couldn’t throw much faster than 60 mph. Then she came upon video of Wakefield throwing his knuckleball, and in her backyard, she and her father tried to copy the motion.

The article comes across more as a fan meeting her idols, including the Japanese players on the Red Sox. I hope she got the chance to actually get some instruction from Tim.