Wakefield

[Soxaholic]

Um, maybe you guys can help me...

 

whether Timmy is a starter or a reliever, he is still going to need a personal catcher--Varitek has never been able to grab that knuckler and his god awful arm with Wake's pitch speed...guys might be able to steal 1st to 3rd on him lol

 

Victor doesn't have much experience with the knuckler, but I guess he's the only other option?

 

My question is,

 

WHO CATCHES WAKEFIELD??

[Dipre]

Victor Martinez, just like last year in limited time.

[Spudboy]

I thought V-Mart did pretty well, actually.

 

I like the idea of using a 1st baseman's mitt.

 

And V-Mart's arm is no prize either.

[a700hitter]

VMart did very well catching the knuckleball. Other than catching third strikes, it is probably not that important. Couple Wakefield's slow pitch and Vmart's below average arm, Prince Fielder could run wild on us. No one is getting thrown out.

[Spudboy]

Prince Fielder, lol.

 

Let's say Lowell ends up playing somewhere else in the AL. At some point he faces Wake and gets on 1st.

 

Could Lowell steal 2nd?

[a700hitter]

Prince Fielder, lol.

 

Let's say Lowell ends up playing somewhere else in the AL. At some point he faces Wake and gets on 1st.

 

Could Lowell steal 2nd?

If he gets a good jump, he could make it standing up.

[a700hitter]

Prince Fielder, lol.

 

Let's say Lowell ends up playing somewhere else in the AL. At some point he faces Wake and gets on 1st.

 

Could Lowell steal 2nd?

As slow as he was last year, he had 2 SBs

[Dojji]

If it gets to be a problem, we can probably release Varitek and call up Mark Wagner or Dusty Brown, both of whom have better arms than our current duo. I know Brown has knuckleball experience and I think Wagner has a little too.

 

Most likely it'd be Brown, since Wagner still has maybe a bit more development he could manage in the minors and Brown is an older guy who seems well-suited to a backup role.

[Dipre]

If it gets to be a problem, we can probably release Varitek and call up Mark Wagner or Dusty Brown, both of whom have better arms than our current duo. I know Brown has knuckleball experience and I think Wagner has a little too.

 

Most likely it'd be Brown, since Wagner still has maybe a bit more development he could manage in the minors and Brown is an older guy who seems well-suited to a backup role.

 

Doubtful.

 

If it becomes a problem, they'll try to deal with it internally, because with his penchant for mashing lefties and the "C" on his jacket, 'Tek being released seems next to impossible.

[Dojji]

In other words, "if it becomes a problem, they'll settle and suffer and wait for next year."

 

I guess that's a legitimate school of thought.

[YAZMAN]

VMart did very well catching the knuckleball. Other than catching third strikes' date=' it is probably not that important. Couple Wakefield's slow pitch and Vmart's below average arm, Prince Fielder could run wild on us. No one is getting thrown out.[/quote']

 

Exactly. Been that way for some time. It's not like Mirabelli had a cannon, either.

 

 

Unless, of course, he was in the men's room at the Kowloon dropping a deuce.

[BOSOX11]

V-Mart can handle Wake. No concern.

[a700hitter]

V-Mart can handle Wake. No concern.

What is the over/under on runners that he will throw out while Wakefield is pitching... 2? I'll take the under. Is it really "handling Wakefield" if every base runner gets second base?

[YAZMAN]

What is the over/under on runners that he will throw out while Wakefield is pitching... 2? I'll take the under. Is it really "handling Wakefield" if every base runner gets second base?

 

What catcher will be throwing out runners with a knuckleballer on the mound?

[a700hitter]

What catcher will be throwing out runners with a knuckleballer on the mound?

I agree. The catcher is not the problem. A few passed balls are not going to make a difference unless they come with runners on second or third.

[vic vinegar]

I thought V-Mart did pretty well, actually.

 

I like the idea of using a 1st baseman's mitt.

 

And V-Mart's arm is no prize either.

 

he did do a good job, and i like wakefeild in the bullpen

[jacksonianmarch]

VMart is middle of the pack as a 1B. As a catcher, he's top 5

[YeAuldBroade]

I prefer Wakefield as a starter. He did the bullpen 'thing' for awhile and had moderate success, a little less success in his time as a closer. You can never have too much starting pitching. Even if Wakefield starts the year in the pen (which he probably won't, I suspect they'll start the season with a 6 man rotation), there will be opportunity during the season for him to move back to the starting rotation.