Should Wakefield be asked to Return in 2012?

[Gringo]

Keep him in the bullpen.

[a700hitter]

Keep him in the bullpen.

As a coach?

[3rdManOut]

I could see him as a coach.

[jacksonianmarch]

Well' date=' Lackey had a 6+ ERA and made 14+ Million dollars. I just threw up.[/quote']

 

$18+ actually

[BecKett]

I voted yes.. I wish there was an option for "Hell yeah!"

 

Everyone that throws him under the bus need to recognize his value here and he comes on the cheap..

 

Huh? We must be watching different pitchers. Wakefield gets his ass rocked every time he takes the mound at this point. Now that he eclipsed 200 wins, I don't see any reason to let him take the ball ever again.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Oh. My. God.

 

8 people said Yes?!?

 

Opponents had an .843 OPS against Wakefield in the 2nd half. He had a 5.55 ERA. He averaged 5.2 IP per outing. He had 3 QS in his 12 starts after the ASB.

 

He's going to try to demand starts if our rotation, heaven forbid, stays healthy for a couple of months. No way, absolutely not. I would much rather see a healthy and in-shape Doubront as our #6 man.

 

With the FA market including guys like Brandon Webb, Chris Young, Dontrelle Willis, Chien-Ming Wang, Erik Bedard, Kyle Davies, Zach Duke, and an abundance of guys who aren't that good, and we can sign to cheap, minor league deals, there is absolutely no reason to keep Wakefield. None.

[3rdManOut]

I know I may get dragged out of here and shot for say this but:

 

Couldn't another argument (should I dare say it) in defence be that the bats have been pretty weak in suport or him during his games recently. By recently I mean in the last couple of years? I mean that could be a factor in him losing games as well.

 

Ok ok, go easy on me, Im still new to the whole forum here but I will get shot with dignity.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Wakefield got 8.55 runs of support per start in 2011 ( 5th most in MLB ).

[a700hitter]

I know I may get dragged out of here and shot for say this but:

 

Couldn't another argument (should I dare say it) in defence be that the bats have been pretty weak in suport or him during his games recently. By recently I mean in the last couple of years? I mean that could be a factor in him losing games as well.

 

Ok ok, go easy on me, Im still new to the whole forum here but I will get shot with dignity.

His ERA is 5+. I don't think the bats are the problem. It's time to go in a different direction. He's got nothing left in the tank. He can't get his pitches down in the zone anymore. He's a sitting duck up in the zone. Look at the guy's #'s. He's fallen off the cliff in the last few years.

[jacksonianmarch]

Wake's run support was 6.57 runs per game, one of the highest in baseball

[SoxFanForsyth]

Wake's run support was 6.57 runs per game' date=' one of the highest in baseball[/quote']

 

Where did you get your numbers? ESPN has it at 8.55, but I'm not convinced that's correct.

[Taz]

I've been a huge admirer of Wakefield for years. One of my alltime fav players to watch & he has virtually carried a dying art singlehandedly for a generation. That said, I think even he knows that he has achieved everything there is to in the game & that this season has been far from his best. His velocity is well down even compared to 2-3 years ago & I am pretty sure that Wake will know in himself it's time to step aside.

 

I really hope that there are young blokes out there who have watched him pitch all these years & been inspired to throw the knuckleball, and that there is a resurgence in this craft. That would be a fitting testiment to his years of service to the game.

 

Thanks for the memories.

[a700hitter]

I've been a huge admirer of Wakefield for years. One of my alltime fav players to watch & he has virtually carried a dying art singlehandedly for a generation. That said, I think even he knows that he has achieved everything there is to in the game & that this season has been far from his best. His velocity is well down even compared to 2-3 years ago & I am pretty sure that Wake will know in himself it's time to step aside.

 

I really hope that there are young blokes out there who have watched him pitch all these years & been inspired to throw the knuckleball, and that there is a resurgence in this craft. That would be a fitting testiment to his years of service to the game.

 

Thanks for the memories.

Wakefield has apparently said that he would like to play next season and pursue Clemen's record. He's not going to make it easy on management. Players are always the last ones to know when their tanks are empty. The Sox have to put sentimentality aside. It's the right thing to do for the organization and the right thing for Wakefield. He'll just continue to embarrass himself if he pitches in 2012. Timmy, read the poll results in every New England paper, wake the hell up. You're done.

[Emmz]

He should join the staff, just not the pitching staff. The coaching staff sounds better. He belongs in the organization, but as a pitcher, no way, we can't count on him for anything but a ERA of about 6 or 7.

[TeddyBallGame9]

Only as a coach.

[SoxSport]

Wakefield will be gone. Period. They got him his 200 wins--at some sacrifice. So be it.

[a700hitter]

Wakefield will be gone. Period. They got him his 200 wins--at some sacrifice. So be it.

It came at the expense of the post season. A milestone like that would normally be associated with good memories, but not this one. Mention of Wakefield's 200 wins will always conjure up memories of an over the hill player's futile effort to win his 200th and racking up loss after loss as the Red Sox spiraled out of control on the way to the worst collapse in team history.

[Dojji]

I don't think you can blame Wakefield on missing the postseason. If nothing else he was in line for some wins at at least 3 different points much earlier on that the bullpen and fielders let him down on. As in, Wake leaves with a lead, and the team finds a way to lose or blow said lead.

[SoxSport]

The Globe says the Red Sox face "difficult" decisions about Wakefield and Varitek.

 

Difficult? Heck, those are the easiest decisions they have to make.

 

The Globe has flip-flopped lately about the Red Sox, if you've been following them.

[a700hitter]

The Globe says the Red Sox face "difficult" decisions about Wakefield and Varitek.

 

Difficult? Heck, those are the easiest decisions they have to make.

 

The Globe has flip-flopped lately about the Red Sox, if you've been following them.

Lackey is a difficult decision, because he is owed so much money. Varitek and Wake are no-brainers. It's time to move on.

[FredLynn]

I voted yes.. I wish there was an option for "Hell yeah!"

 

Everyone that throws him under the bus need to recognize his value here and he comes on the cheap..

 

So do his results. This guy just doesn't know when to hang them up. Of course, as he says, "The fans deserve to see me go for the all time Red Sox win record" for pitchers. He exemplifies the me me me attitude that cost this team the playoffs this year. The only way he comes back is if Epstein comes back because that selfish jerk is part of the good 'ol boy network and Epstein doesn't have the good judgement to let him go.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

The Globe says the Red Sox face "difficult" decisions about Wakefield and Varitek.

 

Difficult? Heck, those are the easiest decisions they have to make.

 

The Globe has flip-flopped lately about the Red Sox, if you've been following them.

 

They've been on the team for a long time and mean something to the Sox. The FO won't let em go that easy.

[jung]

Wakefield being allowed to hang around long enough to generate enough 12-8 victories to achieve most career wins would be an embarrassment. That isn't a good reason to cut him away but hopefully the FO will be smart enough not to need more than their own eyes at this point. Ya' never know though. The Sox have a terrible time cutting away guys that should be just gone.

 

Even with all his years of service it is time for Tek as well. I don't see why that is such a hard decision either. It is time for Tek's couching career to begin.

[SCM33]

They've been on the team for a long time and mean something to the Sox. The FO won't let em go that easy.

 

Well, it is that easy. Variteks contract expired, and Wakes option is a mutual one.

 

If they do nothing, they are both gone.

 

When has doing nothing been difficult?

 

Letting Pedro Martinez walk or trading Manny Ramirez or Nomar Garciappara.....those are tough decisions. Letting unproductive, old, selfish players go is about as easy as it gets.

[a700hitter]

Well, it is that easy. Variteks contract expired, and Wakes option is a mutual one.

 

If they do nothing, they are both gone.

 

When has doing nothing been difficult?

 

Letting Pedro Martinez walk or trading Manny Ramirez or Nomar Garciappara.....those are tough decisions. Letting unproductive, old, selfish players go is about as easy as it gets.

Derek Lowe never got a single call from the Red Sox when he became a free agent. That could be what happens here.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Well, it is that easy. Variteks contract expired, and Wakes option is a mutual one.

 

If they do nothing, they are both gone.

 

When has doing nothing been difficult?

 

Letting Pedro Martinez walk or trading Manny Ramirez or Nomar Garciappara.....those are tough decisions. Letting unproductive, old, selfish players go is about as easy as it gets.

 

That's the way we see it. Apparently, the FO doesn't.

[SoxSport]

Letting Pedro Martinez walk or trading Manny Ramirez or Nomar Garciappara.....those are tough decisions. Letting unproductive, old, selfish players go is about as easy as it gets.

 

All good decisions.

 

They dodged a bullet with Pedro. He wanted 4 years--he got it from the Mets, but lasted 1.5 years before he blew his arm out.

 

They made a mistake with Damon. He was worth it just based on team chemistry and spirit.

 

One of Epstein's biggest failures was his lack of understanding about the value of a player to team chemistry and role playing. He was looking too hard at OBP/OPS and age. He also thought you could change veteran players' positions like checkers on a board. He didn't learn from Ellsbury--getting AdGon and moving Youks. He was better off keeping VMart and Beltre, and dumping one-dimensional Ortiz. And getting an Ellsbury clone in Crawford on a team that doesn't run was another mistake.

[Brennan]

Awesome board. The board where I just came from after 7 years was very small and moderated in a pollyanna way. The above poll would have been split 50/50 with half of the posters licking Wakefield's cleats because he is a Sox "icon". Good to see there is a general realistic viewpoint on this board.

 

Wake has been done since 2007, all he does now is pitch batting practice.

[SoxSport]

Lackey is a difficult decision' date=' because he is owed so much money. Varitek and Wake are no-brainers. It's time to move on.[/quote']

 

tax write-off.

[VA Sox Fan]

Awesome board. The board where I just came from after 7 years was very small and moderated in a pollyanna way. The above poll would have been split 50/50 with half of the posters licking Wakefield's cleats because he is a Sox "icon". Good to see there is a general realistic viewpoint on this board.

 

Wake has been done since 2007, all he does now is pitch batting practice.

 

 

Welcome aboard!