Red Sox fans should just start calling our beloved knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield, "Old Faithful".... and maybe many of us do, but I'm sure there are many like myself who have always loved Wake, for what he's done on... and off the field for the past 14 years in Boston, but have always known that knuckleballers can have it one pitch, and lose it the next. We have all seen Wakefield get torched a variety of ways... any team, any game, any inning, any at bat... he can give up big hits to anyone, but we also have seen Wake make the best hitting line-ups in baseball look completely silly trying to run into his knuckleball when he's dealing.
For me, watching Wakefield pitch when he just doesn't have it that day, has always been much more frustrating than any other pitcher we have ever had in my short 26 years of "living and dying" with the Red Sox as an ultimate loyal fan. (I was born in Beth Isreal Hospital, yes the same Beth Isreal Deconest that is the Hospital of the Red Sox, in 1983 on June 13th, and grew up in Charlestown, Massachusetts, a stones throw from the Bunker Hill Monument, at 1 Tremont st.) Not that any of that makes me any more important or more entitled as a fan than anyone else on the planet that absolutely loves their Boston Red Sox... just as much as they did before 2004, as they do now. But it let's any reader I may be lucky enough to have the audience of, know that I have been a Sox fan my whole life, and because every single member of my Irish Catholic family is a die-hard Sox fan, and have been far before I was even a twinkle in my fathers eye, and even far before any member of the 2004 World Championship Red Sox Team of "Idiots" were ever close to being born. We are nothing special of course... there are countless of families with a deep love for the Red Sox running through their entire family tree, just like the blood that binds them all.
Getting back on focus to a point I was trying to make about Wakefield being the hardest pitcher to watch when he's struggling... because he can't throw a pitch faster than 85, and that's his max. on his "cheese", his fastball is usually just above 80.... it can often look like he's out there playing catch with the catcher! Now I understand that as slow as Wake is pitching out there... can really be a big advantage against Major League hitters who are trained, and used to, hitting a ball that is coming in much, much faster... but it seems sometimes a line-up will swing nice and easy at something they can reach, and once the ball starts rolling, it's bound to come all the way down the hill.
However many doubts I may have had about Tim Wakefield, and his ability to get through the tough games when he doesn't have anything going for him, have all but died in the past 5 years. Wake seems to be learning how to really get everything out of his fastball, and uses it so well sneaking it in there between his crazy knuckleball, and looping curve. I don't know if I would say he has gotten better at learning how to "pitch" to a line-up, because I never pitched past High-School, and wouldn't do the injustice of questioning how well a 17 year veteran of the Major Leagues knows how to pitch to a certain line-up. Of course I have my opinion, and obtain knowledge through a variety of sources, including Dennis Eckersley who has been filling in greatly for the Rem Dawg. =] I just feel that Wakefield looks to be the most comfortable he has ever been in his 14 years pitching for Boston, and one thing I can say from experiance about pitching, is that being comfortable and confident on the mound tends to lead to success.
Well I hope I caused you to recall many of you're own memories of "Ol' Faithfull" Tim Wakefield pitching for the Sox during the last 14 years.... there are so many great ones, and of course he has his share of blunders, but without the bad memories, the great ones wouldn't feel so great! ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
.................PLEASE, post some of you're memories of Tim Wakefield over the years! I'd really like to hear all of them, and maybe someone has a personal memory with Wake they wouldn't mind posting and sharing with the rest of us!! Anyways, thank you for reading my attempts at learning to write short articles. I am a fan of criticism, and also well aware of my poor spelling , grammar, and writing, so I don't mind any help one bit!
//////\\\\\\ Some of my own Tim Wakefield "Memorable Moments" //////\\\\\\
October 16, 2003 : Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS vs. the Yankees, in Yankee Stadium - Wakefield comes back out in the 11th inning after putting down Matsui, Posada, and Giambi in the 10th. Up comes Aarron Boone to step to the plate and hit the very first pitch that Wakefield throws over the Green Monster, and directly through our hearts and hopes of ending the "Curse" that year. Little did we know that the fans who somehow found a way to stay posative in that time of heartache, and proclaim, "We'll get it done next year!" were finaly going to be right!
Tim Wakefield
Timothy Stephen Wakefield
Bats: Right , Throws: Right
Height: 6' 2" , Weight: 204 lb.
Born: August 2, 1966 in Melbourne, FL
Schools: Florida Institute of Technology
Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round of the 1988 amateur draft.
Signed June 3, 1988. (All Transactions)
Debut: July 31, 1992