Tim Wakefield. Can we talk?

So, some people like to talk some smack. Some people particularly like to talk some smack about one Mr. Tim Wakefield, the crazy knuckleballer for the Boston Red Sox. They like to say some stuff about about how he is too old to pitch. That his best days are clearly behind him. How his knuckleball is horribly inconsistent…either really good or really bad. They also like to say things about how he is cheap at 4 million/year, but at this point that is 4 million too much. And that with the plethora of starting pitching prospects we have down in the minors, Wakefield is taking up prescious space for someone who can actually get wins.

Yeah, so those people….most of last off season…..completely me. No one talked more smack about Tim Wakefield than I did. I mentioned how I hated to see him on the mound because it probably meant a loss for the team. I mentioned that he was old and like Timlin should be respectfully put out of his misery. I mentioned that with people like Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden down in AAA, it made no sense to resign Wake no matter how cheap he is.

I would like to make it official. Tim Wakefield, I am an idiot. I was about as wrong as any one person can be wrong. You have been the defacto ace this season. You’ve been more consistent than any other pitcher on the mound. You’ve been eating innings like a kid eats candy…and brought us victories when the tides seemed to be turning against us. You came out in Oakland…nearly pitched a no-no and then finished it off with a complete game. You gave us hope again Wake. Then, you came back out like gang busters against the Twins…another impressive victory. Then Cleveland. You didn’t get the win, but the team did. You made that possible. Then Tampa Bay. The only Sox pitcher who could get a win in that series. Then Cleveland again and this time you did get the win. Alright, then you showed us that you might in fact be human against the Angels. You got hit hard and often. Did that mean the old Tim Wakefield was back? The one I liked talking smack about so often?

Nope. Doesn’t seem like it. Tim Wakefield came out last night against the red hot Toronto Blue Jays and his knuckleball was nothing other than brilliant. The Sox won a close game 2-1. We didn’t score a lot of runs, but that didn’t matter to Tim Wakefield. He didn’t need it. He pitched through 8 innings. Hear that Josh Beckett and Jon Lester…EIGHT innings. In the 8th because of 2 errors, Wake had 2 guys on and only one out. Uh oh. My mind started to wonder if I might see that Wake I don’t like. Nope. Wake used that crazy magical knuckleball and got two sweet pop ups. Inning over. Errors on the books, but no damage done.

Now I do have a word of warning for Tim Wakefield. You NEED to keep on pitching like a monster because any signs that you are in fact human…you know, like that Angels start. My brain immediately starts thinking about talking smack again. So, continue the dominance that is Tim Wakefield of 2009. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

And Brad Penny. Consider yourself on notice. I’ve always got to be talking smack about someone and my attention has quickly focused onto YOU!