Viva La Wakefield

Tim Wakefield is not a Hall of Famer. He has been an above-average pitcher who who had three great seasons (1992, 1995, 2002) and only one bad one (1993).

But he is one of the most important Red Sox players of my lifetime.

Here's a list of his various Red Sox accomplishments. All of these stats come via Baseball-Reference.com:

• He's third all-time in wins, behind only Roger Clemens and Cy Young
• He's third all-time in innings, again behind Clemens and Cy
• His 505 appearances is 2nd all-time behind Bob Stanley
• He's 2nd all-time in Ks behind Clemens
• He's 2nd all-time in games started, again behind Clemens
• To be fair, he's also the career leader in losses

But two moments will stick out more than the numbers.

First, Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. That may seem strange, but he had started (and won) Game 1 and 4 in the series, out dueling Mike Mussina both times. Then, with the game on the line, he entered in the 10th inning and shut down Matsui, Posada and Giambi, giving Trot and Mueller a chance to win it in the 11th.

Then Aaron 'freakin' Boone hit the game winner off Wake in the 11th. But the guy made only his third relief appearance of the season, and made one mistake in his 15 pitches. It was a gutsy effort, like almost every appearance of his career.

Major tangent here: I can't think about this game without getting angry and cursing Grady Little's name. Wake would never have been in that position had Grady managed like he had all year and removed Pedro after the laser shots by Jeter and Bernie. I was screaming at the TV like a madman, and yet Pedro faced two more batters, even with Embree and Timlin in the pen. Pedro's velocity was down, he was north of 100 pitches, and he wasn't locating his pitches. What other indicator do you need that a starter is cooked? Long live Terry Francona!

Back to Wake. Today's 9-inning complete game is my other favorite moment, not in and of itself, but because it encapsulates what Wake has meant to the team. A day game after a draining, 12-inning loss. If Wake throws a stinker, we probably see Nick Green throwing an inning. Instead he no-hits the A's for 7 innings and completes the game on just 111 pitches. The dancing knuckler saves the day again.

So while he may not make Coperstown, he's a first ballot Mangum Hall of Famer. Viva La Wakefield!

Another few Red Sox notes:

• We need Lowrie back. Watching Green throw from SS is like watching me throw from there in our company softball league: it looks like he's throwing from a little too far out of his range.
• Let's destroy the WBC! Just kidding. I find it funny that all these fans (close to 80% in a Boston.com poll) think the WBC is to blame for Dice-K's injury. Is that possible? Sure. It could also be the high mileage this dude has been putting on his arm since he was 16.
• I would like to Buchholz come up to take Dice-K's spot. I think he's the real deal, even after his rough 2008.