Wakefield went eight innings yesterday. Eight innings. The man is 42 years old, and he went eight innings, allowing just one run on five hits. Only five hits all night, and he only gave up one run. One run! And he issued no walks and eight strikeouts. Yesterday’s game single-handedly decreased Wake’s ERA from 5.19 to 4.70.
Sadly (in this case, very, very, very sadly), he’s got nothing to show for it. We lost. The final score? 0-1. Wake said he was going to knuckle down (no pun intended), and he did. The knuckleball was dancing, the fastball was crawling; it was vintage Wakefield, hearkening back to the make-John-Flaherty-retire days. Unfortunately, Erik Bedard also happened to be knuckling down (although not as literally). He shut us out over seven innings. I was so excited when the O’s traded him. But a game like last night’s kind of takes the wind out of your sails.
Personally, I thought Wake’s performance was more impressive than Bedard’s. Given Wake’s age and his recent inconsistency on the mound, it was good to see him in top form. Let’s face it; he sometimes gives us something to worry about, but he’s still got it. After 16 years of service and 42 years of age, the dude’s still got it. And to see him pitch eight, almost impeccable innings is a rare thrill. He’s one of the last pitchers who throws the knuckleball, and he’s probably the only pitcher whose main pitch is the knuckleball. And with mastery of a slow pitch like that, you’ve got plenty of years of service ahead of you. True, his wins-to-losses ratio isn’t as lopsided as it used to be, but his win column has been in the double digits annually since 2002 (with the exception of 2006, a slaughter of a season). So, if you’re going to blame last night’s loss on someone, you can’t blame it on Wake. So he allowed one run. It was a solo homer by Yuniesky Betancourt in the third inning. That was pretty early in the game. The offense had plenty of time to answer, but Erik Bedard allowed no runs. I hate to say it, but the offense will be taking the rap for this one. And that’s a shame, because our team is stacked with offensive all-stars. (Speaking of which, don’t forget to vote for the boys to win it for the American League this year.)
Right now, we’re 1.5 games out of first behind the Tampa Bay Rays; almost two months into the season, and that’s not getting any less strange. The Yankees are still in last place, which still amuses me. But these road issues definitely have to stop. I will say that I think this loss, although a loss, does provide an energy boost for the team, much like our last loss did. It’s counterintuitive to think so, but when a truly gifted hitter hits the 499th home run of his career and when an aging pitcher brings it all out, it affects every player. If you’re still not convinced, look on the bright side: the Red Sox haven’t been scoring much lately, and when the offense sleeps, it has to wake up sooner or later. And when it does, it’s going to be big. But it has to happen soon.
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