The Red Sox sent Tim Wakefield to the bullpen today after he finished his start. The move makes room for Daisuke Matsuzaka to return to the rotation. Wakefield had little to say about it.
His thoughts about going to the bullpen: “I don’t have any.”
Peter Abraham makes a very good point at the end of the article:
In Wakefield, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek, Francona also has four older players on the downside of their careers who believe they should be playing every day and aren’t. Having two such players on the roster would be a lot to handle. He has four.
If a team is winning, nobody can complain. But if 8-11 turns into 16-22, disgruntled players will find a forum in the clubhouse and Francona will have fires to put out.
I suspect if it gets to that point, Theo Epstein will defend Francona by releasing or trading some of those players.
as a Yankee fan I am very happy with this post
He’s not the first knuckleball reliever, but it still sounds strange. Daisuke is a better pitcher, but his shoulder may wear down throughout the season. Look for Wakefield to come back into the rotation.
This brings up a broader subject, though. The Red Sox are slow to start transitioning from their championship season to their new talent. With the exception of Lowell, who is already the subject of trade talks, the other three players mentioned were on that championship team. It seems that although the players are not starting, Francona is slow to get rid of them altogether.
Wakefield will still start plenty this season as the Sox will have injuries and use Tim to fill in
Wakefield as a reliever? Aaron Boone starts thinking of a comeback.
“In Wakefield, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek, Francona also has four older players on the downside of their careers who believe they should be playing every day and aren’t. Having two such players on the roster would be a lot to handle. He has four.”
How is this different from the presence of Jeter, Rivera, Pettite, and Posada on the Yankees?