Projo Sox Blog

BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Tim Wakefield ruins catchers. Causes retirements. Makes them hang up their spikes.

It's not that Wakefield is a bad guy -- by all accounts, he's a gentleman -- but he makes his living with the knuckleball, the dancing pitch that keeps catchers awake at night.

He once had a knuckling soul mate in catcher Doug Mirabelli, who was so essential to Wakefield's success that the Red Sox quickly reacquired him after they dealt him to San Diego in 2006. But with Mirabelli's release this spring, Wakefield has been forced to find a new battery mate to spend every fifth day with. That search has been hard on his suitors, said manager Terry Francona.

"We saw John Flaherty" -- who came to spring training with the Red Sox in 2006 -- "retire. I mean, Flash came over to me that first game in Fort Myers, we were playing the Twins, and he looked like a deer in the headlights. And the next day he came and got me off the treadmill and said, 'I cannot imagine doing this every five days.' And he retired," Francona said.

"We saw a very good backup catcher in Josh Bard get beat up. And Josh Bard was still a very good catcher, and it was hard to handle Wake," Francona said.

Finally, Wakefield has found his match. The memories of Mirabelli linger, as they do with any long relationship, but Wakefield and Pawtucket product Kevin Cash have made a nice couple so far this year.

"Obviously, I was with Doug for eight years, so it was difficult finding a catcher. And when Doug was let go, Cashy stepped in and picked up right [where] Doug left off. He's done a great job so far this year, and I look forward to working with him tomorrow night," Wakefield said.

Wakefield and Cash will pair up again for Tuesday night's Game Four at Fenway Park. Wakefield hasn't pitched this postseason, and his 2007 playoffs were cut short by a shoulder injury. But at age 42, he returned to deliver another dependable season for the Red Sox this year, picking up 10 wins in 181 innings, with a 4.13 ERA.

Even after 15 years of throwing the pitch, Wakefield still takes a certain pleasure out of confusing major-league hitters with his slow-moving pitch.

"There are some times where it makes me laugh. The hitters' reaction, hitters' facial expressions towards me, kind of makes me laugh," Wakefield said.

The Rays have seen Wakefield as often as any team this year, and they have finally started to hit the right-hander after years of bafflement.

Rays manager Joe Maddon was once a catcher himself, and he knows firsthand the grey hairs catching a knuckler can give. Maddon only caught one knuckleballer, a pitcher named Tracy Harris when he was in the minors in Santa Clara. But he remembers it well.

"When you're catching it, there's a lot more angst involved," Maddon said. "Obviously, it's very unpredictable. And it makes throwing out runners a lot more difficult because you have to wait so long. Even though Wakefield can be quick to the plate on a clock, from a catcher's perspective, you've got to stay back for that last little moment because it can do absolutely anything."

\Wakefield has dominated the Rays for years, with a 19-5 overall mark against Tampa Bay. But this year the Rays turned it around, tagging Wakefield for a 5.87 ERA and two losses in three starts.

Some have said that with the knuckleball, familiarity breeds success. But Maddon couldn't point to a specific reason for the turnaround.

"We've had a little bit better success more recently against him, and I really don't know why . . . I don't know the answer with this thing, because when that thing is righteous and on, nobody hits it on a given day. We've done a little bit better against it recently," Maddon said.

Wakefield will match up against Tampa right-hander Andy Sonnanstine, who earned a 4.38 ERA and 13 wins in his first full season in the majors. The 25-year-old beat the White Sox in the clinching Game Four of the Division Series, allowing 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings.

He was excellent against the Red Sox this season, allowing no earned runs in 13 innings, with both starts coming against Josh Beckett during Rays' wins in September.

"It should help me a lot. You know, build up my confidence a little bit, knowing that I can come in here and do well against the Sox here and [at] Tropicana Field. So I know in my mind that it can be done. I think it was pretty essential for my confidence," Sonnanstine said.

By now, Francona knows what he will get from Wakefield and his signature pitch: The good, the bad, the passed ball, the occasional wild pitch, and a chance to win every game.

"It's not easy. Some days, there's balls that are going to go to the backstop. That's just part of the way it is. There are going to be stolen bases, there's going to be wild pitches. There's going to be fastballs, but the good part of it is that you look up in the seventh and he usually gives you a chance to win," Francona said.

 Tags  Dan Barbarisi Doug Mirabelli Kevin Cash Terry Francona Tim Wakefield

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