Wakefield threw 64 pitches (48 for strikes) and logged three strikeouts. ... Earlier, he spoke about the release of Doug Mirabelli:
Very shocked. ... I'm saddened by the whole situation, but it's a business decision on their part. I feel like Cash can do a good job, but I'm really going to miss Doug ... I'll miss his friendship. We've been together for eight years. ... By no means do I want to take anything away from Kevin Cash. He did a great job with me last year. ...In Boston's main game, a 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh, starter Kyle Synder allowed one hit over three innings. Julio Lugo played for the second day in a row. After going 2-for-3 on Saturday, Lugo (as DH) was 2-for-4 today.
Dougie was a great teammate. He was not only my personal catcher but a lot of guys in that clubhouse respected his opinion. He watched other hitters. He watched other pitchers. There were even times when David [Ortiz] would be hitting and he'd say "Hey you're doing this wrong." ...
My feelings for Doug are very strong. When you lose a friend like that, it takes a while to get over it. ... I have to compete, so I can't dwell on it too much. But when I'm not competing, it's something I think about."
It's funny: the Globe asked readers to vote whether Bill James' projections for the starters were too optimistic or pessimistic. By large margins, the readers felt the projections were too conservative for Becket, Dice-K, Lester, and Buchholtz. Voters were most dubious about Wakefield, yet he has the most consistent track record of any of them. Game to game, inning to inning, even pitch to pitch, he is totally unpredictable, but season-to-season, they don't come any steadier. Mark him down for 13-17 wins.
ReplyDeleteI don't think James' predictions had a starter over 14 wins....
ReplyDeleteWake liked Belli to , I wonder if he was being sincere?
Why doubt Wakefield's sincerity? He always said he liked Doug and preferred having him catch. I have no doubt that he and Schilling meant what they said.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt Wake's sincerity a bit, but I often wonder about Schill.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the name.
Wake had to like Mirabelli, and I bet Varitek LOVED him, because he kept Tek from looking like a fool every 5 days.
ReplyDeleteJames' predictions for Sox starters were ridiculously low, and can't be reconciled with his offensive predictions for the rest of the team.They'll have to put me away if both Dice-K and Beckett don't top 15 wins. After all, the Sox are going to win 102 games...
Amy said...
ReplyDeleteWhy doubt Wakefield's sincerity?
I was beig sarcastic, because Shilling's sincerity was questioned...By red sox fans who came to his defense vehemently about the bloddy sock, when outsiders questioned his integrity...But when he speaks kindly about a red sox player , to some, it seems contrived....
When it comes to Shilling you either believe him or just think he is full of shit, I don't believe there is much middle gound there...
Now Tek will just love Cash every 5th day.....
With all this emotion and not-so-veiled resentment, you'd think for the sake of morale the front office would be thinking about Mirabelli in a coaching role....
ReplyDeleteWhy does anyone care about these statements by players? It's the standard stuff teammates say when a long-time teammate is released.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably true, probably somewhat exaggerated - just like most people do, say, at funerals, emphasizing the positive and forgetting the negative - but appropriate under the circumstances. We don't really doubt that these players enjoyed Mirabelli's company and have good teammate feelings about him, do we?
But that has nothing to do with our desire to strengthen the team, which means getting rid of dead wood now and again, no?
Isn't this the same stuff that happens on a regular basis to every team with long-time players?
What am I missing?
Is there a single soul on this green earth that Wake doesn't sincerely love? Here he is praising Grady Fucking Little in January 2004.
ReplyDeletePraising GRADY LITTLE??? That's THE END! I'll never forgive Wakefield for THAT! Worshipping Mammon, buying Paula Abdul videos, using steroids, eating kittens,lusting over Ann Coulter, trusting Bill Clinton, cheering Johnny Damon, shooting me in the earlobe, calling me "Dude," laughing at Howard Stern---I can forgive almost anything. Not that. Never that.
ReplyDeleteI was about to say "Jack, here is something we will always agree on."
ReplyDeleteThen I remembered a certain citizen of Joy Nation, a great Sox fan, a friend of wmtc, a good-hearted lefty, and my friend, who defends He Who Shall Not Be Named.
I heard him do it on the radio.
It was very sad.
(Shooting you in the earlobe?)