Tim Wakefield Move to Bullpen: Did Terry Francona Make A Good Decision?
With Daisuke returning to the Boston Red Sox’ starting rotation, Tim Wakefield was relegated to a long relief pitching role. He has experience in the bullpen, and had been the team’s fifth starter.
This move is very dangerous for two reasons.
Firstly, it upsets Tim Wakefield, who was just 17 wins away from the club record in career wins. An upset Wakefield means lower overall team chemistry and a disgruntled player is never one that a team wants to have in a locker room.
I think Wake will handle Terry Francona’s decision with grace, and his frustration will certainly not show, being the savvy veteran that he is, but he is definitely not happy.
More importantly, however, Wakefield is not the type of pitcher you want in the bullpen.
Wake’s primary pitch is a knuckleball, and if a hitter can make decent contact with a pitch, fly balls become very common. The more solid the contact, the deeper the ball will travel.
Therefore, Wake gives up a lot of home runs, simply because of the type of pitch he throws.
As a starter, home runs are less significant, because your team will have more opportunities to neutralize the run allowed, but as a bullpen pitcher, these bombs cause momentum swings and can really lower team morale.
Would you want a guy who tends to give up home runs pitching in the 7th or 8th inning?
As a bullpen pitcher, this characteristic of pitching is literally the last thing that a team would want. Picture the Sox going into the sixth inning after a Daisuke five inning performance in which the Sox lead just 5-4 and need Tim to log some innings.
It will not be unbelievable if he gives up a game tying or even game winning blast. A prototypical bullpen pitcher is one who, even if hittable, is difficult to take deep, and strikes out a lot of batters. Wakefield is neither.
Clay Buchholz would have been a better choice to move to the bullpen. Last season, the Yankees faced a similar decision and sent their young pitcher with lots of potential, Phil Hughes, to a relief role. He thrived, and was a major part of their World Series title.
Buchholz has better overall strikeout numbers than Wakefield, with 7.6 strikeouts every 9 innings pitched versus 6.1 strikeouts every 9 innings. Striking batters out is imperative, especially for a long reliever, who will most often be used to get starting pitchers out of their jams or take control in a late bullpen game.
Also, Clay has better home run numbers this season, as he is averaging 0.5 homers/9 innings, three times better Wakefield’s 1.6 homers/9.
Buchholz will not be set back in development, as he will still hold an important role and will pitch under pressure, and if anything will be even more required to hit his spots so as to prevent leads from being blown.
Essentially, Wake may have been the odd man out of the rotation, but in terms of team building and overall potential as a bullpen pitcher, Clay Buchholz may have been the better option.
