First of all, allow me to prefice this post. I am only offering this opinion as a sports fan and not as a baseball bettor. Ever since the fav and over trend tore me a new a-hole in the early part of the playoffs, I placed a moratorium on my future baseball wagering. Glad to see the unders rolling in for other MJ'ers now 
. You all can thank me for that. But anyway, I digress...
Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't believe it when I heard Francona waivering in the post-game interview on whether to start Wakefield or not. IMHO, starting Lowe in Yankee Stadium would be a very bad move. And he even had the audacity to say that the reason they might go with Lowe is that he is more fresh? Are you kidding? Knuckleballers don't tire easily!
Regardless, I don't care how fresh he thinks Lowe is....the fact is that he has a tendency to get pounded in road starts. Allowing Lowe's solid start in Game 4 to blind Francona, I predict will prove to be costly here. This guy is wildly inconsistent with virtually nothing to predict when he might come up with a good outing or a clunker. Add in the Game 7 pressure and the considerable gap in experience between he and Wakefield and I just don't get it.
Surely I am not the only one who thinks this guy is NOT a "big game pitcher?" For all Red Sox fans around the world, I certainly hope that Francona's words tonight were nothing more than a smokescreen to give the Yanks a false sense of security. I have a feeling they would much rather face Lowe than Wakefield. There is good reason that the line is a little shorter at Pinny for the Wakefield/Brown matchup.
Now I know there will be those that will try to shoot holes in my argument here, but please allow me to expand on my reasonings even more. While it would be difficult at best to argue that Wakefield is any picture (or pitcher) of consistency, but such is the nature of knuckleballers. They run hot and cold for extended periods because the knuckler is such a feel pitch, more than any other pitch in baseball. These type of pitchers have to find their groove with it. When they get that knuckler workin' it usually goes really good for multiple outings, dancing around like Michael Jackson in his better days, and able to throw it for strikes at will. However, the flip side is when they lose command of the pitch, they can have prolonged bad stretches where they just don't have it (ie. getting shelled in Detroit and setting record for most HR given up by a winning pitcher). Rarely do you see a good knuckleball pitcher flip-flop like this: good start, bad start, good start, bad start. It's just one of those things I can't explain, but have noticed over the years.
Recently, Wakefield had not shown command of his pitch of choice.....that was up until his fine relief effort the other night. To me that tells me he is on that mysterious "knuckleballer positive cycle." You may laugh that this is just a statistical anamoly, but I think there is logic behind this trend. One that if I was Francona I would take stock in. My point being that seeing Wakefield really pitch well in his relief effort the other night gives me alot of confidence that he can roll that type of pitching right into Game 7 as the starter. Derek Lowe rolling that same type of pitching performance from Game 4 into Game 7 is highly unlikely IMO. Yanks will get to him this time around.
Sure, Wakefield is the guy who gave up the game winning bomb to Boone in 2003 ALCS, who could forget that? But what most people too easily disregard is the fact that the guy beat these same Yankees in that series two different times in consecutive starts (see....that even lends credence to my theory). Bottomline: Wakefield should get the start here as the more experienced pitcher who has a recent history of shutting these Yankee bats down in "big games". After all, who better to help exorcise those demons for the Red Sox than the guy who ultimately allowed them to linger a little longer over the storied franchise just last year?
Anyone else feel the same, or am I just full of hot air :shrug: ?
-JC
. You all can thank me for that. But anyway, I digress...Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't believe it when I heard Francona waivering in the post-game interview on whether to start Wakefield or not. IMHO, starting Lowe in Yankee Stadium would be a very bad move. And he even had the audacity to say that the reason they might go with Lowe is that he is more fresh? Are you kidding? Knuckleballers don't tire easily!
Regardless, I don't care how fresh he thinks Lowe is....the fact is that he has a tendency to get pounded in road starts. Allowing Lowe's solid start in Game 4 to blind Francona, I predict will prove to be costly here. This guy is wildly inconsistent with virtually nothing to predict when he might come up with a good outing or a clunker. Add in the Game 7 pressure and the considerable gap in experience between he and Wakefield and I just don't get it.
Surely I am not the only one who thinks this guy is NOT a "big game pitcher?" For all Red Sox fans around the world, I certainly hope that Francona's words tonight were nothing more than a smokescreen to give the Yanks a false sense of security. I have a feeling they would much rather face Lowe than Wakefield. There is good reason that the line is a little shorter at Pinny for the Wakefield/Brown matchup.
Now I know there will be those that will try to shoot holes in my argument here, but please allow me to expand on my reasonings even more. While it would be difficult at best to argue that Wakefield is any picture (or pitcher) of consistency, but such is the nature of knuckleballers. They run hot and cold for extended periods because the knuckler is such a feel pitch, more than any other pitch in baseball. These type of pitchers have to find their groove with it. When they get that knuckler workin' it usually goes really good for multiple outings, dancing around like Michael Jackson in his better days, and able to throw it for strikes at will. However, the flip side is when they lose command of the pitch, they can have prolonged bad stretches where they just don't have it (ie. getting shelled in Detroit and setting record for most HR given up by a winning pitcher). Rarely do you see a good knuckleball pitcher flip-flop like this: good start, bad start, good start, bad start. It's just one of those things I can't explain, but have noticed over the years.
Recently, Wakefield had not shown command of his pitch of choice.....that was up until his fine relief effort the other night. To me that tells me he is on that mysterious "knuckleballer positive cycle." You may laugh that this is just a statistical anamoly, but I think there is logic behind this trend. One that if I was Francona I would take stock in. My point being that seeing Wakefield really pitch well in his relief effort the other night gives me alot of confidence that he can roll that type of pitching right into Game 7 as the starter. Derek Lowe rolling that same type of pitching performance from Game 4 into Game 7 is highly unlikely IMO. Yanks will get to him this time around.
Sure, Wakefield is the guy who gave up the game winning bomb to Boone in 2003 ALCS, who could forget that? But what most people too easily disregard is the fact that the guy beat these same Yankees in that series two different times in consecutive starts (see....that even lends credence to my theory). Bottomline: Wakefield should get the start here as the more experienced pitcher who has a recent history of shutting these Yankee bats down in "big games". After all, who better to help exorcise those demons for the Red Sox than the guy who ultimately allowed them to linger a little longer over the storied franchise just last year?
Anyone else feel the same, or am I just full of hot air :shrug: ?
-JC
