Get Out of My Ballpark

Yes, Joe, I'd shoot myself in the head if I were you too.

Joe Maddon has one hell of a decision to make. For the first time in history, the manager of the freaking Tampa Bay Devil Rays (a team that represents a body of water, not a city, state of group of people) will be managing the American League  in the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. There are five pitchers who have legitimate reason to be starting the game for the AL: Zack Greinke, Roy Halladay, Mark Buehrle, Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield (Felix Hernandez is a joke). Each of these guys has at least nine wins and has been consistently solid for their team all season.  There are other reasons for each of them, but when it comes down to it, Wakefield is the one who deserves it.

He's not really that small, he's just 3-3 in his last 7 starts.

Greinke was the Cy Young winner six weeks into the season, not having given up more than one earned run in a start and having an ERA of something like -12. Halladay is the workhorse, always consistent who leads the league in complete games every year. Buehrle is 9-2 with a 3.14 ERA. Beckett has been the best pitcher in the game since the start of June and is tied with Greinke, Halladay and Kevin Slowey with 10 wins. All of these guys have legit reasons to get the nod, but Maddon should go with Wakefield.

First and foremost there is the fact that as of today (Halladay is pitching tonight), The Elder Statesman of the Red Sox rotation is the league leader in wins. He got his 11th W last night thanks to 6+ innings of three run ball (which would have been one if Nick Green could have found the goddamn bag to get the double play), four RBIs, including a monster bomb from The Hitting Zombie (David Ortiz), and some nifty defense from Dustin Pedroia. He is tied for the Major League lead in wins with Jason Marquis of the Rockies, and would have more if his bullpen and hitters had come to play as well as he has.

The Rotting Corpse of David Ortiz has risen.

(A Digression: I usually don’t argue with Official Scorers. Those guys have tough jobs. They have to decide whether a play should have been made, and it’s usually a split second decision. Yesterday, however, when they changed the ruling on Nick Green not being able to find second base at a time when it would have prevented two runs from scoring, they got it wrong. They went back and changed it, and didn’t rely on what they saw originally, turning their back on their gut reaction, and also ignoring the fact that it was a play that should have been made. It was an error, and Timmmmmmmmaaaaay’s ERA suffered because of it.)

This could be any pitch he has thrown in the past 15 years. That's called consistent.

He also has been the stopper all year for the team. When they were 2-6 after eight games and scuffling against good and bad pitching on the West Coast, Wakefield came out and spent seven innings flirting with a no hitter in a game that sent the Sox off on a tear, leading them to the best record in the AL. He is 7-1 in his last 10 games (the Sox are 8-2) and he is 7-0 at home. He has stopped losing streaks and given the bullpen days off (2 CG, 8 IP twice in his last 10 games) and been as consistent as a guy who throws the knuckler can be.

We still don't want you.

All of the other starting possibilities have drawbacks. Beckett is starting sunday and won’t be available (god willing), Greinke has been falling back to earth in the past six weeks, going 2-4 in June and July with an ERA near four. Halladay is pitching tonight and will be on schedule, but while he has gone 5-1 his team has gone 5-5 in his last ten starts, and he hasn’t been giving them the chance to win. Buerhle is not really an option, as he has been too inconsistent throughout the year. Wakefield is solid, he has shown that he can throw whenever and he will be on regular rest on Tuesday night.

Finally, there is the strategy involved. As we all know “this one counts,” and Maddon has to win this game so that game 1 of the World Series can be at Fenway Park. Wake throws a pitch which not every catcher has experience with and of the two AL all-star catchers (he can’t bring George with him) only starter Joe Mauer  has ever handled the knuckler. Putting Wake in there in the late innings, as some have suggested, because he can throw forever, would be a huge risk with Victor Martinez behind the plate. Starting the old man would give you the opportunity to let a 42 year old pitcher get his first All-Star experience, take away the risk of having him throw to someone who can’t catch his knuckler, and make the Red Sox fans hate Maddon a bit less (even though he does whee those hipster goddamn glasses).

Go Sox.

Done.